Final Project- Digital Exhibit Prompt

Overview

The Reconstruction Era (18651877) was a moment when America reimagined freedom and citizenship and then violently turned away from those ideals. In this project, you will curate a digital exhibit discussion post demonstrating how the promises, betrayals, and struggles of Reconstruction continue to shape todays America. Your discussion post will be a hybrid assignment, blending the discussion forum and response journals to address all aspects of the prompt. Your post will include images, quotations, and analytical commentary, posted as a multimedia presentation on the discussion board.

Due Date

Sunday, February 8th at 11:59 PM

Extensions cannot be granted for this assignment.

Discussion Prompt

How do the struggles and dreams of Reconstruction reappear in the modern fight for liberation and justice? Draw on the assigned readings from this week, current events, and historical context to address the prompt.

Example prompts and a checklist are included at the bottom of this page.

Core Objectives

By completing this project, you will:

• Connect Reconstructions legacy to modern struggles for justice and equality
• Create a visually organized and intellectually grounded digital exhibit demonstrating the connections to the modern fight for liberation and justice
• Your exhibit should include headers and images

Required Readings

Historical Segment

You must include at least one , such as:

• (1865)
• (1865)
• (1865)
• (1881)
• (1865)
• The 13th, 14th, or 15th Amendments
• (Frederick Douglass)
• (1865)

All of these readings can be found in your

Contemporary Segment

Your exhibit must reference ideas from this weeks assigned readings:

• Nikole Hannah-Jones, Justice in The 1619 Project
• explores systemic inequality in the criminal justice system
• Richard Rothstein, Preface in The Color of Law
• explains how government policy created racial segregation
• Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation
• examines how racial capitalism and state violence shape modern Black movements

Project Format: Discussion Board Digital Exhibit

Your exhibit will be posted as a discussion board thread and will require peer responses as usual. It should include clearly labeled sections formatted as images with response journal entries for your analysis. Each response should be a minimum of 100 words.

Use bold headings for each section and embed at least five images (photos, artwork, historical documents, maps, or charts).

Structure of the Exhibit

1. Title & Opening Narrative

• Give your exhibit a compelling title (e.g., Freedom Denied: Reconstruction and the Fight for Citizenship).
• Write a short introduction (150200 words) explaining your central idea and why it matters today. This should include your thesis or guiding idea what unfinished work of Reconstruction your exhibit will highlight.

Example:

This exhibit examines how the 14th Amendments promise of citizenship remains contested today. By comparing Reconstruction debates about belonging with modern efforts to repeal birthright citizenship, I explore how Black freedom struggles shaped and continue to challenge Americas definition of citizenship.

2. Historical Segment (2 images/ sources)

This is where the primary sources and the Final project source provided in this weeks Reading List should be included.

This portion should include:

• 2-3 images, each with a 3-5 sentence caption
• Captions should explain what this image reveals about Reconstructions goals, hopes, and limitations.

Example topics:

• Freedmens Bureau schools and the right to education
• Black political leadership and voter suppression
• Land redistribution and 40 Acres and a Mule
• The Black Codes and criminalization of freedom

3. Contemporary Segment (2 images/sources)

Connect your Reconstruction theme to current events, policies, or movements. You must connect each image to this week’s readings using the response journal format: A direct quote from the reading you are referencing, a response code, and your 150-200-word response. Use at least one modern source (news article, photo, or infographic) to show continuity.

Examples:

• Citizenship: Connect the 14th Amendment to current debates about repealing birthright citizenship.
• Voting Rights: Link the Mississippi Plan of 1875 to modern voter suppression and gerrymandering.
• Housing: Use Rothsteins The Color of Law to compare postwar redlining to Reconstructions unfulfilled promise of land.
• Policing: Draw on Hannah-Jones and Taylor to connect Black Codes to mass incarceration and policing of Black protest.

4. Reflection & Sources

End your exhibit with a closing reflection (150200 words):

• What did you learn about Reconstructions ongoing influence?
• How does this history help you interpret todays social and political debates?
• What gives you hope or insight from this continuity?

Include a works cited list in MLA format at the bottom of your post.

Suggested Topics

1. Citizenship and Democracy

• Birthright Citizenship & the 14th Amendment: Compare Reconstruction debates on citizenship with Trump-era efforts to repeal birthright citizenship.
• Voting Rights & Voter Suppression: Trace the evolution from the 15th Amendment to modern voter ID laws and redistricting battles.
• Representation and Resistance: Compare the backlash to Black officeholders during Reconstruction to the vilification of contemporary Black political leaders.

2. Criminalization and Policing

• From Black Codes to mass incarceration how criminal law became a tool to control Black freedom. (Watch
• focused on the history of mass incarceration.
• Compare convict leasing and modern prison labor.
• Examine policing of Black protest, from Reconstruction militias to modern BLM crackdowns.

3. Land, Labor, and Housing

• Connect 40 acres and a mule to modern racial wealth gaps.
• Link Reconstructions failure of land redistribution to redlining and housing discrimination (The Color of Law).
• Examine environmental racism as a modern echo of Reconstructions economic exclusion.

4. Education and Knowledge as Liberation

• Compare the creation of Freedmens schools to modern debates over curriculum bans and African American studies.
• Explore education as a revolutionary act across eras.

5. Gender, Labor, and Community

• Trace Black womens activism from the washerwomens strikes to modern reproductive justice and labor movements.
• Explore how gendered labor struggles reveal broader fights for racial justice.

6. The Ongoing Overthrow

• Compare Reconstruction-era white supremacist violence to modern political and ideological backlash against racial justice movements.
• Examine the cultural memory wars over Reconstruction, the Civil War, and contemporary book bans or monument debates.

7. Optional Growth Reflection (10 Points)

• Provide a 300-400-word reflection that addresses the following:
• Provide specific examples of how this project has changed your understanding of racial inequality in America. What do you know now that you didn’t know before taking this course and/or completing this project?
• You may not use direct quotes in this portion, but you may paraphrase and use citations.

This portion is designed to allow you to reflect on your growth in the course and compare your previous knowledge of Emancipation to the new information you’ve gained through this project. You will not lose points for skipping this portion.

Exhibit Requirements Checklist

Introduction/ Main Argument

Historical Segment- 2 images or primary source visuals with captions, references to the primary sources, and in-text MLA citations

At least one Reconstruction-era primary source

Contemporary Segment- 2 images or contemporary source visuals (present)

References to The 1619 Project, The Color of Law, and From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation

1 additional credible source (news, journal, documentary, or government site)

Clear citations and a works-cited page

Reflection paragraph (150200 words)

(Optional) Growth Reflection (300-400 words)