Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow

by Henry Louis Gates Jr., Tonya Bolden

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. presents a journey through America's past and our nation's attempts at renewal in this look at the Civil War's conclusion, Reconstruction, and the rise of Jim Crow segregation.

This is a story about America during and after Reconstruction, one of history's most pivotal and misunderstood chapters. In a stirring account of emancipation, the struggle for citizenship and national reunion, and the advent of racial segregation, the renowned Harvard scholar delivers a book that is illuminating and timely. Real-life accounts drive the narrative, spanning the half century between the Civil War and Birth of a Nation. Here, you will come face-to-face with the people and events of Reconstruction's noble democratic experiment, its tragic undermining, and the drawing of a new "color line" in the long Jim Crow era that followed. In introducing young readers to them, and to the resiliency of the African American people at times of progress and betrayal, Professor Gates shares a history that remains vitally relevant today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle Grade, African American, Historical, Race, Social Justice

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 29, 2019

About the author

Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. is a Professor of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University and Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. He is well-known as a literary critic, an editor of literature, and a proponent of black literature and black cultural studies.

Reviews

[Taury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Sky Rising by Henry Louis Gates, Jr is a sad account of years past. Segregation is no longer a thing. We can all sit together and be friends, drink out of the same fountain, share the same bathroom. It is no longer illegal to be married to someone outside your race. Slavery is a thing of the past….
Or is it? We can turn on the news and see black men continue to be executed for the color of their skin. It is not only men but women too. Slavery continues, not the physical whips and chains. Most white people won’t move over for someone of a different race.
Have things really changed. Turn on the news
Fxck Racism. Fxck Hate. I don’t get it. I don’t suppose I ever will.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for Black History Month.

Here we are over 150 years later and the red states are STILL trying to prevent black Americans from voting.

After revisiting this chunk of history, I can see why the Mussolini of Mar-a-Lago has such an affinity for Andrew Johnson.** They're two of a kind. Both impeached. Both ignorant, incompetent lying racists. And both got to occupy the White House without properly winning an election for president. Johnson only got there because he was VP when Lincoln was assassinated. Donald only got there because he had illegal help from the Russians, as proven by the Mueller investigation.

**Yes, I am aware that Donald is also fond of Andrew Jackson. And yes, I do know the difference.

[Akoss · Rating 4 out of 5]

@Kidlitexchange #partner - I received a copy of this book from the Kidlitexchange network in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Releasing 1/29/19

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. takes us on a succinct but nonetheless powerful walk down history lane, from the beginning of the Civil War to the establishment of the NAACP.

Not a word feels extra in this non-fiction. Although I have always been aware of it, I’m still pained and humbled by how much Black people have sacrificed to earn rights that should have been given to them in the first place because they are humans.

Since this is geared toward kids, I appreciated the occasional thinly veiled sarcasm considering the seriousness and gravity of the book’s content.

Nothing that is happening in today’s America is new and I hope that by exposing more young ones to what had been (through books like this one), perhaps they won’t be so quick to walk down certain paths and allow History to be repeated.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other than the multitudes of names that Gates (and Bolden) share in this story of Reconstruction that feels overwhelming in light of the brevity of the book itself, they're necessary to telling the story in a way that it's a textbook and captures the interworkings of the political and social systems at the time.

The amount of images and historical ephemera (advertisements and posters, person-seeking classifieds and focused biographical paragraphs) make it real and eye-opening while being educational. Gates Jr. seeks and accomplishes to bring light to this tumultuous time period in American history, one that is often discussed but without all of the players shared.

It's a perfect start to more nonfiction about this time period for middle grade and YA audiences.

[Kym Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow by Louis Henry Gates, Jr. with author Tonya Bolden is truly a compelling book telling the unfiltered historical accounts and truths about Reconstruction in the United States. This book is a must read as it sheds light on the hope African Americans had in this country after the Emancipation Proclamation and the deception by politicians that flipped their hopes and dreams upside down.

The PBS series that Louis Henry Gates, Jr narrates on Reconstruction is a complementary visual 'must-see' to explore and understand the highs of expectations African Americans had, to nosediving into the lowest mockery of a system that was brutal with unfathomable broken promises, heartache, and tragedy. This is a great read!

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional introduction to the reconstruction and jim crow eras for young people and everyone else too...written beautifully by the Director for African and African American studies at Harvard University.

[Karen Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why 5 stars?

