• African Americans enjoyed considerable progress from 1865-1898.

• Black literacy in North Carolina rose dramatically from virtual total illiteracy to 2/3 that of whites. Black literacy in Wilmington was the highest in the state.

• African Americans worked as skilled craftsmen along the riverfront, owned businesses, and held positions in local government (firemen, police, city officials).

Skilled cotton compress workers, Wilmington, 1897

• Wilmington was regarded as a "Black Mecca" by some--a fact that some white working men resented and white business leaders saw as dangerous.

• Some blacks owned considerable property, including Thomas Miller, a pawn broker and real estate owner.

• But the picture was mixed: many African Americans were unemployed or worked only in low-wage, seasonal labor, and black businesses were primarily service operations, which were not integrated into the white financial and business structure.

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link to Chapter 2.1
POLITICAL LEADERS: FUSIONISTS