Reconstruction, was it really that grand?

After the north won the civil war the reconstruction period begins. In this period slaves are given freedom but they are still looked down on from the white man. This makes it hard for them to find work and get homes. The white man decides to offer them home and land in exchange for work and half or more of the crops they raise on the land. These families were not paid anything for the work they did so in the end it is very similar to slavery because it was the only option they really had if they wanted to survive. I believe the slaves did not gain much from the reconstruction and freeing, we do not see real changes until the civil rights movement.