"Shall We Call Home Our Troops?" (1875)
Wood engraving by Thomas Nast from Harper's Weekly depicting the reaction of the radical South toward African Americans after the North does not follow up their promises.
![Reaction of radical South toward Negro after North does not follow up her promises to the Negro.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/1875_ShallWeCallHomeOurTroops_FH140922_0.png?h=e9b139c1&itok=V7N6KFpC)
"The Birth of a Nation" Summarizes Reconstruction
Title cards, or intertitles, from The Birth of a Nation, a 1915 film portraying D.W. Griffith's racist vision of life in the South during the Civil war era.
![Title cards, or intertitles, from The Birth of a Nation, a 1915 film portraying D.W. Griffith's racist vision of life in the South during the Civil war era.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/1915_TheBirthofaNationtitlecardsdescribingReconstruction_FH2169421.png?h=ca3390b1&itok=EdxwGVd6)
Le danger d’une histoire unique
L’écrivaine nigériane Chimamanda Adichie nous met au défi de considérer le pouvoir des histoires pour influencer l’identité, façonner les stéréotypes et construire des chemins vers l’empathie.
![Fragmented images of a human face.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Ch01_Image07_Medium_res.jpg?h=d2de68a6&itok=T0WiNJDv)
We Need a New American Founding
Scholar Eddie S. Glaude draws from the history of Reconstruction and the the Civil Rights movement to call for a “new American founding.” This reading is available in Spanish.
![The image of late Rep. John Lewis, a pioneer of the civil rights movement and long-time member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is projected on the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/John_Lewis_Projected_Lee_Monument_Richmond_2020_FH2133438.jpg?h=31c0c765&itok=0SZs7dfW)
We Need a New American Founding (en español)
In Spanish, Scholar Eddie S. Glaude draws from the history of Reconstruction and the the Civil Rights movement to call for a “new American founding.”
![The image of late Rep. John Lewis, a pioneer of the civil rights movement and long-time member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is projected on the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/John_Lewis_Projected_Lee_Monument_Richmond_2020_FH2133438.jpg?h=31c0c765&itok=0SZs7dfW)
Glenn Ligon's Untitled: Four Etchings
Artist Glenn Ligon created Untitled: Four Etchings using quotations from writer Zora Neale Hurston's essay, "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" and Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man.
![Artist Glenn Ligon created Untitled: Four Etchings [B] using a quotation from writer Zora Neale Hurston’s essay, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.”](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/D15968_Medium_res.jpg?h=c15025bd&itok=EIHlZetq)
Part Three: The Political Struggle, 1865-1866
Scholars discuss the different visions for Reconstruction held by Congress and President Johnson.
![](/sites/default/files/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_468.jpg)
Part Two: Defining Freedom
Scholars discuss the evolution of the definition of freedom for emancipated slaves after the Civil War.
![](/sites/default/files/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_467.jpg)
How It Feels to Be Colored Me
Zora Neale Hurston describes her sense of identity and experience being a black woman in this 1928 essay.
![Author Zora Neale Hurston wearing a hat with her head turned to her right.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-09/Zora_Neale_Hurston_1938_Wikimedia_Commons.jpeg?h=8e4088dc&itok=sQRUzvvP)
Glenn Ligon, Untitled - Four Etchings [D]
In this second black-on-black etching, Glenn Ligon also uses Ralph Ellison's quote from the prologue of his novel, Invisible Man (1952), though this one uses the complete quote, which ends "...figments of their imagination-indeed everything."
![Black on black etching that begins with "I am the Invisible Man…"](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/D11338_Medium_res_0.jpg?h=c978a40d&itok=EVvkRRuT)
Common Core Writing Prompts and Strategies: Civil Rights Historical Investigation
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This resource connects our Civil Rights Historical Investigations unit with writing prompts that align with the expectations of the Common Core State Standards.
![Common Core: Civil Rights Cover](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-03/CommonCoreCivilRights_cvr.png?h=88ddef7e&itok=4J-1TEKp)