 Ever hear about the time America almost fixed its race problem? And by fixed, we don't mean rewiring the minds of all the mouth breathers who think, white, good, other colors bad. Cause let's face it, prejudice will probably always exist. And before someone starts spouting off about reverse racism, know that true racism is backed by power. You know, like, from the government? That's how prejudice goes from, hey, that hurt my feelings, to, hey, hope I survived this routine traffic stop. Well, apparently there's a reason that the equation black and brown people plus jail feels just fine to many Americans. And it's not the reason you've been fed your whole life. So let's go back in time to December 18th, 1865, to find out just what went wrong. You see, that's the time the 13th Amendment was officially ratified under the U.S. Constitution, freeing all slaves. This event is also what officially kicked off the Reconstruction era. Reconstruction, in chronological terms, is not that long. But I think the importance that is often neglected is, what is its impact, and then what is its legacy? There were two main and very different vision boards for how reconstruction should go. The white supremacist vision was to keep black folks separate from whites, unless they were going to be working for them, of course. And the emancipationist vision was for black folks to have some pretty nifty things, you know, like freedom, citizenship, and equal rights. Fortunately, the emancipationists won out. At first, anyway. With the 13th Amendment, black folks went from enslaved to free. But it was the 14th and 15th Amendments that offered something African American men had yet to experience in America. Citizenship and the national right to vote. And black men were like, oh, it's on now. They became landowners, entrepreneurs, and some 2,000 black Americans held public office from a local level all the way to the U.S. Senate. I swear this happened. In the 1800s, it was wild. But some people, like President Andrew Johnson, weren't too happy with all this freedom. Not only did he fail at blocking both the 14th and 15th Amendment from being passed, he also set up Southern governments who created anti-black laws. Enter the National Equal Rights League, founded by a few brilliant brothers from New York. Henry Garnett, John Langston, and Frederick Douglass. Yes, that Frederick Douglass. Together, their organizing efforts resulted in a congressional smackdown on white supremacy, which brought on a new phase of reconstruction in which black Americans were able to secure the bag. And some political power, not only in the North, but in the South. So, sounds like a lot went right in that era. Where did it all go wrong? Well, it's complicated. But basically the Northern vision for reconstruction didn't so much fail. It was never really given the chance to succeed. See, the North won the big war, but they were not prepared for the backlash of the South. And since Lincoln was, uh, assassinated, other politicians were like, I don't know if I want to take a bad cause. This is kind of the classic case in that fear-mongering and violence works. So, Rutherford B. Hayes does literally rescind support by withdrawing federal troops from the South that allows vigilante groups, lynch mobs that will become quite prominent, which will then discourage, if not outright, prevent black people from exercising their votes at the polls. That secures that the voting block will usher in white supremacist governments. So, with no military presence to suppress terrorist groups like the KKK, the sore Confederates persisted in their goal to maintain their way of life, which for them meant black folks not being so free. Fortunately for the bad guys, they found a little loophole in the 13th Amendment that changed the game. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime. And that loophole is how the whole slavery operation moved from the plantation system to the prison system. But that's a whole other conversation. And long story short, the next thing anybody knew, unchecked racism, segregation in Jim Crow took hold, and the progress black people made during Reconstruction slipped away. Over the next few decades, black folks had to fight systemic and systematic racism at every turn. That's why it's important to remember Reconstruction and what almost was, because it shows just how much was lost. Well, while reparations and an official U.S. apology for slavery would be a great start towards, you know, basic morality, black Americans aren't holding their collective breath for any 40 acres in a mule. Instead, in the footsteps of those who came before us, we continue the fight, we continue the dream, knowing that America will only truly be free when we are all free. In the meantime, happy Black History Month, y'all. Thank you so much for watching. 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