American Experience; Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory; Interview with Bobby L. Lovett, Historian

this is the soil that's because it is what does the sound like it and so warm and destroying awaiting sixty five a course toward the ends and the confederate soldiers are coming home and they're pretty and that it may have been devastated by the loss of the war psychologically as well as physically some towns and much of the infrastructure of our infrastructure of the south's is in ruins at the same time man many of the slaves have become fugitives have left their plantations and farms and they haven't gotten to town in droves and some towns like nashville the population of blacks increases threefold and

memphis for example increases four fold association at the end of many of the slaves and become fugitives migrating into the towns and the cities for example nashville's population of blacks increases threefold enough as they become a majority of the population by eating sixty five the agricultural industry has been disrupted production is down as a result of the civil war african americans are jubilant

because the war has been won by the north and they didn't begin celebrations in many towns and cities and epic specially please because it was the african american regiment who were allowed to force occupied petersburg and richmond and they really they have a great sense of and to play in the outcome has been reissued african americans were jubilant at the end of the war african american regiment in the army at the james had been permitted to be the first union troops to occupy petersburg and richmond and this is intel's african

american inhabitants star of celebrations especially the july fourth celebration of making sixty five at the end of the war and national give you another example african americans had a whole mess meetings in the local churches and i'm april fifteenth they had a march when the head of a citywide macho union troops and african american citizens in pro union citizens who live from the center of the city out to four million before so it was a complex time socially speaking in the south the wholesale society of the south had been turned upside down and politically it was the idea to a moment in the sun because the confederates were no longer in control and those persons who were an ally as a republican party and the union were now in control of the politics of the state what

did you see if you were a slave you have the opportunity of leaving the plantation of the farm and migrating into a town or city where you could find work or you could act absolutely as a free person many slaves remain on the farms and plantations because they were afraid to leave as one other say is the only way to be free is to learn how to be free is about living free and mostly as a noble live free they had always been constrained and so many were fully tilly and they remain on the farm a plantation working for a doleful wages for the former master and his or her family but most of them left the plantations and one of the roles time to find out really what friedan was all about host i believe the key to the freedom was

going to be a political power first and then of course education knowledge and scales the slaves were not immune to the idea the knowledge was powell on that sane it exhibit it to the masters who could read and write and who could tell money and who could do business and so they were very hungry for education the oh this is the this is the idea that you have medicare education so what kinds of things do and so you know this is this is so that was good with

african americans get this education reform and they would get through provided for them say that their own teachers as well as modern missionaries and churchmen and church women came from the mail to so we called freedom and screws but for example the national african americans who were free which made up twenty two percent of the time they had their own schools from eighteen thirty three until eighteen fifty seven until schools were such a down by vigilantes as soon as the union it came to national anthem were making city to the next fall they reopened most clues sort of froze closed on a stool and after the civil war really open for african americans by african americans but missionary groups came in and there was a missionary church groups also set up a number of schools for african americans and ultimately these treats the freedom schools will become colleges

in the city of nashville for negroes the population is also a slave the problems of the blacklist or post for education will be that there will be a lot of white opposition especially from the pro confederate and the native lights of tennessee the south end and in particular nationally because of that over half a white southerners were illiterate they couldn't read and write there were no schools and any of the county's and there were few public schools a system in office for example in nashville when the only two small politics goes most of the people who owned slaves only fifteen percent of the families in tennessee i am fifty seven percent of the land and

they were demanding that the land the tax to support public education for the masses because it would also destroy their privileges as an elite class they really because they have well you only because they had influence we will lead because they had the education and they can read and why and therefore he let the masses become involved in that then all of that critical distinction between the classes as you head in europe would disappear so n and nashville african americans quest for education and that that made whites when the framers bureau set up freedom schools and etymology to sixty five and davis' injury for example some of the schools were burned down and people destroyed the screws workers on certain farms and plantations were not allowed to attend schools the masses were not to let them go from working in order to go to those groups african american set up a number of nights