This is an important nonfiction book about reconstruction of the U.S. after the Civil War - a piece of history too often neglected. It is accessible to most middle/high school readers by the way it is broken up by topics. It includes plenty of photographs, and quotations, and other source document information. And, it's a compelling and reads much like a novel - putting the factual information together in a way that reads like story.

Additionally, I believe it will help white kids better understand the struggles blacks went through even after being "freed," and I think it could give black kids not only a better understanding of their own heritage, but also a sense of pride in the strength and resilience of their ancestors.

(A ranty aside: The following things have been bothering me for a long time. If you recognized yourself here – well, you can do better. First – it bothers me when people here rate books with fewer stars because they 1) don’t prefer the genre, or 2) didn’t realize what genre it is. Those are not the fault of the book, nor an indication of how good the book is—it’s a personal preference and/or error. Geez. As for people rating thousands of books each year, can I just tell you that I doubt it and I’m not impressed. And, if you did “read” them, you certainly didn’t read them carefully. And, those of you who simply copy the information from the book jacket or publisher blurbs. Really? It’s not helpful, and I feel embarrassed for you.)

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

My copy is only the first couple of chapters, but it's already very informative. There so much history that just gets glossed over, with only the convenient parts taught. It's important to learn these things, and I have a long way to go.

[Peyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Sky Rising is one of the most impactful novels I have read in a long time. With its uncensored telling of black history from the Civil War Era to Jim Crow, I learned so much. I was introduced to so many prominent black figures I was never taught about and wouldn’t have learned about unless I decided to pick up this book!

I encourage everybody to pick up this book, especially if reading nonfiction is a bit daunting. This book is geared towards a younger audience, but doesn’t sugarcoat anything. It’s a great step towards educating yourself on black history.

[Emily]

As this is a non fiction on the black history from slavery to the civil rights movement in America I have learnt a lot listening to this audiobook especially in how this history has fuelled the rage and passion of the BLM movement

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, and broad-sweeping. I'm just not sure about the format, and that might be because I listened to it instead of read it. It felt very fact and date heavy, then veered into personal stories, then back to facts. At times I didn't know which decade I was in.
Not sure it hit the mark for its intended young adult audience.
But I did learn a lot.

[Pernille Ripp · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information here is incredible and it is a book everyone should read, however, it is hard to follow what is shared, which is such a shame. There seems to be a confusing narrative thread running through it.

[Taneka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of the information I already knew, but for the info that was new to me, I want to go through the reference/bibliography page and read the originals.

[Angela Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. I'm ashamed I didn't know a lot of the history of reconstruction after the Civil War. We must be better.

[Heather Rosales · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little hard to follow at times. Good information not the best writing.

[Spencer Lund · Rating 4 out of 5]

An introduction to an unexplored aspect of American History: the blink-and-you-missed-it era of reconstruction after the American Civil War. The rest of this review is for teachers.

It’s a quick read but a challenging enough Lexile level (1200L) you should front-load some history before using passages with most middle-school students.

There are a lot of quotations from primary sources, which can break up the narrative elements. It’s not a popcorn read; However, it so quickly jumps subjects, there are a ton of valuable “chunks” of nonfiction that can help with learning to read informational texts while also exposing students to history they don’t get much of, unless there are copies of the 1619 Project lying around the room.

The book also showcases the various ways you can source something. That’s not particularly engrossing for a 13-year-old, but it’s important if you’re trying to teach them how to properly cite sources within a paper. (Quotation marks almost always come after the punctuation in America).

No single component of this time period is explored with a lot of depth, despite all the excellent research. Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, W.E.B Du Bois, the divide with Booker T. Washington’s influential Tuskegee Institute, all get mentions and historical context. But lesser-knowns do, too — Benjamin “pap” Singleton and his move to Kansas, Mississippi congressman John R. Lynch, the very real influx of black representation before the white (Democrat and Republican alike) reign of terror began.

But for younger high school students, it’s a good jumping off point if you’re looking for first-hand accounts of the perseverance of African-Americans in the 1870s-1900s. Lots of sourcing you can explore further.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I devour Black Lives Matter books - I saw this non-fiction book on display and knew I needed to read it to be better informed about the Reconstruction (or lack of) and Jim Crow laws. An excellent middle grades/YA historical account by Prof Henry Louis Gates Jr - that simplified this historic time line into understandable language that reflects a black person's viewpoint rather than from so many textbooks and such that have only given the white person's perspective.

