25% of formerly enslaved individuals did not die of starvation after emancipation. Hundreds of thousands passed away after emancipation due to severe illness exacerbated by poor living conditions in refugee camps, not because they could not provide for themselves.  

The 25% figure is a misrepresentation of an estimate from historian Jim Downs, who estimated that a quarter of formerly enslaved individuals suffered from severe illness or died following emancipation. Not everyone who became ill died. 

Downs points to a lack of quality medical care and terrible conditions in refugee camps, where doctors often relied on racist myths about Black individuals when treating them.