African American Civil
North Carolina
by Dr. Flora Bryant Brown*
frican Americans in North
Carolina have fought for equality
since their earliest arrival in the
state. They have protested quietly and
publicly as individuals,, in groups, and
through organizations. The fight for civil
rights developed locally and later became
part of the national struggle for equality.
Before the Civil War, free blacks fought
for equality when they purchased them¬
selves and loved ones from slave owners,
as well as when they purchased property
and lived self-sufficient lives, working
and raising their families. Free blacks of
means reached for equality when they
voted. Enslaved blacks struggled for
equality when they formed their own
community within slave housing and
developed their own identity separate
from that created for them by the slave
owner. They also participated in open
forms of resistance, such as running
away, destroying crops, and joining in
slave rebellions.
The Reconstruction period (1865-1877)
witnessed the affirmation on paper of the
rights of African Americans, many of
them newly freed from slavery in the
N.C. DOCUMENTS
CLEARINGHOUSE
Rights in NOV 2 9 2004
STATE LIBRARY OF NORTH CAROUN
RALEIGH
South. Three amendments to the United
States Constitution declared their rights
as American citizens. The Thirteenth
Amendment (1865) abolished slavery and
involuntary servitude. The Fourteenth
Amendment (1868) recognized blacks as
citizens and outlined basic rights. The
Fifteenth Amendment (1870) granted
African American men the right to vote.
When they gained the right to vote,
African American men voted Republican,
which was the party of Abraham Lincoln
(the president who had freed the slaves in
the Confederate states).
These amendments,
along with several
United States Supreme
Court decisions, gave
African Americans legal
ground on which to
stand in fighting for
their civil rights. But
even as their rights were
affirmed, African
Americans faced
increasing restrictions
on their movements and
actions, and limitations
were placed on opportu¬
nities for them.
During Reconstruc¬
tion and through the
end of the nineteenth century, African
American men were elected to numerous
North Carolina offices. They served on
local school boards, as sheriffs, as magis¬
trates, and as representatives to the state
legislature. In addition, they were
appointed to a number of political posts.
Four were elected to the United States
House of Representatives. George H.
White was the last African American to
serve in the House of Representatives
(1898-1901) in this period.
When white Democrats, who generally
opposed equal rights for nonwhites,
gained control of the North Carolina
Freedmen discuss their political rights at a convention shortly after the Civil War. Time line image of
Federal troops liberating enslaved people ca. 1860s.
1861 North Carolina
secedes from the Union
on May 20.
1861-65 Approximately
42,000 North Carolini¬
ans lose their lives in the
Civil War. Many slaves
leave their plantations
and seek refuge behind
Northern iines in
Federal-occupied areas
of the state, and some
join the Union army, A
large .number of
Cherokee in western
North Carolina support
the Confederacy. The
well-known fighting unit
Thomas's Legion has
two Cherokee compa¬
nies. The Lumbee in
eastern North Carolina
are forced to work on
Confederate fortifica¬
tions near Wilmington.
Many flee and form
groups to resist impress¬
ment by the army. Henry
Berry Lowry leads one
such group, which con¬
tinues to resist white
domination long after
the war ends.
1 865 A state convention
votes to repeal the
Ordinance of Secession
and end slavery. North
Carolina ratifies the 13th
Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, which offi¬
cially abolishes slavery.
Freedmen hold a politi¬
cal march in Raleigh to
ask for equal rights.
Later 106 African
American delegates
attend the Freedmen’s
Convention in the capilal
city.
The Baptist church
founds a school in
Raleigh to teach theol¬
ogy and biblical interpre¬
tation to freedmen. It
later begins post¬
secondary instruction
and becomes Shaw
University in 1875.
1868 A new state consti¬
tution gives all adult
males the right to vote
and hold office. It
requires the General
Assembly to “provide for
a general and uniform
system” of free schools
for all children between
the ages of six and 21 .
North Carolina ratifies
the 14th Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution,
which grants citizenship
to “all persons born or
naturalized in the United
States.”
North Carolina rejoins
the United States.
An election places in
office the first African
American state legisla¬
tors: three senators and
17 representatives.
'Dr. Flora Bryant Brcioa chairs the Department of History and Political Science at
Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City.
THJH, Fall 2004
3
