‘“ Reconstruction’
— Yesterday
and Today”
One hundred tw enty years ago,
Frederick Douglass, the great black
orator and leader, said in a speech that “
... The ground which a colored man oc
cupies in this country is. every inch of it.
sternly disputed .** Can anyone deny that
this is still true today' Have we
can we
leam anything from the past’ The
National BLACK MONITOR thinks so
Thus, our theme for ¡974 - "Recon
struction - Yesterday and Today ”
Our purpose is to examine the First
Reconstruction E ra. which we consider
began with the Kansas-Nebraska Act of
1854 and ended in 1883 This was the year
the Supreme Court declared the Civil
Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional We will
then compare these years with the Second
Reconstruction E ra which we at the
MONITOR consider the years beginning
with the Supreme
Court decision on
school desegregation in 1964 and may run
to the early 1980’s
In dang this, we hope to provide our
readers with ideas and information that
will aid them in dealing seriously with the
present and future struggle for black
survival, black liberation and black self
development
for. we at the National
BLACK M O N IT O R ask. ‘ How can
Am enta survive and grow to the nchness
of its potential if all people in America are
not free productive and treated with fair
Play’ "
This approach is in keeping with our on
gang aim to monitor the actions of all in
regard to black Americans - past and
present This will enable us to provide
information to protect ourselves and all
others in America from further repressive
action by many in the larger community
Additionally, it will help us to assure our
freedom, to be productive in an unfettered
way. and to be treated fairly 'or equitably)
in light of our unique histone situation in
America
(C o n tin u e d on Page 6)
N ational Black M o n ito r
A p ril 1974