The Fight to Save the Second Reconstruction: Where Do We Go from Here?
What refuge do we have in the attempt to destroy the Second Reconstruction? First of all, what was the First Reconstruction? The first Reconstruction took place after the Civil War, which was a war to end slavery on one side and a war to keep slavery on the other. The first Reconstruction was about finally giving Black people the civil rights that they had been denied for centuries. During this short period of positive advance, Black people were being registered to vote, electing Blacks to various positions in the Reconstruction governments throughout the South, and providing educational opportunities through the Freedmen Bureau.
However, one cannot look at this without understanding the hatred that slavery produced across generations. White supremacy was in part planted into the minds of millions of so-called White people by Thomas Jefferson who claimed that Black people lacked intellectual abilities. The abolitionist David Walker perhaps said it with an understanding that is quite penetrating. David Walker was born a free African American in North Carolina. In 1829, he published his Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World—a series of essays calling for the destruction of slavery.
Walker offered a powerful vision that blended Christianity, natural rights, and America’s Founding creed. Walker argued that slavery violated Christianity and the Declaration of Independence. Following its publication, Walker said,
“I cannot think it was anything but servile deceit, combined with the most gross ignorance: for we must remember that humanity, kindness and the fear of the Lord, does not consist in protecting devils…. Mr. Jefferson’s remarks respecting us, have sunk deep into the hearts of millions of the whites, and never will be removed this side of eternity.”
Walker knew the power of white supremacy and how it would be hammered into the minds of many.
In order to destroy Reconstruction vigilante lawless bigots carried out night raids, terrorist attacks to prevent Blacks from voting. These “night riders” attacked Black families in the middle of the night, beating some, murdering others, raping mothers and daughters, and kidnapping of small children. One victim of this terrorism was quoted as saying,
“I saw death coming.” Reconstruction was destroyed, Black Freedmen schools burned down, and Jim Crow law was enshrined in the Supreme Courts case of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896.
The battle for a Second Reconstruction took place after 1896 with the growth of legal and protest actions eventually culminating in the 1964 and 1965 Civil Rights Acts. This was followed by many years of fighting for full access to employment and diversity in the workplace (DEI). It never completely happened. Now, the second Reconstruction is being challenged and destroyed by the guardians of white supremacy that never went away. Now, we have a president that has fired all of the investigators in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, which means that more abusive police officers can escape federal prosecution. We now see the end to DEI programs in order to reset the dominance of white supremacy in the work place. There are attempts to end Martin Luther Day, Black History Month, Juneteenth, and many others.
Let us begin to talk about the road of where do we go from here with positive and righteous struggles in a new era of trouble. We will not give up the fight that has been the dream of so many that gave their lives for us. Future generations will remember why we fought, why we died, and why we lived for them. We are WOKE to what is going on!
