1898 Wilmington race riot report - Page 273 |
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248
Fourth and Princess near Market Street,
where the racial mix was evenly distributed
among whites and blacks. At the edges of
this triangle were transition streets where
blacks comprised as much as half of the
population before the neighborhood became
predominantly black. The transitions
between predominately black neighborhoods
and majority white neighborhoods were one
to two blocks in length with higher
concentrations of interracial neighborhoods
along sections of South Sixth Street between
Ann and Castle Streets and down Castle
Street to Third. The area in which a
predominately white neighborhood
encroached on a predominately black
neighborhood was the section of Brooklyn
where the fighting broke out on November
10th. More white families than black lived
along North Fourth Street but most of the
cross streets were either predominantly
black or transitional neighborhoods with a
mixture of white and black residents. This
encroachment and mixing may have played
a role in the buildup of tensions that erupted
on November 10th. Many of the men who
claimed that their wives could not safely
walk the streets lived in this neighborhood.
Higuchi analyzed two twentieth
century directories in the same manner and
noted the most change in occupation
patterns by 1905 instead of immediately
after the violence. By this time, the
predominantly white sections of town had
spread out and the transition blocks between
the black and white sections were pushed
further toward the perimeters of town. The
small grouping of integrated neighborhoods
along North Fourth and Princess near
Market had disappeared. The large number
blocks containing both black and white
residents along Sixth and Castle Streets also
disappeared with the concentration trending
more toward a white majority. The area
along North Fourth Street in Brooklyn was
still a transition zone with slightly more
encroachment by whites into cross streets
and onto North Fifth Street.
Overall, Higuchi’s findings
demonstrated the outflow of the city’s
African American residents away from the
city center and the increase in white
population as reflected in the census.
Furthermore, she demonstrated the changes
reflected in the attitudes toward blacks as
neighbors. The city became more and more
segregated with the advent of Jim Crow.
Prior to the violence of 1898, the core of the
city, including the business sector, was
dominated by white residents but a few
African Americans were able to maintain a
foothold with land and homes acquired in
traditionally white neighborhoods.
However, after the violence of 1898 and the
development of a more hostile environment
for African American businesses and
families, members of the African American
community physically stepped back from
their white neighbors and moved to the
perimeter of the city. Just as the economic
climate changed for the city’s African
Americans as many developed businesses
for their own race, their neighborhoods also
changed, becoming less integrated and more
homogeneous. A new perspective of the
violence of November 10th emerged through
analysis of Higuchi’s work because she
demonstrated that the whites and blacks of
Brooklyn lived in close proximity to each
other in 1898 and became mortal enemies as
neighbor shot neighbor.
Societal Change
Every facet of African American life
was affected by the events of 1898. One of
the first celebrations after the violence
would have been the Christmas holiday
season and the tradition of Jonnkonnu.
Jonnkonnu was a custom dating to slavery in
which blacks would dress in outlandish
outfits, parade through white neighborhoods,
Object Description
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| Title | 1898 Wilmington race riot report - Page 273 |
| Pres Local File Path-M | \Preservation_content\StatePubs\pubs_borndigital\images_master\ |
| Full Text | 248 Fourth and Princess near Market Street, where the racial mix was evenly distributed among whites and blacks. At the edges of this triangle were transition streets where blacks comprised as much as half of the population before the neighborhood became predominantly black. The transitions between predominately black neighborhoods and majority white neighborhoods were one to two blocks in length with higher concentrations of interracial neighborhoods along sections of South Sixth Street between Ann and Castle Streets and down Castle Street to Third. The area in which a predominately white neighborhood encroached on a predominately black neighborhood was the section of Brooklyn where the fighting broke out on November 10th. More white families than black lived along North Fourth Street but most of the cross streets were either predominantly black or transitional neighborhoods with a mixture of white and black residents. This encroachment and mixing may have played a role in the buildup of tensions that erupted on November 10th. Many of the men who claimed that their wives could not safely walk the streets lived in this neighborhood. Higuchi analyzed two twentieth century directories in the same manner and noted the most change in occupation patterns by 1905 instead of immediately after the violence. By this time, the predominantly white sections of town had spread out and the transition blocks between the black and white sections were pushed further toward the perimeters of town. The small grouping of integrated neighborhoods along North Fourth and Princess near Market had disappeared. The large number blocks containing both black and white residents along Sixth and Castle Streets also disappeared with the concentration trending more toward a white majority. The area along North Fourth Street in Brooklyn was still a transition zone with slightly more encroachment by whites into cross streets and onto North Fifth Street. Overall, Higuchi’s findings demonstrated the outflow of the city’s African American residents away from the city center and the increase in white population as reflected in the census. Furthermore, she demonstrated the changes reflected in the attitudes toward blacks as neighbors. The city became more and more segregated with the advent of Jim Crow. Prior to the violence of 1898, the core of the city, including the business sector, was dominated by white residents but a few African Americans were able to maintain a foothold with land and homes acquired in traditionally white neighborhoods. However, after the violence of 1898 and the development of a more hostile environment for African American businesses and families, members of the African American community physically stepped back from their white neighbors and moved to the perimeter of the city. Just as the economic climate changed for the city’s African Americans as many developed businesses for their own race, their neighborhoods also changed, becoming less integrated and more homogeneous. A new perspective of the violence of November 10th emerged through analysis of Higuchi’s work because she demonstrated that the whites and blacks of Brooklyn lived in close proximity to each other in 1898 and became mortal enemies as neighbor shot neighbor. Societal Change Every facet of African American life was affected by the events of 1898. One of the first celebrations after the violence would have been the Christmas holiday season and the tradition of Jonnkonnu. Jonnkonnu was a custom dating to slavery in which blacks would dress in outlandish outfits, parade through white neighborhoods, |
