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Section 2: Building the Black Community: The Family Section 2: Building the Black Community: The Church Section 2: Building the Black Community: The School Section 2: Quest for Economic Autonomy and Equal Rights Section 2:  Memory and Mourning Section 2: Violence


"Burning a Freedman's Schoolhouse," Harper's Weekly, May 26, 1866.

"Burning a Freedman's Schoolhouse,"
Harper's Weekly, May 26, 1866.

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During three days of racial violence in Memphis in May, 1866, white mobs destroyed hundreds of structures in the black community, including a freedman's school.

At least forty-six blacks (most of them Union veterans) died and more than 70 were wounded. 5 black women were raped, and 12 churches and 4 schools were burned Two whites also died in the disturbance.

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Description of the Memphis Riots

Copyright 2003
A New Birth of Freedom: Reconstruction During the Civil War The Meaning of Freedom: Black and White Responses to Slavery From Free Labor to Slave Labor Rights and Power: The Politics of Reconstruction Introduction The Ending of Reconstruction Epilogue Additional Resources Credits for this Exhibit