Abolition and the African American Story

Until now, you've only heard one side of the story: how Abraham Lincoln defeated the Confederacy to end slavery, but the truth involves a vast network of abolitionists who would keep fighting for freedom long after the end of the war. Here's the true story of the Civil War and Reconstruction, from the African American perspective.

By 1850, Africans had already been in the United States for nearly 300 years. Their labor created a strong economy and defined American society in profound ways, but their rights nearly tore the country apart, a century after its founding.

The beginning of the Civil War marked a turning point: the beginning of a public fight to recognize African Americans as Americans. Though much of this played out on the battlefield, the real fight was going on in every corner of the country: North and South, free households and enslaved, in the halls of government and secret meetings. That fight didn't end when the South surrendered, and young people were central to the way abolitionists envisioned the future. From soldiers to public speakers to the Underground Railroad, this is the true story of the African American experience of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Author: Patricia Williams Dockery
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Published: 12/09/2025
Pages: 208
Binding Type: Library Binding
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 8.31h x 5.51w x 0.91d
ISBN: 9780593811375
Audience: Ages 9-12


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 11/01/2025

About the Author
Dr. Patricia Williams Dockery is a writer, playwright, scholar-activist, and international commentator who is consulted for her expertise on diversity, equity, and inclusion; social justice; and Black women's intersectional experiences.
She has developed educational public programs for grades K--12 and general audiences at the Field Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the College of Charleston Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture. She currently serves as associate vice president for academic affairs at Morgan State University.
Dr. Dockery is a Fulbright Scholar and earned a PhD in anthropology from University of Illinois Chicago. A transdisciplinary educator and artist, her play, Septima!, about the life and work of civil rights organizing mastermind and revolutionary educator Septima Poinsette Clark, debuted at Charleston's PURE Theatre. She and her husband share a beautiful blended family of seven children and a loving boxer-hound mix named Sadie Mae.