The characterization of this moment as Reconstruction is right. What we are facing now is a moment of intense white backlash to Black citizenship and advancement, the white church’s complicity in white supremacy, and the fight for real democracy. We have been here before.

During the first Reconstruction (post-Civil War) and second Reconstruction (post-1955), we saw the people of this country’s ability to fight for liberation, justice, and dignity. We saw people willing to stare down hatred, come together, and mobilize for real democratic change.

We saw public events of racial terror and the sophisticated ways white pastors, politicians, and police conspired together to protect white supremacy in the name of God, guns, and country. With every step forward, there was two steps back, each step outlined in tears and blood.

That is not all we saw. Terror was not the only story. We saw a multidimensional struggle for liberation and justice. We saw a faith that was not baptized in white supremacy, but baptized in love. We saw the people of this country’s audacity to struggle and win. We saw freedom.

So yes, this is our Reconstruction. Yes, there is racial terror. Yes, there is constant struggle. But also, there is faith. There is hope. There is those who won’t let white supremacy have the world it wants. The question is: what will they say of us when they look back?