Black Dollar, Mixed City: A Comparative Analysis of Durham, North Carolina’s “Black Wall Street” and the Political Philosophy of Booker T. Washington

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Biggs, Jorren
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies

Abstract

In the early twentieth century, Booker T. Washington stood as one of the foremost thinkers on the state of Black America. His influence on the perception of Black advancement came at a period that saw the financial burgeoning of numerous Black neighborhoods and communities across the country. Durham, North Carolina’s Hayti community, often referred to as “Black Wall Street,” stands as a unique case in the larger development of Black communities across the country due to its length of existence and relatively peaceful relationship with the city’s white establishment. This article seeks to explore what enabled Hayti to play host to sustained development, by analyzing population metrics, media accounts of the community’s development, and biographical information about business leaders of the period. The article also examines the relationship between white benevolence and Black progress. Through exploring how the changing political landscape of North Carolina may have guided actions by groups like the Duke family, this article offers a critical perspective of the role white leaders had in the community’s expansion. Further, Hayti will be used as a site to test the economic theories posited by Washington. As Washington’s public politics largely called for investment into manual labor education to spur Black progress, how might Hayti have pushed back against efforts to limit engagement with skilled labor?

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