SP Library to Host “Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow"

The Scotch Plains Public Library will host the New-York Historical Society on Monday, June 28 at 7 pm for a virtual presentation of “Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow.”

When slavery ended in 1865, a period of Reconstruction began, leading to such achievements as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. By 1868, all persons born in the United States were citizens and equal under the law. But efforts to create an interracial democracy were contested from the start. A harsh backlash ensued, ushering in a half century of the “separate but equal” age of Jim Crow.

Based on the New York Historical Society’s 2018-19 exhibition, Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow, this virtual presentation explores Black Americans’ struggle for equality under the law from 1865 through World War I. Learn about both Southern and Northern roles in this dark chapter of our history as well as Black New Yorkers’ organizing and community-building in the face of discrimination. Please note: This presentation will not be recorded.

Registration is required to receive the Zoom link for this program.

The registration form and information about the library’s entire month of programming, can be found at www.scotlib.org.