Dear South Central LAMP Community,
As we come to the end of February—also known as Black History Month—I’d like to reflect on how Black history continues to shape our present moment and why it remains deeply relevant today.
As we uncover realities about the world we thought we knew, it has become clear that some of our systems no longer reflect the values we aspire to uphold. After the U.S. Civil War, the period known as the Reconstruction Era sought to rebuild the nation and replace systems that had upheld slavery. It was a time focused on redefining the South without enslaved labor and establishing civil rights for newly freed people.
During this period, three constitutional amendments were passed:
- The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
- The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution granted citizenship to those born or naturalized in the U.S. and guaranteed equal protection under the law.
- The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
While these amendments were transformative, they also contained limitations and loopholes that allowed racial inequities to persist. The exception clause in the 13th Amendment, for example, permitted forced labor for those convicted of crimes—an issue explored in the documentary 13th by Ava DuVernay.
The 14th Amendment was later interpreted in ways that enabled segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine, which was ultimately overturned in 1954 through Brown v. Board of Education. Despite the 15th Amendment, many states imposed poll taxes, literacy tests, and other barriers that disenfranchised Black voters until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (It is also important to note that Native Americans were not granted U.S. citizenship until the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924.)
What do all three of these amendments have in common? A pattern: progress followed by resistance. Systems were reformed, but often not fully. Racism as a structure was never entirely dismantled; instead, it adapted. Shortly after the Civil War, the KKK was formed by Confederate soldiers. Shortly after the Civil War, Black Americans were expelled from certain areas and towns. Shortly after the Reconstruction Era, sundown towns became common.
Please note, I am not saying that as individuals we are all racist, what I am stating is that institutions and laws have not always fully protected those who were not white men — leaving others vulnerable to ongoing disparities. Which left many to interpret the “other” as less deserving.
Today, we continue to see inequities reflected in incarceration rates, poverty rates, and broader social outcomes. These disparities are not accidental; they are rooted in historical policies and practices that shaped access to opportunity.
Change begins with acknowledging truth. Like in counseling, healing cannot happen until realities are brought into the light. So, take a breath with me, take a moment between what is breaking because it no longer serves us and what we can build together.
While this moment in time is challenging, it is also an awakening—an opportunity to better understand the lived experiences of communities who have carried these burdens for generations. Facing difficult truths allows us to imagine and create something better: a country and a world that values and protects all people, regardless of age, income, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability or political belief.
We do not have to agree on everything. But we must agree that everyone belongs at the table if we are to build a world that is inclusive of all.
Diana Z. Pinto
Executive Director