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author gives the reader a varied and in-depth look at the Reconstruction and Jim Crow Segregation era of US history. Packed with pictures, primary source quotes, and about 16 source pages for the reader to find further information, this book allows any reader (student or adult) an opportunity to learn more about this shocking era of American history.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a Scholastic for middle school students but it is a good foundation for anyone who wants to understand the details of the Reconstruction and how it was dismantled into the Jim Crow South.

[Magen - Inquiring Professional Dog Trainer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be a bit to shallow of a look for me, but it's an ideal for step for a elementary or middle grade reader.

[Mariah Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would fit in nicely alongside AO Year 10.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Oh you freed us! You emancipated us! I thank you for it. But under what circumstances did you emancipate us? Undder what circumstances have we obtained our freedom? Sir, ours is the most extraordinary case of any people ever emancipated on the globe. I sometimes wonder that we still exist as a people in this country; that we have not been swept out of existence, with nothing left to show that we ever existed…(Frederick Douglass at the Republican National Convention 1876) (Pg. 128)

My second Five Star read of the year!!! Yes I am hard but I learned so much it was amazing..--whoa my favorite Frederick Douglass spoke so powerfully…Okay so picked up this gorgeous hardcover book from the National Book Festival and agh couldn’t stand in that horrendous line for the amazing Henry Louis Gates Jr. to sign it but did go to the Book Sales line to buy it because it was too intriguing to pass up..the haunting eyes of the gorgeous black boy on the cover draws you in on first glance but then the title and the promise of expounding on this interesting and misunderstood time of Reconstruction and Jim Crow had me so excited..put in the fact that the 8th grade history teacher is starting on that unit first I KNEW I had to read it and give it to her to help promote to our scholars..I love history and he is a heavy hitter that I watch whenever he is on PBS and have learned so much from..this book starts off jampacked with names, dates and this awesome history lesson on what the end of slavery meant..

“Writing deep into the Jim Crow era that followed, the preeminent and pioneering black intellectual W.E.B. DuBois wrote in his history Black Reconstruction that, during those transformative years of hope, struggle, and eventual betrayal, “the slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.” (Preface)

I learned soooo much so let me preface this by saying this will be a long review…..

