Open Letter

An Open Letter on the Need to Teach the Reconstruction Era

Open Letter to School Districts to Teach Reconstruction Era

This letter has been signed by more than 200 scholars of U.S. history. It can be presented to school districts by teachers, scholars, parents, students, and other concerned community members. We will post the names of school districts that resolve to take action.

We, the undersigned scholars of U.S. history, urge school districts to devote more time and resources to the teaching of the Reconstruction era in upper elementary, middle, and high school U.S. history and civics courses.

Reconstruction is full of stories that can help us see the possibility of a future defined by racial equity. However, too often the story of this grand experiment in interracial democracy is skipped or rushed through in curricula and classrooms. And in the scant coverage it receives, the possibilities and achievements of this era are overshadowed and the violent white supremacist backlash is placed in isolation and on center stage.

It is for these reasons that we ask school district administrators, principals, school boards, curriculum coordinators, teachers, and teacher unions to resolve to take action. Here are a few examples of ways that school districts can ensure that students learn from the history of the Reconstruction era:

  • Assess how much time is currently devoted to the Reconstruction era in your school district and make a plan to increase it.

  • Critically review the narrative in the district’s textbooks and curricula about Reconstruction to determine if it focuses on the famous leaders and backlash or if it also highlights the bottom-up history and the era’s social and political successes. Make a plan to shift to more of the grassroots history.

  • Increase district support and resources for teaching the Reconstruction era in U.S. history and in social studies with professional development, books, films, and funds for field experiences.

  • Expand the time devoted to the Reconstruction era and the Reconstruction Amendments in the social studies, and not just at the high school level.

There are free resources available to schools to teach about Reconstruction from the Zinn Education Project, Facing History and Ourselves, the National Park Service, PBS, and more. Let us know what actions you take so that we can publicly acknowledge your school district’s commitment.

