Blog Synopsis: Thursday, September 20th

On Thursday, we delved into Reconstruction: its literal components, what it mean for new freedmen, and whether or not it can be simply categorized as a "success" or "failure."  The class began, however, with a return to a previous hot-button topic regarding the notion of activism.  We struggled with the question of what, exactly, constitutes activism?  Perhaps, we concluded, it would be even more difficult to determine what did not constitute activism.  Context, it was determined, is an absolute necessity in viewing early African-American activism.  While an African-American couple purchasing a home in white neighborhood in present-day Cincinnati would be a non-event, in the 1950's, that same event would certainly exemplify activism.  We must be careful not to retrospectively judge early, seemingly non-consequential modes of resistance, as they must be viewed in light of the total institution of slavery.

The Constitutional framework of Reconstruction: the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, allowed African-Americans the opportunity to not only engage in institution-building on a massive scale, but to challenge the socio-economic status quo by exercising control over their own labor.  For the first time, African-Americans can say no!  This heightened sense of personal autonomy catalyzed a massive diaspora during Reconstruction.  Former slaves sought better jobs, displaced family-members, and expressed a distinct desire to move away from their former masters.  The Freedman's Bureau, for instance was designed to assist African-Americans and landless whites during Reconstruction, offering funding for schools and infrastructure.

Family-life for African-Americans in the Reconstruction era was immeasurably different.  Now, African-Americans could get legally married; no more "jumping the broom."  The tenuous connection which existed between family during bondage, the knowledge that, at any time, one member could be sold away, dissolved immediately.  In the 1870s-1890s, African-American families begin to rename themselves, rejecting the surname of their former owner, in favor of ones that more readily indicated their destiny as sons and daughters of America (Washington, Jefferson, etc.).  Central to notions of family, was the concept of identity creation.  Freedmen diligently sought, both collectively and individually, the opportunity to recreate themselves in their own image, according to their standards.

The Church was another major institution which quickly developed in the immediate post-Civil War era.  Much like the situation regarding the rejection of former master's names, African-Americans sought to distance themselves from the churches of their former masters.  By 1870-1880, Several different denominations of African-American churches were flourishing: the African-Methodist Episcopal Church, Church of God in Christ, among others.  In addition to offering spiritual guidance and providing valuable community service, African-American churches represented some of the largest and most important pieces of public space available to African-Americans in the period.  With growth of so many new denominations in a short amount of time, African-Americans faced a dilemma: Do I want to join an African-Methodist Episcopal Church or go to a traditional Methodist church?  The greater variety of options available to African-Americans during Reconstruction allowed for an even more individualized rout to the systematic cultivation of group and personal identity.

Early on, African-Americans realized the centrality of education to achieving the fulfillment of their recently-granted status in America.  This voracious appetite for learning did not suddenly spring up during Reconstruction, however.  Slaves exhibited a conscious desire for self-education while in bondage.  "Pit Schools," holes 6-7 feet deep where slaves would organize clandestine meetings in order to teach each other to both read and write, demonstrate the fact that African-American desire for higher education was not a new or novel concept come Reconstruction.  Rather, the efforts to advance African-American education during the Reconstruction period represented a continuation of past exertions.  Nobody had to tell freedmen that education was important.  It was obviously key, they realized, because since 1830, they had been legally barred from learning to read/write in most southern states.  The rise of Historically Black Colleges occurred during this period.  From 1866-1867, Morehouse College, Spelman, and Howard were founded.  Ex-slaves were, tellingly, the biggest proponents of the public school system in the South.  The region was overwhelmingly agrarian and rural, with very few members living in cities.  As a result, few Southerners prioritized education in a manner analogous to that of African-Americans.  The state constitutions of 1868, constructed under a period of high-percentage African-American representation, established the basis upon which southern public school systems were created.

Throughout Reconstruction, African-Americans sought to "build freedom from the ground up."  Provided the legal infrastructure to challenge extant socio-economic hierarchies,African-Americans engaged in a protracted negotiation, most notably for labor and public space.  Though seemingly uninspiring now, public space was of paramount importance in the early 20th Century.  Parades, for instance, were extremely well attended, and were used by sundry institutions to assert their political independence and identity.  When African-Americans began to exercise their freedom with regards to the notion of public space, whites often viewed it as an intrusion, resulting in the initiation of a protracted negotiation for the exercise of legal freedoms and political power.  As a result of the percieved "encroachment" of African-Americans into the public sphere, the American South begins to develop the legal structure, beginning with Plessy v. Ferguson  for legal segregation.