 This is the copyrighted work. Unauthorized copying or distribution is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Scholastic Audio presents Dark Sky Rising, Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates Jr. with Tanya Bolden. Red by Dionne Graham Hello, my name is Henry Louis Gates Jr. You're listening to the audio edition of my book Dark Sky Rising, Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow. My very first venture in writing for young readers. The book and its topic are very special to me for several reasons. When I was growing up in Piedmont, West Virginia, our American history lessons were mainly focused on the founding fathers and other great figures in American history, such as Abraham Lincoln and Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt. My teachers didn't dig deeply into the reasons for slavery or why racial segregation happened. Back then, history class was all about dates and names, but not much about black people, or the historical causes and effects of slavery and racism. This is one of the reasons I became a professor of African and African-American studies. Fortunately, I come from a family that love to read and love to discuss current events. My parents always taught me that knowledge brings meaning to one's daily life, and therefore to one's future. In fact, my mother and father often told my brother Paul and me that knowledge is power. And so when the chance came to write about one of the most turbulent and intriguing times in the shaping of America, I was very eager to present this important aspect of history to young readers. The Reconstruction era remains one of the most pivotal, yet least understood chapters in American history. Beginning with the Civil War and its aftermath, the United States struggled to heal the sectional divide that slavery and secessionate caused, while living up to the promise of equal citizenship for all, including the four million formerly enslaved African-Americans who had played a decisive role in saving the Union and fighting for their own liberation. During Reconstruction, the Constitution was transformed. African-Americans built businesses and religious and educational institutions, advanced in energetic... Sample complete. Ready to continue?