1. Tad Desai
Vikram Biswas

2. During the Reconstruction period, African-
Americans were granted newfound freedoms, but
were forced to fend for themselves in applying
those freedoms. Through the process of battling
white oppression, African-Americans
revolutionized their own society, politically,
socially, and economically

3. To newly freed slaves, education was crucial to
truly having freedom and pride, as it would give
them the same opportunities that whites had, but
it also provided an entrance point for aspiring
freedmen politicians that tied together newly
formed communities.

4.  Education: Backbone of African-
American society.

5.  African-American communities aggregated
around schools.

6. Provided African-Americans with same
opportunities

7. First stepping stone for
politics