by Gavin Wright | Narratives, Season 1
As Black Americans ventured into the new lives made available to them by their hard-earned freedom, they continued to face relentless opposition—overtly from ex-Confederates, and more subtly from indifferent whites who viewed the end of enslavement as the end of the...
by Gavin Wright | Narratives, Season 1
The Civil War marked one of the most dramatic state changes in how Black people practiced their faith. Those born or living free in the North had long had the option to choose which church to join. But, prior to emancipation, going to formal church service in the...
by Gavin Wright | Narratives, Season 1
African Americans knew that, even with the abolition of slavery through the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, they would still need to pursue additional rights and protections under the law if they were to enjoy the full benefits of freedom. Following emancipation,...
by Gavin Wright | Narratives, Season 1
Literacy and formal education were illegal for African Americans in many states during the Civil War. Even following emancipation, when it became legal to learn to read and write publicly, there were often extreme consequences. Regardless, Black people throughout the...
by Gavin Wright | Narratives, Season 1
As African Americans ventured into entrepreneurship following emancipation, their success was met with overwhelming vitriol and violence from their white counterparts throughout the nation, resulting in Black Codes that make their advances toward equality all the more...
by Gavin Wright | Narratives, Season 1
Following the Emancipation Proclamation and Sherman’s Special Field Orders #15 (known commonly by the phrase “40 acres and a mule” contained therein), tens of thousands of formerly enslaved people began establishing communities where they could build livelihoods for...
by Gavin Wright | Narratives, Season 1
Finding and rebuilding families was one of the first steps Black Americans took toward social and political freedom following the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. But with families intentionally broken apart by the American slave system and no organized records of...
by Gavin Wright | Narratives, Season 1
Prior to the Civil War, runaway slaves who were captured in Union territory would have been returned to their enslavers as a result of the Fugitive Slave Law. But a bold decision by a Union general in 1861 sanctioned the escape of freedom seekers into Union refugee...