goes after the war because now they have to educate people regardless of age were they were five or six years old i would be a zero they had been kept from knowledge you know from reading and writing and so there will be of adults as well as children and most classes and african americans who took classes at the work you know at night some of those persons who worked in the fields could come and learn how to read and write their names he's lying well the violence is basically coming from laura why classes and especially that poor class of whites who had been denied education also in the south by the elite class of white land i honestly is the only influence they were the politicians in control the state legislatures and local governments that have been denied access to education as well and they were not only jealous but they were determined that african

americans would not get above them and if they get education of course they would be above them and so they opposed any public education or private education for african americans in the rural areas especially where was no no protection it was likely that the friedman school was gonna be burned down or people gonna be intimidated even why teachers from the mall often intimidated and isolated by the white community because they were outed teaching negro street in mind is that there's a as though the world does why weren't quite so opposed to african american education act on the wall also the southern whites were illiterate nonsense they cannot read and write in fact that's one of the things it hampered the operations of the confederate army

lucy was so widespread among white males as well as among white females and so also the elite class within them slave owners had controlled the wealth of the region and they refused to pass taxes or esa to public education a wyatt spear a spear level as it existed in a new england for example and i also remember that europeans were who emigrated into europe came from a society that was several recent classes and they intended to keep a class structure in place with a lower class middle class where the slaves and they do not want their class structure upset and now if you gave african americans are right to read and right the ability to read and write two schools of course education as the ability to wither away classics and so they what they

opposed it and so there was a lot of burning of friedman screws in eating sixty six nineteen sixty seven of course there was opposition from the planners who wanted to keep their workers working and illiterate and would not let them attend schools for example that they own the plantation we all know william g harding adamantly refused to allow the freemans bureau to set mr freeman school on this place was some hundred and thirty three slaves had worked in iraq and his critical plantation so it was a matter of class as well as race that was involved and finally i think the white look less and son who had supported slavery because they were always afraid that if you didn't have africans enslaved they would be enslaved and they would be treated as they had been treated in europe about one out of parliament came back they stood on the sidewalk in the balcony

he they never looked him straight and here they are we're always caught a conscious of the fact that there were classes and he had you get rid of the negro worries no longer and the lowest class and that means that some of them are going to be endless class and this is the issue western leaders on the issue of water is so

but after the war over half of southern whites were illiterate cannot read and write there was not a wise free system of public education and so i really could educate their children by sending them to the north or selling them abroad to private academies and private schools and so i'm so not only was it jealousy about african americans have access to all of these treatments nose the lower class whites absolutely resented the fact that these african americans would be allowed to be educated and thus they would be through educational lifted to another social level on a low class and they would be left in the lowest class and you go through a major business is no way meant

well many wines because they resented these african american educational opportunities they were given two at the former slaves northern white missionaries in northern white missionaries who came into national and so by african american teachers themselves and then the freedman spiro which was created by congress in march are eating sixty five to assist the former slave and making that transition from slavery to freedom they aren't many times a committed to night riding and that is burning school houses down that had been great deal for friedman many particular employers refused to allow their new workers to leave the farms and plantations to attend schools to friedman's goods and so african americans often had to set up tonight's goes after slavery so that adults also who were later as the children were could learn to read write in these political

freedoms goes for example and the bill may plantation and davison county the owner william jihad and actually refused to allow the free ms biro to establish a screw on his property although some hundred and thirty three african americans had been a slave on a population and so wealthy whites as well did not want african americans to have access to education has been disbarred

what did the ku klux klan represented on this period of reconstruction after the civil war this group was all white supreme assist group formed an eighteen ok the ku klux klan was a white supremacist group form an eighteen sixty six at first two defendants of the night and to protect former confederates widows who upper hand and to be the destitute but by eighteen sixty seven and tennessee has passed a deal to grant suffrage to african american males they can now vote and the klan's years to being a political group to oppose any

political pall for african americans i'll remember that at this time the confederates of former confederates a disenfranchised most of them cannot go and they resent the fact that republicans are now come into the south from the mall and they have in french yes the negro and now he can vote and they cannot vote and as a result the play and becomes a very violent groom going committing themselves to night writing and terrorism in order to intimidate whites as well as blacks who was a poor black political standoff as a as a song so it is really solid

