The Television Companies and more. Including cox. This evening. Were happy to welcome dr. Rit cox, alongside these Television Companies support c span 2 is a public service. This evening, we are happy to welcome dr. Rita roberts, a professor of history, studies at the Nathaniel Stephenson chair history of biography at Scripps College in california. She teaches courses on the history of united states, 21st century africanAmerican History, black intellectuals and politics of race and modern civil rights movement. She holds a masters degree and phd in history from the university of california, burke. She will be discussing the book, this evening, its on the screen here. I cannot wait to call you my wife. All right. Africanamerican letters of love, family and the civil war era. This book illuminates the struggles of africanamericans who spent the civil war tractable their families to get through letters family members exchanged. Despite harsh laws against literacy and the practices of sepa
To welcome dr. Rita roberts, who is a professor of history. History and biography all the way in california. She teaches courses on the history of 16th through 21st century African American history, black intellectuals with the politics of race and the modern civil rights movement. She holds a masters degree and phd from the history of california berkeley. This evening, she will discussing her book. It is on the screen here. I cant wait to call you my wife. African american letters of love. This book illuminates the struggles of African Americans who spent the civil war trying to hold their families together, family members extreme. Despite harsh laws against literacy and legal practices, this work explores how African Americans found ways against all odds. Thank you. I am so delighted to be here. This is one of my favorite research places. I want to thank olivia who has been so instrumental in coordinating all of this and heather rockwood. I dont know if you have had met heather yet b
As it certainly tonight talk show host used to say, why dont we get busy. I want to begin with the first photograph and recite some numbers to you as well. Just to give you a sense of perspective. According to the census of 1860, there were over 990,000 black women from 15 up to 44 years of age. Their 1. 3 million children under 10 years of age. Over 120,000 black children under one year of age, and, all of these, most of these, what have been enslaved people. Thanks to research put together by the guild institute, there are things that we can say. We know that few enslaved people lived until old age. Between 1830 and 1860, only 10 of enslaved people in north america were over 50 years old. Half of all enslaved babies died in the first year of life. That was twice the rate of white babies. The average birthrate of slave weight of slave infants was less than 5. 5 pounds. Slave children were tiny. Their average height cannot reach three feet until they were four years old. They were 5. 5
Most important slave conspiracies in american history. He spoke about it at the university of richmond 20 years ago and hes going to be interviewed about that book later today for television. Most of dr. Egertons work has been on the subject of slave resistance, colonization and abolitionism during the American Revolution and Early National period. You will find a partial list of his publications in your program. His work deals with the intersection of race and politics. His most recent books deal with the mid19th century. Years of meteors, steven douglas, Abraham Lincoln and the election that brought on the civil war. And the wars of reconstruction, the brief violent history of americas most progressive era. His talk today will draw mostly from that final book and the title of his talk today is black activism in the wars of reconstruction. Ladies and gentlemen, doug egerton. Thank you. Good morning. Nice to be back in richmo. I have already learned at least one important lesson this m
Theres places in the south where black local political involvement actually rises after 1877. What democrats are trying to do is carry those states electoral college. They dont care if theres a black assemblyman in this one district in louisiana. So for me, reconstruction, a, doesnt fail, its killed. Where it does stop, its murdered. And it doesnt stop every place. So for blacks in my new york, it is in fact a story of success. Does that mean all of americas racial problems are solved . Not a bit. Not anywhere. But those Voting Rights are not going to go away. Those integrated schools are not going to go away. The question i have for you is, i understand where youre coming from, these gentlemen had to have some supporters, i assume there were some whites. I got garrison and some of the others but you also indicated some folks here that a lot of us had not heard of so the corollary is are there some whites that were also part of this that we havent heard of that were working with them .