The story many Americans inherited about the Confederacy is tidy and also deeply misleading. It frames the Civil War as a tragic misunderstanding rooted in honor or regional pride, casting the Confederacy as a defender of a way of life rather than slavery.

The phrase "Reconstruction failed" is often repeated as a simple historical fact. Yet, this statement reflects a political judgment rather than an accurate assessment of what Reconstruction accomplished. After the Civil War, the United States embarked on a bold experiment that challenged its own foundations. Reconstruction treated formerly enslaved people as citizens, expanded voting rights, and built public institutions. It forced the nation to confront whether democracy wou

The Great Exodus of 1879 wasn’t just about escape—it was about agency. Black families left the South to build lives where they could be free. Their legacy lives on in every Black community that dares to start again.