when the ku klux klan began and at sixty six in alaska tennessee as a organization too assist the destitute former confederates after the war and confederate widows and others however in at sixty seven the tennessee legislature passed as suffer spiel to get the right to vote to african american males consequently the plan to convert it to a political group to count on this political power given to african americans whereas many pro confederates were disenfranchised because they have dissipated and rebellion and had been committed treat treason against your stay so they cannot vote they were that will have been taken away from many of them and so they felt that the negro along with the republican party these boy

former confederate whites had all been all but been disenfranchised because they had anticipated and rebellion treason against the united states so naturally they resent the fact that the general assembly which was republican party controlled would give a formal slays mails the right to vote the suffrage and february ratings et cetera and so luke will cost plan now becomes a khalil political force committing themselves to terrorism and propaganda against illegal haven't the right to vote and media terrorist attacks were carried out in tennessee especially outside nashville and in davison county

between at sixty seven and at sixty nine of course the ku klux klan were work was not the only terroristic a white supremacist group between eighteen and sixty six in nineteen seventy though other groups in a college in oldham says the names of all sorts the white knight's of chameleon for example and they were of course just to copycats who really had no name but they were local people who are dressed themselves like klansmen or covered their faces and they went to hang people to pray people or to

intimidate people with people for mosul is an especially negro leaders who were involved in a political revolution for the negro and at sixty seven at sixteen the free to zero family it's been finally had to call out union troops again an occupation troops even in tennessee to start an anti terrorist campaign they began the arrest people and to find people and the geo people and consequently and at sixteen in the anti terrorist complaint campaign was so effective that the klan disbanded

and the organization was broken apart bases existed at sixteen or cause a client will come back into existence you know actor worldwide making fitting that they will be mostly founded in the midwest specifically in indiana he's a creative force was the freedman spiro made a federal social agency for the foremost way i think so because to friedman's barrow provided to grave sites for for mostly pop agrees they provided

hospitals they provide it snows they provided rations they provided about all those odd medicine they provided all those things that the former slave in my head when he came out of slavery may head to and they continue to do that to assist the slave up until they went out of business in by congressional legislation around eating seventy to remember that the slave came out of slavery without any possessions it's beef

business calculation these birds breed the freedoms rule provided to grave sites the graveyards hospitals medical care they provide restrooms as well as schools and so they were very important to the slave making the transition from slavery to freedom he had come out of slavery without a possession and although social services had been provided by the master and so congress created an agency to have to make their transition to freedom you know how it is that

their vision of the christian tradition how would one described the african americans after the war in terms of their religious beliefs well one of the things that happens at the emancipation of slaves is there's a tremendous amount of energy expended by the african american community to create churches for example in nashville we go from the statistics go from five african american churches when the war ended two almost ten african american churches four years later at and sixty nine african americans and had some churches in most of the urban areas like nashville had a baptist church had a church of christ it has been african

american churches after the war become important because they were the first but community institutions african americans organized even before schools and there had been quakes a independent african american churches even during slavery times most of the religion and churches during slavery times was integrated were slaves went to church with a master's in the massive set the slave in the back of a church or in a back alley and of course he was treated literally like a child he had behaved in i'm here to listen to the same concern in that the master listen to after the war african americans are able to set up their own independent churches and they'll pass is a preaching to them and these organizations the churches become more than just women

the institutions the social agencies with ahab benevolent societies to hit the best of two former slaves they become political institutions where this is where political leaders come to address the friedman who now has the right to vote and to try to educate him and tell him how to go and how to make his boat capriles they become economic institutions because these other places where they raise the capital to start tell senators for the first time to battle a way could be earlier did it with some kind of dignity where is doris slavery times slays well but barrett on the back part of the masses graveyard a cemetery and so libya the church becomes a mall tae professor the constitution and the african american community not just for the doctrinal purposes or full of religious purposes but really it was a utilitarian institution very important to this to the transition from

slavery to freedom