Reconstruction: The Big Lie

Civics 101

NHPR

History, Government, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2023

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Reconstruction has long been taught as a lost cause narrative. The true story is one of great force. The great force of a powerful activist Black community that strived to establish a multiracial democracy and achieved great successes and political power. The great force of a violent white community that exploited, abused and murdered those of that Black community who would assert their civil and human rights. The great force of a federal government that was there and then wasn't. This episode is your introduction to that true story. Our guides to this era are Dr. Kidada Williams, author of I Saw Death Coming and Dr. Kate Masur, author of Until Justice Be Done. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro. Check out our other weekly NHPR podcast, Outside/In - we think you'll love it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of Civics 101 was made possible in part by a contribution in memory of Martin
0:05.8	Leslie Schneider.
0:09.9	This episode contains descriptions of widespread systemic racial harassment, violence, and
0:15.4	killing.
0:16.4	Please take care as you listen.
0:20.7	I'm Hannah McCarthy.
0:21.7	I'm Nick Capady-Cher.
0:23.2	And this is Civics 101.
0:25.3	You're listening to the second episode in our series on Reconstruction.
0:29.3	And this one is called The Big Lie.
0:34.4	I got the K-12 education that most people get about Reconstruction, but that didn't
0:40.6	make sense to me because I'm like, well, as a descendant of enslaved Americans, it's
0:44.4	like, but they're black people.
0:45.6	They're in freedom is there.
0:46.9	So, whole failed.
0:48.9	This is Dr. Kadada Williams.
0:51.2	She teaches African American and US history at Wayne State University.
0:55.4	And her latest book is called I Saw Deathcoming.
0:58.2	A Reconstruction history told from the lives and perspectives of formerly enslaved Americans.
1:04.1	And for the record, I did not come up with the title of this episode myself.
1:07.9	The Big Lie is Kadada's phrase.
1:10.6	A part of the law's cause narrative of reconstruction, which I like to call the Big Lie of the 19th
	...

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