Reconstruction

Reconstruction, the era immediately following the Civil War and emancipation, is full of stories that help us see the possibility of a future defined by racial equity. Though often overlooked in classrooms across the country, Reconstruction was a period where the impossible suddenly became possible. Learn more in the Zinn Education Project national report, “Erasing the Black Freedom Struggle: How State Standards Fail to Teach the Truth About Reconstruction.” The following are lessons, books, and films for teaching outside the textbook about the Reconstruction Era. Find more at the Teach Reconstruction campaign. Also, see a carefully selected list of books on Reconstruction for grades 3+ on Reconstruction.
Students Learn Hidden History of Reconstruction | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Students Learn the History of Reconstruction

We've been excited to hear from teachers about the impact of the using the role play "Reconstructing the South: A Role Play" by Bill Bigelow. Many of the comments provide insights into the "aha's" students have as a result of studying the Reconstruction era and its meaning today.
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Printed Edition of Our National Report Now Available

This month we released a printed edition of our national report, Erasing the Black Freedom Struggle: How State Standards Fail to Teach the Truth About Reconstruction. Thanks to the generous support of a donor, we can mail copies of the report to teacher educators, state and school district policymakers, and staff at historical societies.
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Freedmen and Southern Society Project

Digital collection. Documents that help explain how Black people traversed the bloody ground from slavery to freedom between the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 and the beginning of Reconstruction in 1867.
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Reconstruction montage

Who Killed Reconstruction? A Trial Role Play

Teaching Activity. By Adam Sanchez. 2022. Rethinking Schools
A role play about the demise of Reconstruction that helps students get beyond the question “Was Reconstruction a success or failure?”
Teaching Activity by By Adam Sanchez, Illustrator: Nate Kitch
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Seizing Freedom Podcast

Podcast. Written and hosted by Kidada E. Williams. 2021.
A Black history podcast tells stories "drawn from archives of voices from American history that have been muted time and time again."
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