During the Great Depression (1929-1939) and World War II (1939-1945), the early civil rights movement gained ground. Clashes between African Americans and European Americans reached a fever pitch during the July 1919 race riot, when women and men fought back against violent whites, giving another meaning to the term "New Negro," a term usually associated with the cultural renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. African Americans, therefore, reacted strongly to President Wilson's (1913-1921) institution of segregation in all of the federal government agencies. The few existing laws mandated segregation in the public schools and recreation facilities but not in the streetcars and public libraries. However, segregation and racism were endemic. Washington had relatively few "Jim Crow" laws. African Americans also created hundreds of black-owned businesses and numerous business districts.Īt the dawn of the 20th century, African Americans had created a cultural and intellectual capital. (Founded in 1870, the school became renowned as M Street High School, and later, Dunbar High School.) As far back as 1814, churches had operated and supported schools and housed literary and historical societies that promoted critical thinking, reading, lecturing, and social justice. The Preparatory School for Colored Youth, the city's first public high school, attracted college-bound students and teachers, many with advanced degrees. Howard University, founded in 1867, was a magnet for professors and students and would become the "capstone of Negro education" by 1930. Others were attracted to the myriad educational institutions. Many came because of opportunities for federal jobs. This system survived until the civil rights movement of the 1960s brought a measure of self-government.īy 1900 Washington had the largest percentage of African Americans of any city in the nation. But in 1874, in part because of growing black political power, the territorial government was replaced by three presidentially appointed commissioners. Douglass introduced the 1872 law making segregation in public accommodations illegal. When Washington briefly became a federal territory in 1871, African American men continued to make important decisions for the city. (Women gained the right to vote in 1920.) The first black municipal office holder was elected in 1868. Through the passage of Congress's Reconstruction Act of 1867, the city's African American men gained the right to vote three years before the passage of the 15th amendment gave all men the right to vote. The fact that it was mostly pro-Union and the nation's capital made it a popular destination. This federal oversight has been a source of conflict throughout Washington's history.ĭuring the Civil War (1861-1865) and Reconstruction (1865-1877), more than 25,000 African Americans moved to Washington. Congress had the authority to pass the DC Emancipation Act because it was granted the power to "exercise exclusive legislation" over the federal district by the U.S. On April 16, 1862, Congress passed the District of Columbia Emancipation Act, making Washingtonians the first freed in the nation, nine months before President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863. In 1848, 77 free and enslaved adults and children unsuccessfully attempted the nation's largest single escape aboard the schooner Pearl. African Americans, of course, resisted slavery and injustice by organizing churches, private schools, aid societies, and businesses by amassing wealth and property by leaving the city and by demanding abolition. African Americans were 25 percent of the population in 1800, and the majority of them were enslaved. African American Heritage Trail BookletĪfrican Americans in Washington, DC: 1800-1975Īfrican Americans have been a significant part of Washington, DC's civic life and identity since the city was first declared the new national capital in 1791.A Brief History Of African Americans In Washington, DC.About The African American Heritage Trail.
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