Collection: The Second Founding: Black America After Emancipation

My family, you are now standing before one of the most powerful (and misunderstood) chapters of our story. “The Second Founding” takes you into the era after Emancipation, when Black people, newly freed but far from truly free, rose with vision, purpose, and unshakable faith. Reconstruction wasn’t just about stitching the nation back together after the Civil War; it was a rebirth led by Black hands, Black minds, and Black courage. Out of the ashes of slavery came schools, churches, newspapers, and communities. The Freedmen’s Bureau worked to support our people with education, healthcare, and labor contracts, and from this soil of struggle, Black politicians rose in unprecedented numbers. Men like Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce took seats in Congress, once unthinkable just years before. This was not just survival: this was nation-building.

But make no mistake, the promise of freedom came with deep betrayal. They told our ancestors we’d receive “40 acres and a mule”, a chance at true independence through land ownership. What we got was 40 acres and a lie. Land was snatched back, white supremacy rearmed itself, and Reconstruction was violently overturned. Still, Black folks resisted with brilliance and bravery. We debated policy, organized communities, defended our families, and demanded dignity. This exhibit honors not only what we built, but what we imagined: a just America where Black people could live free, thrive, and lead. This was our Second Founding; and though many tried to erase it, we are the living proof it happened. Keep your head high, because you walk in the footsteps of visionaries.