reconstruction
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An Incomplete History of White Election Violence
America is not a “civilized country.” While, compared to most countries, we have an abundance of toilets, street lights and wifi hotspots, the so-called “United” States also boasts more intentional homicides, gun violence and is more politically unstable than most of the developed world (or as one slightly jaundiced geopolitical expert calls them— the “shithole…
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'Our Ancestors Cannot Be Flattened': The Root Presents: It's Lit! Wanders in Strange Lands With Morgan Jerkins
Her first book may have been her “undoing,” but journalist and author Morgan Jerkins’ second offering, Wandering in Strange Lands (HarperCollins), is a homecoming. Taking a detour from the “hot-takes” upon which she built her career and the provocative personal essays that comprised her bestselling debut, This Will Be My Undoing, Jerkins retraced the steps…
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North Carolina Formally Recognizes 1898 Racial Massacre as a ‘Coup’ With New Historic Marker
The historic port city of Wilmington, N.C., is finally recognizing one of the most consequential moments in its history—a white supremacist-led insurrection—for what it was: a coup. Officials installed a new highway marker in the city’s downtown that details the 1898 “Wilmington Coup,” the only successful coup d’état in American history. The marker sits just…
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This Black History Month, Let’s Recognize the African-American Prisoners Who Helped Build America
Like much of the rest of the discourse around jails, prisons and mass incarceration, Black History Month is not usually a time when we talk about the thousands of black prisoners that were forced to build America after the Civil War. It’s time to recognize them because the postwar South was literally rebuilt on their…
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Tracing Your Roots: Do I Have Gullah Roots?
A reader wonders if her family originates from a unique coastal Southern community that has retained many West African traditions. Dear Professor Gates: I’m hoping you can help me figure out whether my family is of Gullah origins. My mother’s family is from a tiny town in South Carolina’s Low Country called Brittons Neck. While…
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Tracing Your Roots: What Are My In-Laws’ Texas Slavery Roots?
Her mother-in-law’s paternal roots lie in what was once Texas’ richest county, made so off the backs of slaves. Dear Professor Gates: My mother-in-law is in her mid-80s, and per her request, I would like to do what I can to find information about her father’s family. I have searched on Ancestry.com and I am…