Reconstructed: Keep the Faith, Baby

<p>On June 17, 2015, a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charleston-church-shooting/dylann-roof-sentenced-death-charleston-church-massacre-n705376" target="_blank">white extremist</a> shot and killed nine Black people in the Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina as they gathered for a bible study group. </p><p>This wasn’t the first time <a href="https://motheremanuel.com/" target="_blank">Mother Emanuel</a> had been attacked. Church historian Elizabeth Alston tells Trymaine Lee, that in the 1820s, white people burned down Mother Emanuel in retaliation over a failed slave rebellion. For years, the congregation was forced to meet in secret. But through all the violence and backlash, the Black congregants relied on their faith, and during Reconstruction, they rebuilt. </p><p>Mother Emanuel’s history mirrors the story of Black America. Through the centuries, faith has helped Black people find freedom, community, and strength, even in the face of violence.</p><p>In episode three of ‘Reconstructed,’ Into America explores the legacy of faith through Reconstruction. Historian <a href="https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/bb2756" target="_blank">Kidada Williams</a> shares testimonies of the devastating violence and terrorism that white people inflicted upon their Black neighbors. And <a href="https://www.si.edu/vaccinesandus/dr-spencer-crew" target="_blank">Spencer Crew</a>, co-curator of the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s <a href="https://www.si.edu/exhibitions/make-good-promises-reconstruction-and-its-legacies:event-exhib-6538#:~:text=Make%20Good%20the%20Promises%3A%20Reconstruction%20and%20Its%20Legacies%20is%20a,images%2C%20and%2014%20media%20programs." target="_blank">exhibit</a> on Reconstruction, explains how faith and the church were vital to the survival of newly freed people. </p><p>This tradition of faith in the face of backlash holds true today. Trymaine talks with <a href="https://twitter.com/BreeNewsome" target="_blank">Bree Newsome Bass</a>, whose incr