The Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University, in conjunction with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, held a symposium in Washington, D.C., on March 14-17, 2017 entitled "Reflections on the Impact of the Reconstruction Amendments: A Research Symposium on the Social and Economic Outcomes of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments." The conference was devoted to characterizing the state of knowledge and identification of critical new directions for research in the social and behavioral sciences, and on economic inequality in the context of the impact of the Reconstruction Amendments. Conferees included interdisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students, senior scholars who are historians, economists, sociologists, and psychologists from Duke University and other institutions located in the Washington, D.C., area and across the United States. The event was held held at the National Archives Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, giving participants the opportunity to see historical documents related to the period.
Hans L. Charles is a professor of film and video studies at George Mason University and cinematographer of the award-winning documentary "13th" (2016).