Throughout slavery, Black family units were in constant danger of disruption, and those in bondage had no control over the structure of their families, let alone their lives.
But the Reconstruction era, which followed the Civil War and the end of enslavement, was a pivotal turning point in history for African Americans and their families.
In the latest episode of the MSNBC podcast “Into America,” journalist Trymaine Lee visits the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., to get an exclusive look at the exhibition “Make Good the Promises: Reconstruction and Its Legacies.” During the interview, he speaks with Spencer Crew, the curator of the exhibit and the emeritus director of the museum, to help tell the story of Reconstruction through the Black perspective.