"Dedicated to Education"

After the Reconstruction Amendments (the 13th, 14th and 15th), the newly freed People of Color set about to improve their lives and to prove they were intelligent, competent, resilient. loving, and capable of being contributing members of society. They believed that they were "equal" and protected under the law and the rest would come in time.

the first item on their collective agenda was to learn about their new status and the larger world they could now access. An education starting with the basics: to read, write and cipher was an essential beginning. The program presented in the video documents what happened in the small county of Culpeper but could be found demonstrated across the South, lead by activists within the respective Black communities.

The program was presented by the African American Heritage Alliance/ Culpeper Chapter and hosted by the Museum of Culpeper History. Filming by Culpeper Media Network.