The official establishment and national endorsement of biracial local governments had a tremendous influence on black Southerners, many of who had just been freed from the confines of slavery.
For some, just the existence of white Republican authority figures that were sympathetic to their plight made all the difference. Others were inspired to run for office and become activists themselves, even at great risk to their safety (Foner 161). But not every African American felt that Radical Reconstruction was a success: Frederick Douglass opined in his 1881 autobiography that the “experiment in equality had failed” (Gray 73), declaring that while blacks were legally free, they were “still the slave of society, economics, and prejudice” (Gray 74).
For some, just the existence of white Republican authority figures that were sympathetic to their plight made all the difference. Others were inspired to run for office and become activists themselves, even at great risk to their safety (Foner 161). But not every African American felt that Radical Reconstruction was a success: Frederick Douglass opined in his 1881 autobiography that the “experiment in equality had failed” (Gray 73), declaring that while blacks were legally free, they were “still the slave of society, economics, and prejudice” (Gray 74).