© 2024 Michigan State University Board of Trustees
Public Media from Michigan State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Reconstruction: America After The Civil War | WKAR Special

Courtesy
/
PBS
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., executive producer and host of Reconstruction: America After the Civil War, and Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, walk through the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery

Tue., Apr.9 & Apr. 16, 9pm on WKAR-HD 23.1 | Henry Louis Gates Jr. presents the definitive history of the many transformative years following the American Civil War. 

Henry Louis Gates Jr. presents a vital new four-hour documentary series on Reconstruction: America After the Civil War. The series explores the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change.

The twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77) witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and makeup of our democracy, with millions of former slaves and free black people seeking out their rightful place as equal citizens under the law. Though tragically short-lived, this bold democratic experiment was, in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois, a ‘brief moment in the sun’ for African Americans, when they could advance, and achieve, education, exercise their right to vote, and run for and win public office. 

Related Content
Journalism at this station is made possible by donors who value local reporting. Donate today to keep stories like this one coming. It is thanks to your generosity that we can keep this content free and accessible for everyone. Thanks!