The Compromise of 1877 brought this era to a close and triggered the withdrawal of federal troops from the South. This marked what was essentially the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of catastrophe for many Black Americans who had made incredible progress in Southern communities. Fear and coercion crept into the mechanisms of democracy, stifling Black voting rights, and instituting a new form of systemic racism that would persist into the 20th century.
By the late 1870s, the Jim Crow era had taken the South by storm. Named after an exaggerated, highly stereotypical Black character made famous by an actor performing in blackface, Jim Crow was used to describe laws and social norms that oppressed Black people and legitimized racism. This period prevailed until the 1960s. While the age of “separate but equal” was most pronounced in the South, the system of second-class citizenship and racial segregation pervaded every region of the country.
“Black Citizenship” tells the stories of well-known Black American leaders and thinkers such as W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founders of the NAACP, and Ida B. Wells, a crusading Black journalist, among others who lived through complex, challenging times but still made foundational contributions to the development of civil rights in America.
The exhibition also tells the stories of lesser-known figures and historical experiences that help flesh out nuances and fill in gaps.Through a pair of slave shackles from 1866, visitors learn about 17-year-old Mary Horn. Though President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation a year before, Mary’s owner still held her captive and restrained her when she tried to run away to meet her fiancé, George.