With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Historian Eric Foner: Broken Promises Of Reconstruction Relevant To Today's Racial Justice Movement

Historian Eric Foner said misconceptions about the Reconstruction era helped uphold white supremacy in the South, and a greater understanding of the period can provide context for the economic demands of Black protesters today.

Foner told Hill.TV that Reconstruction was portrayed by early 20th century historians as a corrupt era, and that the advent of Jim Crow laws helped restore governance in the South. But a reexamination of the period -- and the economic promises to African Americans that went unmet -- can help explain some of the disparities seen today, in which the assets held by Black family assets are, on average, 10 percent that of white families.

Read entire article at The Hill