“Confronting the Urban Color Line” NOTES

Confronting the Urban Color Line

Introduction to Urban Segregation

• Segregation laws coincided with an influx of black migration from rural areas to southern cities in the 1890s.

• Notable cities with increasing African American populations include:

  • Baltimore

  • New Orleans

  • Atlanta

  • Louisville

• In some cities, such as Charleston and Montgomery, blacks outnumbered whites in public spaces.

Urban Demographics

• Over 50% of Missouri's black population resided in towns and cities.

• One third of Kentucky's black population lived in urban environments.

• Urban areas provided African Americans with more economic and social opportunities but also reinforced segregation practices.

Jim Crow Laws and Racial Protocols

• Jim Crow laws imposed strict racial etiquette that required deference by African Americans to whites, regardless of their status.

• Transportation Segregation:

  • 1891 Georgia law mandated streetcar segregation.

  • By 1907, additional southern states enacted similar laws.

  • Segregated transportation sparked significant protests from African Americans across various cities, such as Nashville and New Orleans.

Challenge to Jim Crow Streetcars

• Historian Blair Kelly documented extensive black activism against segregated transportation systems at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries:

  • African Americans, empowered by their constitutional rights, demanded equal treatment.

  • Documented protests in multiple cities, including Mobile (Alabama), Nashville, and Columbia (South Carolina).

• Black women played a central role in organizing boycotts and community actions against Jim Crow streetcars.

Specific Case Studies of Activism

• In 1901, women from St. Paul's AME Church strategized against local streetcar policies.

• The Christian Recorder detailed how black women and children would walk long distances to avoid segregated streetcars.

• A similar boycott occurred in Nashville in 1906, led by Richard Henry Boyd advocating for a separate black-operated streetcar line which ultimately failed.

• Despite resistance, Jim Crow transportation laws remained legal.

Housing Challenges

Segregation in Urban Housing

• Housing posed significant issues for black migrants due to white efforts to confine them to specific neighborhoods.

• Residential segregation laws developed in the early 20th century in response to growing black populations in urban areas.

Legislation and Its Impacts

• Baltimore enacted the first residential segregation law in 1910, followed by others in southern cities:

  • Richmond, Norfolk, Atlanta, Richmond, Louisville, etc.

• Areas were designated as either white or black blocks; blacks were strictly prohibited from entering white blocks.

Class Division Among Whites

• Historian Elizabeth Urban Tryon examined the dynamics of residential ordinances in North Carolina.

• Lower middle-class whites, at risk of losing status, were often the most ardent proponents of segregation laws.

• In contrast, elite whites expressed economic concerns regarding housing segregation.

• In 1914, segregation laws were nullified in North Carolina, further challenged by the Supreme Court's ruling in Buchanan v. Whirley in 1917.

• However, white-only housing practices persisted through private actions and discriminatory practices from banks and insurance companies.

Environmental Racism

Housing Conditions and Health Impacts

• High population density due to housing restrictions forced many blacks into unsanitary living conditions, leading to health issues in urban environments.

• Many southern black households lacked basic sanitation, contributing to high mortality rates and poor health outcomes.

Case of Atlanta's Black Community

• Atlanta's black community exhibited a glaring disparity: while affluent black residents lived in better conditions, poor blacks often dealt with severe sanitation issues.

• Conditions contributed to high incidence rates of diseases such as tuberculosis and cholera.

Misattribution of Health Problems

• Social reformers often attributed health issues within the black community to personal behaviors rather than institutional racism.

• Research from the late 19th century indicated that access to clean water and sanitation was racially constructed to favor whites.

Modern Perspectives on Historical Neglect

• Contemporary researchers note that polluted water and inadequate waste management were systematically issues for black neighborhoods.

• Environmental histories reveal intentional urban planning that promoted racial segregation and unequal living conditions in Atlanta.