Make Good the Promises: Reclaiming Reconstruction and Its Legacies – A Smithsonian Companion to Post-Civil War African American Civil Rights

by Kinshasha Holman Conwill, Paul Gardullo

The companion volume to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibit, opening in September 2021 With a Foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Eric Foner and a preface by veteran museum director and historian Spencer Crew An incisive and illuminating analysis of the enduring legacy of the post-Civil War period known as Reconstruction—a comprehensive story of Black Americans’ struggle for human rights and dignity and the failure of the nation to fulfill its promises of freedom, citizenship, and justice. In the aftermath of the Civil War, millions of free and newly freed African Americans were determined to define themselves as equal citizens in a country without slavery—to own land, build secure families, and educate themselves and their children. Seeking to secure safety and justice, they successfully campaigned for civil and political rights, including the right to vote. Across an expanding America, Black politicians were elected to all levels of government, from city halls to state capitals to Washington, DC. But those gains were short-lived. By the mid-1870s, the federal government stopped enforcing civil rights laws, allowing white supremacists to use suppression and violence to regain power in the Southern states. Black men, women, and children suffered racial terror, segregation, and discrimination that confined them to second-class citizenship, a system known as Jim Crow that endured for decades.   More than a century has passed since the revolutionary political, social, and economic movement known as Reconstruction, yet its profound consequences reverberate in our lives today. Make Good the Promises  explores five distinct yet intertwined legacies of Reconstruction—Liberation, Violence, Repair, Place, and Belief—to reveal their lasting impact on modern society. It is the story of Frederick Douglass, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Hiram Revels, Ida B. Wells, and scores of other Black men and women who reshaped a nation—and of the persistence of white supremacy and the perpetuation of the injustices of slavery continued by other means and codified in state and federal laws. With contributions by leading scholars, and illustrated with 80 images from the exhibition, Make Good the Promises shows how Black Lives Matter, #SayHerName, antiracism, and other current movements for repair find inspiration from the lessons of Reconstruction. It touches on questions critical then and What is the meaning of freedom and equality? What does it mean to be an American? Powerful and eye-opening, it is a reminder that history is far from past; it lives within each of us and shapes our world and who we are.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Civil War

224 pages, Hardcover

Published September 14, 2021

Reviews

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard about this book from the podcast "You're Wrong About" by Jamelle Bouie on his fantastic episode about Reconstruction. This book isn't just a history book - it talks about issues in the past and how relevant history is to today.

I love that it includes photos, letters, illustrations, and pictures with the essays - from the Smithsonian exhibition https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/exhibit...

"Make Good the Promises: Reconstruction and Its Legacies focuses on the story of Reconstruction—the period following the Civil War—through an African American lens"

[Orsayor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended Reading...

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant essays and extremely high quality photos (sometimes photos are grainy and hard to see, but not in this book). Great resource

[Paul Lunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The period of Reconstruction in the history of the United States officially lasts from the end of the Civil War in April 1865 & ends with the Compromise of 1877 which determined the outcome of the 1876 presidential election between Rutherford Hayes & Samuel Tilden. The legacy though of this period of history is a complicated one & is something whose ramifications we as a nation still struggle with 158 years later. With "Make Good the Promises: Reclaiming Reconstruction and Its Legacies" edited by Kinshasha Holman Conwill & Paul Gardullo this book in conjunction with the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture offers a series of 6 essays that takes a closer look at this period of history and how the events of that era are still playing out today in what as one essayist put it what is a 3rd Reconstruction. While I don't entirely agree with the opinions of a couple of the essays, the book still though is a reminder of what we didn't do as a country and still are reckoning with to this day. There is also a very nice timeline which runs from 1861-1896 (from the arrival of the first freedom fighters at Fort Monroe to Plessy v Ferguson) which explains a bit more of what happened in this period a lot of which still plays out today. This book is an absolute must read & will open the eyes of anyone trying to understand the America of the 21st century as well as how we got here. Extremely well written.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of essays that peel back the web of lies that make up the myth of The Lost Cause to reveal accurate historical facts about the Civil War, the periods of Reconstruction and retrenchment that followed (twice), and the legacies left behind. African Americans are still grappling with these legacies and if we have any hope of becoming a civilized society, the rest of us (I'm looking at you, white people) should be, too.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A part of history I know pretty much nothing about. Most enlightening and often surprising. Our country has a great deal to account for.

[Robin Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding compilation of text, essays, and visuals to accompany the exhibit of the same name at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The book has both a national view of post Civil War history and specific examples that bring this period allive, both in its hope and in its violence and broken promises. I especially appreciated the different approaches of the scholars called on to contribute. I think this would also be an excellent text for high school AP American and African American history. As one writer points out, White supremacy is the underlying structure that made the violence of the post-Reconstruction violence and Jim Crow possible and it's still very much with us. There's also hope in this book, that perhaps we are currently in a third "Reconstruction," where many of these issues that still haunt us can be exposed to sunlight and addressed.

[Jayme · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a bit difficult to listen to, so I’d recommend reading a physical or digital copy instead of audiobook. The author makes many good points about how the history around reconstruction has been maligned, so I’ve been trying to think about what I learned. I think Gone with the Wind is a perfect example (although it is a well-written story, it adheres to many of the lies and stereotypes about enslaved and formerly enslaved people).

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook and found it to be enlightening about Reconstruction (there is one essay that gives a detailed history of Reconstruction in dateline format) and about the backlash in Southern states to Reconstruction among whites.

I think in retrospect that it was a poor choice on my part to get the audiobook format, since the print copy has many features such as pictures, letters, etc.

[Joe Keefhaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book of essays about the much-derided Reconstruction period following the Civil War. Great strides were made toward true equality during this brief time frame. The failure of the nation to continue the effort set us back 100 years.

[Anshuman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid collection of essays connecting Reconstruction to modern times, really reads (understandably) like a verbose museum exhibit. Strong contributions from several scholars and ultimately a good, useful book.

[Xoxojillzian · Rating 5 out of 5]

required reading

[Dwight Etgen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great graphics, decent writing, the history wasn’t wrong, it’s true, I just wanted more of it.

[Schvenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, but enlightening. It provides well thought out considerations about obtaining equality, as well as enumerable historical references to support its efforts.