When slavery ended, it was a massive deal for Black people. It was a fulfillment of decades of hopes, prayers, and prophecies and (to many) a clear sign of God intervening in human history for Black people. Following something as amazing as emancipation, Black people constantly wondered about the next step in God's plan for them. Professor Matthew Harper (author of The End of Days: African American Religion and Politics in the Age of Emancipation) and I discuss how this question and the answers Black people drew out of the Bible shaped their political debates and actions throughout Reconstruction.

Their first expectation was land, either a far-off Promised Land or redistribution of the land they previously worked like in the Year of Jubilee. And as Reconstruction fell to violence and Jim Crow, Black people continued to search within themselves and the Bible for God's next move. It is a story of terror and tragedy, but also one of great, enduring hope.

Music Credit

PeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)