A new exhibit at the Blanchard House Museum of African American History and Culture of Charlotte County explores what changes took place in the years following the Civil War. This year marks the 150th anniversary of Reconstruction.
The exhibit also focuses on Florida during this time.
The Reconstruction Era was from 1865 to 1877. Martha Bireda is the Executive Director of the Blanchard House Museum.
She said the recently freed blacks faced several challenges during this time.
Like discriminatory laws that came to be known as the “black codes” and the rise of hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
But there were also forces like the African Methodist Episcopal – or A.M.E – Church.
Bireda said the AME Church in Florida helped establish a political voice for blacks. It was led by a man named Charles Pearce.
Martha spoke with WGCU about Charles Pearce and Reconstruction in Florida.
The exhibit “Light Then Darkness: The Reconstruction Era” is on display at the Blanchard House Museum of African American History and Culture of Charlotte County from Sept. 27 until late May.
