Sources of Autonomy Alexandra Allers

This podcast explores trends in the education gap between low and high SES children upon kindergarten entry. Possible reasons behind these trends, as well as policy implications are also explored.

After the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, previously enslaved African Americans viewed learning as a symbol of freedom, and approximately 900,000 freedpeoples obtained an education through freedpeoples’ schools during the Reconstruction period. This podcast attempts to fill the gap left in American history textbooks by examining the significance of freedpeoples’ schools and the link between these institutions and communal autonomy of African Americans during Reconstruction.