The Companion Volume To The Smithsonians National Museum Of African American History And Culture Exhibit, Opening In September 2021with A Foreword By Pulitzer Prize-winning Author And Historian Eric Foner And A Preface By Veteran Museum Director And Historian Spencer Crewan Incisive And Illuminating Analysis Of The Enduring Legacy Of The Post-civil War Period Known As Reconstructiona Comprehensive Story Of Black Americans Struggle For Human Rights And Dignity And The Failure Of The Nation To Fulfill Its Promises Of Freedom, Citizenship, And The Aftermath Of The Civil War, Millions Of book And Newly Freed African Americans Were Determined To Define Themselves As Equal Citizens In A Country Without Slaveryto Own Land, Build Secure Families, And Educate Themselves And Their Children. Seeking To Secure Safety And Justice, They Successfully Campaigned For Civil And Political Rights, Including The Right To Vote. Across An Expanding America, Black Politicians Were Elected To All Levels Of Government, From City Halls To State Capitals To Washington, Dc.but Those Gains Were Short-lived.