How Black Americans Kept Reconstruction Alive
The federal government abandoned Reconstruction in 1877, but Black people didn’t give up on the moment’s promise.
![archival black-and-white photo of Ida B. Wells with another woman and two children with watercolor painting of human figure and trees](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/7LmyJB8hzgBALxZWSW_-TKBz6NI=/323x0:1448x1125/80x80/media/img/2023/11/Joseph_final_HP/original.png)
The federal government abandoned Reconstruction in 1877, but Black people didn’t give up on the moment’s promise.