This four-part series explores the complexities that defined life during the years from the end of the Civil War to the start of the modern Civil Rights movement in the 1950s. The era, characterized by crushing subordination of southern blacks by white supremacist laws and customs, was known as "Jim Crow." But during this time, large numbers of African Americans and a corps of influential black leaders bravely fought against the status quo, acquiring for African Americans the opportunities of education, business, land ownership, and a true spirit of community.