Still Fighting Reconstruction

I think there are a number of problems with Rev. Barber’s interpretation of Reconstruction, but I can’t help but acknowledge the ways in which the post-Civil War period seems to be creeping into our discourse about a host of issues related to racial politics in recent years. The sesquicentennial of Reconstruction Era offers a number of opportunities for serious discourse about the long-term consequences of the war and the challenges associated with race that we are clearly still dealing with today. Let’s hope we take advantage of it.