Tracing the cycles of Black empowerment, white backlash

Conversations about the period of Reconstruction after the American Civil War are reminders of a familiar saying: “perception is reality.” Whether the discussion is about lost causes or liberation, interpretations of the period can be as divisive as the era itself.

Peniel E. Joseph’s latest book, “The Third Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century,” is as much commentary as it is based in fact. It’s a masterpiece that not only captures the last 150 years, but also paints a picture of what the future