Lets start with what I got in the opening pages on Fort Monroe in Hampton Virginia where my father retired and served as the site where General Butler decided to keep three enslaved men instead of turning them in according to the Fugitive Slave Act and became Freedom’s Fortress for whole families of plantations looking for asylum and a new place to be..
“For black people in the area, Fort Monroe became “Freedom’s Fortress” and within days of Butler’s decision nearly fifty had made a mad dash there.” (Pg. 11)
The opening of Fort Monroe as a place where you can work and not be taken back to your owner made it very attractive and all over blacks fled their plantations to other Union lines…this book is full of pictures, drawings, and even a timeline of the six events that led to the start of the Civil War:
1. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) where proslavery and antislavery settlers had issues determining Kansas’s status as slaveholding state which eventually ended with Kansas entering the Union as a free state in 1861
2. The Dred Scott decision (1857) where an enslaved man crossed state lines for work and went all the way up to the Supreme Court where it was ruled that whether enslaved or free, blacks were not considered citizens of the United States
3. John Brown’s Raid (1859) here the white abolitionist led a raid on a federal arsenal in Harper’s Ferry Virginia to start an uprising to end slavery until he was caught and hung.
4. Lincoln’s election to Presidency (1860) where the underdog Republican Lincoln won on his platform of opposing slavery into the Western territories like most of the other Republicans who hated the wealthy Southern landowners and wanted more white farmers on the land.
5. South Carolina’s Succession (1860) when the state decided that they wanted to form a Confederacy of Slaveholding States along with the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In 1861 they formed the Confederate States of America.
6. Attack on Fort Sumter South Carolina (1861) when Confederate held cannons bombarded the Union-held Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina and Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia joining the Confederacy next.
This concise timeline was so informative to the whole book and in the next chapter when he goes into Men of Color taking up arms in the war he goes into my favorite Frederick Douglass who was as always extremely vocal in why blacks should be allowed to fight..he went so hard that he became a recruiter even enlisting his own two sons-his oldest in the first official black regiment the 54th Massachusetts Infantry and his youngest also while his middle son was a recruiter also..wow
Gates gives staggering statistics like the sheer number of people affected—about 10 percent of the nation’s population, 90 percent of the black population and about one third of the population of the South were “initially freed by flight, by legislation, and by a presidential proclamation and ultimately the Thirteenth amendment of the Constitution” (Pg. 33) and then what? What happens to these newly freed people who can’t hide because of their skin and are resented and feared—the setting of the stage for this new era of Reconstruction was beautifully set…
As the war ended and President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation he also decreed that all soldiers who swore allegiance back to the Union would be pardoned except for high ranking officers of the Confederacy and those who abused etc and also the Ten Percent plan that said if ten percent of a Confederate state’s white men eligible to vote before the war’s end agreed to his terms they could create their own government while nudging them to accept the terms of permanent freedom for the formerly enslaved blacks. Of course not everyone was with this plan and while the Union general Sherman made his triumphant march through the South with thousands of blacks joining them he also made the infamous decree of giving every enslaved black person roughly 40 acres of land in coastal South Carolina, Florida and Georgia and though there was no mules at first eventually there were some…but alas this never came to fruition for all blacks
I loved the quote he included from Garrison Frazier, a fascinating man born a slave who spoke on behalf of black communities at the time—
“Slavery is, receiving by irresistible power to work of another man, and not by his consent” (Pg. 48)
Frazier also passionately spoke on how blacks could best take care of themselves and maintain their freedom would be by owning and having land, land they know and paid for with their blood and sweat to places where they could be self-sufficient and live out from under the shadow of their former owners. Frazier’s stance was that black people should live apart from whites as there is a prejudice there that would take years to get over—boy was he right.
The adoption of the Freedman’s Bureau to get blacks the rights and freedoms they deserved caused some change with blacks coming into power—again one of Frederick Douglass’s sons was one of the first black clerks in Washington DC with the goals of education, food, shelter, clothing, hospitals and protection to be given to every formerly enslaved..it was right at this time of brightness in black freedom and independence..Lincoln is assassinated and former slaveholder born poor vice president Andrew Jackson becomes president and things began to change..Jackson was not really about black independence or equality and some have characterized him as a white supremacist with one of his most devastating acts being to appoint the Freedman Bureau as the ones to deliver the news that he was revoking the distribution of the 40 acres of land and evict the laborers who finally had their own. Under Jackson states like South Carolina especially instituted the Black Codes that further kept blacks down by forcing them to work for themselves but procure costly licenses and sign yearly contracts and those without jailed effectively dodging the 13th Amendment but still keeping blacks subservient and unable to stand on their own..blacks couldn’t own guns or marry outside of their race in places like Misssissippi which sadly also was the last to officially ratify the 13th amendment abolishing slavery which astonishingly didn’t come until 2013..
Black people did all they could to be heard..our icon Frederick Douglass was one who went to the White House and met with President Johnson to urge him to allow blacks the right to vote and on the heels of the petitions and protests Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 declaring people born on American soil are deemed citizens only nine short years after the Dread Scott decision where it was said that black people could not and never would be.
And this prompted the violence..the burnings and murders, the get back for these people who worked for them having any type of power..it was unsuccessful and it is estimated that under the congressional Reconstruction some two thousand black men were elected or appointed to public office with sixteen in the US Congress..I also liked the fact that Andrew Johnson was also the first president impeached for all his flip flopping destructive tactics..
So after Johnson’s backwards politics and sabotage another Republican Ulysses S. Grant is elected and under him comes the force acts which strictly prohibit voter suppression based on race and allows blacks to once again enroll for positions of power in local government. Grant believed in the power of everyone voting and probably because his election was also the first one blacks came out in large numbers for—and at this time blacks voted strictly Republican along with some Whites despite a large influx of this white reign of terror with white supremacy and violence at an all-time high..
It is against this backdrop comes the 1876 presidential election and arguably the end of Reconstruction as the Republicans seem to change their tune on how they want to handle the nationwide “problem” of Reconstruction and the treatment of the newly emancipated class of laborers and voices they want to use. Despite the tension within the party the Republicans split with the wrong half winning the election and Rutherford B. Hayes becoming president leading the black population to the sides of the Democratic party and moves in droves to Kansas and out West for better treatment. Organizations like the Colonization Council fought for rights for blacks who found it unbearable to live among Whites with talks of relocating to Liberia in West Africa with a famous opponent being none other than the infamous Douglass who was living well in Anacostia, Washington DC.—he thought blacks belonged in the South where they had worked and lived for so long and so some left the South and some stayed on to become sharecroppers on the same plantations they were slaves with little to nothing left to show from these crooked agreements where they were on the losing end. Southern states never respected the black population and in states like Mississippi where blacks were nearly 60 percent of the population they were frozen out of voting by poll taxes, literacy tests and plain old violent mob tactics of lynching and burning homes.
Advocates and journalists like the outspoken Ida B. Wells spoke out about the lynchings and the unfair treatment even when it was on display for the world as African Americas were excluded from displaying their contributions and inventions at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. Wells was also one of the first voices to scream out about the misuse of prisoners, mostly black as cheap labor and how by arresting them you avoid the slavery clause.
After the death of the great Frederick Douglass a new voice of Booker T. Washington, also born in slavery emerged and he agreed with Douglass on blacks staying put and doing the best with what they know---“No people can prosper till it learns there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem” (Booker T. Washington) (Pg. 155) as he eloquently stated in a speech widely known as the Atlanta Compromise..it was after that speech that the “Separate but Equal” doctrine came about and the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson which upheld racial segregation and reinforced Jim Crow rule and the unfair treatment of black people because separate but equal was rarely fair and left a permanent stamp of inferiority on all persons of color.
As Jim Crow went on African Americans still found a way to thrive by opening schools, and making their own money as with Mary Church Terrell who I never knew spoke fluent Italian, French and German and W.E.B. DuBois who earned the first PhD from Harvard University in 1895 and put together the African American exhibit for the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris where he won a gold medal for showing honest and powerful images of intelligent and prosperous African Americans in contrast to the shuffling and silly Jim Crow blackface they are represented by.
I also learned so much about the Niagara Movement, a group of prominent black men who met to discuss the progress of a black race and how to combat Jim Crow injustices—this Niagara Movement splintered off to become the NAACP and from there history meets the present..
I loved how this book makes you think of all the factors and hinderances to what makes us free and how the situation of ending slavery was approached by the nation. I cant recommend this one enough as it was so enlightening and empowering, so many people to learn more about, so many dates and times to hold in your head and your heart..Loved it.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love history and this is a well documented explanation of the issues building up to the Civil War and the causes of why the Reconstruction failed so miserably.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a companion book to the PBS documentary that Henry Louis Gates has done it’s very informative.

