Key Aspects of the Experience and Legacy:

Active Participation: African Americans served as soldiers and sailors (approx. 180,000–200,000 in the Union Army/Navy), spies like Harriet Tubman, and laborers.

Freedom and Agency: Runaways flocked to Union lines (contraband camps). Post-war, they established communities, created independent churches, and sought education.

Reconstruction Gains: African American men secured voting rights and held political office for the first time, with 22 African Americans serving in Congress by 1870.

Reversal and Segregation: Following 1877, white supremacy returned in the South, creating "black codes" and systemic inequality.

Long-Term Legacies: The era birthed both modern civil rights organizations and enduring economic, social, and racial disparities, including the migration of many to the North for better opportunities.

Core Class

This course offers a detailed exploration of the complex history surrounding Southern slavery, positing that the U.S. South is among the most consequential "slave societies" in global history. It delves into the internal slave trade, which forcibly relocated hundreds of thousands of enslaved individuals from the Eastern seaboard to the expanding cotton-producing regions of the Southwest, particularly between 1820 and 1860. This demographic shift not only reshaped the economic landscape of the South but also solidified slavery's role as a foundational aspect of Southern society.

Furthermore, the course addresses contemporary issues that African Americans face, which are deeply rooted in systemic inequities. Topics such as economic disparity, healthcare inequalities, voter suppression, and discriminatory policies are examined in depth.

In the military context, Black servicemembers have historically been overrepresented in combat roles while facing underrepresentation in leadership and decision-making positions. Currently, Black Americans comprise just over 13% of the U.S. population, yet they constitute nearly 19% of active-duty Army personnel.

Current challenges for African Americans in the military include high participation rates, which come with complexities; surveys indicate that 56% of Black service members contemplate racial discrimination when considering career choices for themselves or their family members.

Courses