The Reconstruction Era is often taught as a dark period in American history, a time of upheaval and unrest right after the Civil War. But what often gets overlooked is that, for a brief period of time, thousands of Black representatives were elected to office all over the South. https://ti.me/3sZ5caQ | TIME

Post-Civil War history is layered and complex, and Americans are largely unaware of the part the Freedmen’s Bureau played in Reconstruction. The Freedmen’s Bureau was critical during this time in helping to provide food, housing, education and medical care to newly freed African Americans. These records are available to search for free at Ancestry.com/Freedmens. | Ancestry