Sincerely,

  1. Catherine Adams, Claflin University

  2. Nicholas J. Aieta, Westfield State University

  3. Shawn Leigh Alexander, University of Kansas

  4. Abdul Alkalimat, University of Illinois

  5. Derrick P. Alridge, University of Virginia

  6. Carol Anderson, Emory University

  7. Thomas Andrews, University of Colorado Boulder

  8. Christian G. Appy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  9. Chris Myers Asch, Colby College

  10. Curtis Austin, Arizona State University

  11. Joseph Bagley, Georgia State University

  12. Bruce E. Baker, Newcastle University

  13. Davarian L. Baldwin, Trinity College

  14. Jared Ball, Morgan State University

  15. Simon Balto, The University of Iowa

  16. David Barber, University of Tennessee at Martin

  17. Alice L. Baumgartner, University of Southern California

  18. Kabria Baumgartner, University of New Hampshire

  19. Mario Beatty, Howard University

  20. Justin Behrend, SUNY Geneseo

  21. Kathleen Belew, Northwestern University

  22. Richard Benson, University of Pittsburgh

  23. Dan Berger, University of Washington, Bothell

  24. Iver Bernstein, Washington University in St. Louis

  25. Stephen A. Berrey, University of Michigan

  26. Tithi Bhattacharya, Purdue University

  27. Derek W. Black, University of South Carolina

  28. Richard Blackett, Vanderbilt University, Emeritus

  29. Keisha N. Blain, University of Pittsburgh

  30. William A. Blair, Penn State, Emeritus

  31. Eladio Bobadilla, University of Pittsburgh

  32. Christopher Bonner, University of Maryland, College Park

  33. Taylor Branch, author

  34. Allyson Brantley, University of La Verne

  35. Brandi Brimmer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  36. Nancy K. Bristow, University of Puget Sound

  37. Joshua Brown, City University of New York, Emeritus

  38. David Busch, Case Western Reserve University

  39. Say Burgin, Dickinson College

  40. Orville Vernon Burton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  41. J. Michael Butler, Flagler College

  42. Kia Lilly Caldwell, UNC-Chapel Hill

  43. Greg Carr, Howard University

  44. Jim Casey, Princeton University

  45. Daphne R. Chamberlain, Tougaloo College

  46. Marcia Chatelain, Georgetown University

  47. Christine Clark, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

  48. Christy Clark-Pujara, University of Wisconsin-Madison

  49. Robert Cohen, NYU Steinhardt

  50. Peter Cole, Western Illinois University

  51. Christy S. Coleman, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

  52. Dierdre Cooper Owens, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

  53. Matthew Countryman, University of Michigan

  54. Karen L. Cox, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

  55. Emilye Crosby, SUNY Geneseo

  56. Diana D'Amico Pawlewicz, University of North Dakota

  57. Robert Dannin, independent scholar

  58. Joshua Davis, University of Baltimore

  59. Kelley Fanto Deetz, University of California, Berkeley

  60. Catherine J. Denial, Knox College

  61. Michael Dennis, Acadia University

  62. Ajamu A. Dillahunt, Michigan State University, PhD Student

  63. Rebecca Dixon, Tennessee State University

  64. L. Mara Dodge, Westfield State University

  65. Adam H Domby, Auburn University

  66. Gregory P. Downs, University of California, Davis

  67. Jim Downs, Gettysburg College

  68. Peter Dreier, Occidental College

  69. Kim Dulaney, Chicago State University

  70. Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Rutgers University

  71. Natanya Duncan, Pennsylvania State University and Lehigh University

  72. Taulby H. Edmondson, Virginia Tech

  73. Ansley T. Erickson, Teachers College, Columbia University

  74. Ashley Farmer, University of Texas-Austin

  75. Andrew Feffer, Union College

  76. Crystal N. Feimster, Yale University

  77. Johanna Fernandez, Baruch College, CUNY

  78. Eileen Findlay, American University

  79. Jerise Fogel, Montclair State University

  80. Eric Foner, Columbia University, Emeritus

  81. P. Gabrielle Foreman, Penn State University

  82. Robert Forrant, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

  83. Catherine Fosl, University of Louisville

  84. Signe Fourmy, University of Texas at Austin

  85. Nishani Frazier, University of Kansas

  86. Laura E. Free, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

  87. David M. P. Freund, University of Maryland, College Park

  88. Shannon Frystak, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

  89. Kevin Gannon, Grand View University

  90. Judith Giesberg, Villanova University

  91. Irene Gendzier, Boston University, Emeritus

  92. Lawrence Goldstone, independent scholar

  93. Van E. Gosse, Franklin & Marshall

  94. Francis Gourrier, Kenyon College

  95. Walter D. Greason, Macalester College

  96. Hilary N. Green, University of Alabama

  97. Caroline Grego, Queens University of Charlotte

  98. Frank Andre Guridy, Columbia University

  99. Hannah Gurman, New York University

  100. Tona Hangen, Worcester State University

  101. Steven Hahn, New York University

  102. Jon N. Hale, University of South Carolina

  103. Dennis Patrick Halpin, Virginia Tech

  104. Rachel E. Harding, University of Colorado, Veterans of Hope Project

  105. Claudrena N. Harold, University of Virginia

  106. LaShawn D. Harris, Michigan State University

  107. Leslie M. Harris, Northwestern University

  108. Wesley Hogan, Duke University

  109. Woody Holton, University of South Carolina

  110. Natalie Hopkinson, Howard University

  111. Gerald Horne, University of Houston

  112. William Horne, Villanova University

  113. Tera W. Hunter, Princeton University

  114. Karl Jacoby, Columbia University

  115. Kellie Carter Jackson, Wellesley College

  116. Lawrence Jackson, Johns Hopkins University

  117. Ramon Jackson, South Carolina Department of Archives and History

  118. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, The Ohio State University

  119. Gaye Theresa Johnson, University of California at Los Angeles

  120. Ida E. Jones, Morgan State

  121. Jonathan S. Jones, Virginia Military Institute

  122. Martha Suzanne Jones, Johns Hopkins University

  123. Peniel E. Joseph, University of Texas at Austin

  124. Nick Juravich, University of Massachusetts, Boston

  125. Aaron Katz, University of Washington, Seattle

  126. Judith S. Kaufman, Hofstra University

  127. Julie Keiffer-Lewis, De Anza College

  128. Robin D. G. Kelley, UCLA

  129. Ibram X. Kendi, Boston University

  130. Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie, Howard University

  131. Barclay T. Key, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

  132. Kwasi Konadu, Colgate University

  133. J. Morgan Kousser, Caltech

  134. Dale Kretz, independent scholar

  135. Chenjerai Kumanyika, Rutgers University, New Brunswick

  136. Peter Kuznick, American University

  137. Louis M. Kyriakoudes, Middle Tennessee State University

  138. Adam Laats, Binghamton University (SUNY)

  139. Stephanie M. Lampkin, Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage

  140. Ashleigh Lawrence, University of Colorado Boulder

  141. Talitha LeFlouria, University of Virginia

  142. Adriane Lentz-Smith, Duke University

  143. Elizabeth D. Leonard, Colby College, Emeritus

  144. Kevin Levin, independent scholar

  145. Alex Lichtenstein, Indiana University Bloomington

  146. Jeffrey L. Littlejohn, Sam Houston State University

  147. Samuel Livingston, Morehouse College

  148. Gretchen Long, Williams College

  149. James W. Loewen, Catholic University of America (In memoriam.)

  150. Robert Luckett, Jackson State University

  151. Clarence Lusane, Howard University

  152. Nancy MacLean, Duke University

  153. Norman Markowitz, Rutgers University, New Brunswick

  154. Bayley J. Marquez, University of Maryland, College Park

  155. Lindsay Stallones Marshall, University of Oklahoma

  156. Christopher Martell, University of Massachusetts Boston

  157. Kate Masur, Northwestern University

  158. Timothy Patrick McCarthy, Harvard University

  159. Jillean McCommons, University of Kentucky, PhD Student

  160. Austin McCoy, West Virginia University

  161. W. Caleb McDaniel, Rice University

  162. Erik S. McDuffie, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  163. Charles McKinney, Rhodes College

  164. Keri Leigh Merritt, independent scholar

  165. Nancy Raquel Mirabal, University of Maryland, College Park

  166. Carl Mirra, Adelphi University

  167. Brian Mitchell, University of Arkansas Little Rock

  168. Koritha Mitchell, The Ohio State University

  169. Aldon Morris, American Sociological Association

  170. Brent Morris, Clemson University

  171. Guy Emerson Mount, Wake Forest University

  172. William Mountz, Missouri Southern State University

  173. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Harvard Kennedy School

  174. G. Derek Musgrove, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

  175. Megan Kate Nelson, historian and writer, Lincoln, Massachusetts

  176. Scott Reynolds Nelson, University of Georgia

  177. Jeremy Nesoff, Facing History and Ourselves

  178. Marcus P. Nevius, University of Rhode Island

  179. Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander, Norfolk State University

  180. Rebecca R. Noel, Plymouth State University

  181. Jody Noll, Georgia State University

  182. Arlisha R. Norwood, Baruch College

  183. Margo Okazawa-Rey, San Francisco State University, Emeritus

  184. Paul Ortiz, University of Florida

  185. Tyler D. Parry, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

  186. Charles M. Payne, Rutgers University Newark

  187. Jeffrey B. Perry, independent scholar

  188. Charles Postel, San Francisco State University

  189. Margaret Power, Illinois Institute of Technology

  190. Bradley Proctor, The Evergreen State College

  191. Ray Raphael, Journal of the American Revolution

  192. Benjamin Railton, Fitchburg State University

  193. Josiah Rector, University of Houston

  194. Marcus Rediker, University of Pittsburgh

  195. Rachel B. Reinhard, UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project

  196. J. T. Roane, Arizona State University

  197. Alaina E. Roberts, University of Pittsburgh

  198. Ian Rocksborough-Smith, University of the Fraser Valley

  199. David Roediger, University of Kansas

  200. Dylan Rodríguez, University of California, Riverside

  201. Hannah Rosen, William & Mary

  202. Adam Rothman, Georgetown University

  203. Joshua D. Rothman, University of Alabama

  204. Mark Charles Roudané, independent scholar

  205. Leslie Rowland, University of Maryland

  206. Calvin Schermerhorn, Arizona State University

  207. Jack Schneider, University of Massachusetts Lowell

  208. Debra Schultz, Kingsborough Community College, CUNY

  209. Kathryn Schumaker, University of Oklahoma

  210. Leslie A. Schwalm, University of Iowa

  211. Campbell F. Scribner, University of Maryland, College Park

  212. David Silkenat, University of Edinburgh

  213. Bryant Simon, Temple University

  214. Alan Singer, Hofstra University

  215. Manisha Sinha, University of Connecticut

  216. Clint Smith, New America

  217. J. Douglas Smith, independent scholar

  218. Robyn C. Spencer, Lehman College, CUNY

  219. Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative

  220. William Sturkey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  221. James L. Swarts, SUNY Geneseo, Emeritus

  222. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Princeton University

  223. Quintard Taylor, University of Washington, Emeritus

  224. Jeanne Theoharis, Brooklyn College

  225. Heather Ann Thompson, University of Michigan

  226. Sheneese Thompson, Bowie State University

  227. Akinyele Umoja, Georgia State University

  228. Shannon Vance, East Carolina University

  229. Michael Vorenberg, Brown University

  230. Michael Wade, Appalachian State University

  231. Kevin Waite, Durham University

  232. Corey D. B. Walker, University of Richmond

  233. Peter Wallenstein, Virginia Tech

  234. Valethia Watkins, Howard University

  235. Jill Watts, California State University San Marcos

  236. Stephen A. West, Catholic University of America

  237. Laura Wexler, Yale University

  238. Craig Steven Wilder, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  239. Isabel Wilkerson, author

  240. Chad Williams, Brandeis University

  241. David Williams, Valdosta State University, Emeritus

  242. Kidada E. Williams, Wayne State University

  243. Learotha Williams Jr., Tennessee State University

  244. Mason B. Williams, Williams College

  245. Naomi R Williams, Rutgers University

  246. Shannen Dee Williams, Villanova University

  247. Yohuru Williams, University of St. Thomas, Minnesota

  248. Nan Elizabeth Woodruff, Pennsylvania State University

  249. Joshua K. Wright, Trinity Washington University

  250. Donald Yacovone, Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, Harvard University

  251. Thomas Zimmer, Georgetown University

    Organizations listed for identification purposes only.

Scholars of U.S. history: To add your name to the list of signers, write to zep@zinnedproject.org