In the Return to Southampton County, the story ends with Parson accomplishing his mission and achieving his goal. Parson Sykes will buy property to farm and live by the principles he postulated: that all members of a society have equal standing in terms of political power and influence; you judge people based on their merits as opposed to their identity, such as race, gender and age; you allow for competition and choice via a system of equal opportunity; a system that uses taxes on the rich and middle class to provide a minimum quality of life for all members of society in areas such as basic income, education, health care and environmental justice; and a government that measure and even things out so that all citizens succeed equally based on non-racial factors.
Although African American soldiers continued to face discrimination, by the time the war ended, they had won a permanent place in the military. The Black soldiers who the Army mustered out of the United States Colored Troops faced a future filled with both promise and prejudice. Although racism and discrimination resulted in ongoing oppression for African Americans in the United States, many individual members of the USCT found that their military service had earned them trust and respect, at least within the Black community. Parson's plan, at the end, depends on this trust and respect - for when he creates a different society, he fully expects the best among humankind to recognize the society's merit and flock to its banner.
Reconstruction duty presented both rewards and challenges. On the one hand, Black soldiers could play an active role in supporting the Freedmen's Bureau, protecting formerly enslaved people, and enforcing the Reconstruction amendments. The Return to Southampton County shows the challenges Black people faced and the government's e¿orts to make amends. It shows how Black families tried to build new lives by starting schools, forming churches, buying land, and taking part in politics, even though there was constant resistance from white supremacy.