As a straight read I worry the reader may get lost in all the information provider although the history of Reconstruction is a part of history Americans need to read more about.

I will definitely slip it to students this summer who need a nonfiction book over 100 pages

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, so dull.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 240 pages. NON-FICTION. Focus (Scholastic), 2019. $20.

Content: Language: PG (3 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13.

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

After the Civil War, the white South decided to keep their ideologies although they had lost the war. Directly after the war, African Americans were excited to live freely, and they quickly involved themselves in their communities through leadership and counsels. In response, the racist Southerners enacted laws of segregation and exemption that suppressed the African Americans’ freedom. The strength, courage and hope of those who led are highlighted throughout this book.

For all of the Civil War books out there, this is unique and highlights the perspective of African Americans and the Reconstruction time period. The chronology of events is covered in short summaries and runs from the end of slavery through Reconstruction and on to the Jim Crow time period. This would be great to use in a history class, even if used in parts, for that often- rushed teaching of Reconstruction. I love reading a new perspective and Gates does an amazing job pulling the reader in and celebrating African Americans fight for freedom. The content includes mentioning lynching’s, rape, beatings and murders.

Reviewer, C. Peterson
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2020...

[Jacob Schall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this book was written for students at least a decade my junior, I learned a lot from it about a period of American history that is often forgotten or misinterpreted

[morninglightmama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, this book is intended for teen readers, but as I was educated in the U.S. in the 20th century, my detailed knowledge of the Reconstruction era is sadly limited. I learned more from reading this YA nonfiction book than I'm proud to admit, and I was sent it for review, so it was a double win. This book gives adolescent readers more insight into the systemic injustice that prevailed in the aftermath of the Civil War and will hopefully push readers to ask questions and seek even more context.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
So much information that I honestly didn’t know. A fascinating read.

While the information was so good and the pictures were excellent, it did not seem to be as accessible for a middle grade audience (its target), which is why I would knock it down from 5 stars.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty expansive for what's meant to be an overview for teen readers. Excellent audio performance; I was riveted the whole way through. There is SO MUCH we (White people) didn't learn about in school. This is an accessible and easy history book; everyone should read (or listen to) it.