This month, MSNBC’s Into America podcast is celebrating Black history through a special series called ‘Reconstructed’: a deep dive into the Reconstruction era and how its legacy continues to shape us today. Part one, ‘Birth of a Black Nation,’ tells the story of Robert Smalls: born into slavery and later elected to Congress. It’s a look at how Black Americans began to gain political power, and how the fight for full access to the franchise continues today.