As we celebrate Juneteenth, commemorating the date in 1865 when slaves in Galveston, Texas officially learned of their freedom a full 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, it’s important to also remember how the egalitarian promise of Reconstruction following the Civil War was rapidly obliterated. Reconstruction failed due to organized violence and intimidation by white supremacists in the South (supported by and acquiesced in by scores of white people throughout the country), as a result of Northern politicians willing to make political deals to maintain power, and because of racist U.S. Supreme Court decisions that bolstered white supremacy at the expense of black Americans. This report prepared by the Equal Justice Initiative details the horrific violence suffered by black people in America during and after Reconstruction and helps us understand our history and the deep foundations of racism in our country and how much work we have to do .
