After the Civil War, the Reconstruction era brought about hope and change in the form of citizenship and equality in America. Black men were given the right to vote, and in 1870, Hiram Revels became the first African American in the U.S. Congress when he was elected to represent Mississippi in the Senate. What followed included more than 2,000 Black office holders serving at every level of America’s political system. Sadly, this progress was short-lived.

Reconstruction: The Vote

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The contributions of Black Service Organizations in the volunteer and civic space have been around since the Revolutionary War. Out of those spaces came formal organizations aimed at redefining American democracy.

The Origins of Black Service Organizations

In November 1870, four Black students created their own safe space to study in a Washington D.C. church. That space would eventually become the first Black public school, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.

Elite Black Public High Schools in Jim Crow America

As the nation dealt with the darkness of the Great Depression, a Black leader by the name of Father Major Jealous Divine (Father Divine) rose from the shadows. His message resonated with many as he identified himself as God in the human flesh.

Father Divine

In this episode of Black History In Two Minutes or So hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. we celebrate a group of Black congressional leaders who constitute the Congressional Black Caucus and to be the voice for marginalized groups today.

Congressional Black Caucus

In 1967, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. expanded the Civil Rights Movement by creating a sweeping economic and healthcare care plan aimed at the poor.

Reconstruction: The Vote

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