Exhibition: Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow

GREAT BARRINGTON, MA—Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow, an exhibit at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, explores the Reconstruction era in America and the millions of formerly enslaved people who endeavored to claim their rightful place as equal citizens. The exhibit opens on Mar. 28 at the Hillman-Jackson Gallery, inside the Simon’s Rock Daniel Arts Center. It is free and open the public Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, Noon to 8:00 p.m. The exhibit is on view through Apr. 12.

Following the civil war, the country struggled to rebuild itself amid profound loss, destruction, and revolutionary social change. The Great Barrington activist W.E.B. Du Bois described this period as a "brief moment in the sun" for African Americans, when they could advance and achieve education, vote, and run for (and win) positions in public office.

The exhibit, which includes archival photographs and documents from the Du Bois Center at Great Barrington as well as an eight-poster exhibit from the New-York Historical Society, shows how formerly enslaved people battled Jim Crow racism and transformed the country.

The exhibit coincides with the national televised screening of Reconstruction: America After the Civil War. The documentary screens on PBS and is executive produced and hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The documentary features Eric Foner, a Pulitzer prize-winning historian, who gave the 2018 W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture at Simon’s Rock.

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(press release sent to WSBS from Bard College at Simon's Rock for online and on-air use)