After the Civil War, Congress passed an act to establish the Freedmen's Bureau, which sought to provide resources to displaced Southerners including recently freed Black Americans. Intrinsic in its foundation was the idea that after the abolition of slavery, it was the responsibility of Congress to right the wrongs of our nation's ugly past. But in a new extended essay for New York Times Magazine, Nikole Hannah-Jones argues that in the decades since the civil rights era, the national ideal of colorblindness has been co-opted, and is now being used in an organized effort to stall - and even undo - civil rights era efforts to advance racial progress. The end of affirmative action is another symptom of that backlash against racial progress. » Subscribe to MSNBC: null Follow MSNBC Show Blogs MaddowBlog: https://www.msnbc.com/maddowblog ReidOut Blog: https://www.msnbc.com/reidoutblog MSNBC delivers breaking news, in-depth analysis of politics headlines, as well as commentary and informed perspectives. Find video clips and segments from The Rachel Maddow Show, Morning Joe, The Beat with Ari Melber, Deadline: White House, The ReidOut, All In, Last Word, 11th Hour, and Alex Wagner who brings her breadth of reporting experience to MSNBC primetime. Watch “Alex Wagner Tonight” Tuesday through Friday at 9pm Eastern. Connect with MSNBC Online Visit msnbc.com: https://www.msnbc.com/ Subscribe to the MSNBC Daily Newsletter: https://link.msnbc.com/join/5ck/msnbc-daily-signup Find MSNBC on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msnbc/ Follow MSNBC on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSNBC Follow MSNBC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msnbc #America #Democracy #CivilRights