Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow

This virtual presentation explores Black Americans’ struggle for equality under the law from 1865 through World War I. Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow explores the struggle for full citizenship and racial equality that unfolded in the 50 years after the Civil War. When slavery ended in 1865, a period of Reconstruction began, leading to such achievements as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. By 1868, all persons born in the United States were citizens and equal under the law. But efforts to create an interracial democracy were contested from the start. A harsh backlash ensued, ushering in a half century of the “separate but equal” age of Jim Crow. Learn about both Southern and Northern roles in this dark chapter of our history as well as Black New Yorkers’ organizing and community-building in the face of discrimination. Program will last 60-75 minutes, including 10-15 minutes for Q&A.

Registration required by Tuesday 2/15 at 6:00pm for the Zoom code.
E-mail [email protected].

Picture credit:
Celebrating the Fifteenth Amendment which guaranteed African American men the right to vote, 1870. Print by Thomas Kelly. New-York Historical Society Library

This program is presented by the New-York Historical Society and sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association.