Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow (Scholastic Focus) by Henry Louis Gates Jr., Tonya Bolden
Published by Scholastic Nonfiction on January 29th 2019
ISBN: 1338262041
Pages: 240
Goodreads

Renown historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and YA author Tonya Bolden have written a narrative nonfiction of the rise of Jim Crow Laws in the South during and after the Reconstruction period. Detailed changes to the rights of African Americans during the Civil War along with the rights giving citizenship such as the Emancipation Act and the Amendments added to the Constitution are well discussed. The authors also give details in the rise of white violence/supremacy, racism and political/economic factors that allowed the Jim Crow Laws to be established in the South.

TOC, sources/notes, photo credits, index and an About the Authors section are present. A great resource on the Reconstruction Period of the United States and its effects on the citizenship and lives of the newly freed slaves. Recommended for grades 9 and up.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford.