Separate but Equal (03:39)

FREE PREVIEW

Black writers called the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of Jim Crow the lowest point for black people in America. The color line hardened throughout the country and black people began creating “life behind the veil," as W.E.B. Du Bois said.

Black Colleges (07:01)

Schools and education were an important part of freedom for black people in America. Black colleges started with the help of pre-established black networks, like churches and social groups. In 1881, Brooker T. Washington opened Tuskegee University.

Black Fraternities and Sororities (02:45)

The "Divine Nine" black fraternities and sororities grew out of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and became powerful networks. The membership extends beyond college and encompasses a lifetime commitment to work for black communities.

Black Enterprise (05:55)

Black businesses and economic opportunities were important to building a new life for black communities. Black organizations grew rapidly, despite the constant threat of racial violence. The National Negro Business League began in 1900 and ushered in a golden age of black business.

Black Entrepreneurs (06:16)

Entrepreneurs became leaders within the black community and symbols of what success could look like. Maggie Lena Walker chartered the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903 and became the first black female bank president.

Black Beauty Entrepreneurs (06:36)

Many black women emerged as entrepreneurs in the early 1900s. Beauty salons and companies gave black women an economic opportunity outside of domestic work.

NAACP (01:54)

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People began in 1909. Their early work fought against racial violence and lynchings.

Black Media (04:37)

Many black newspapers began in the early 1900s. They became an important part of life as black people left the Jim Crow South and went north and west. Teenie Harris photographed all types of Black life in Pittsburgh.

Black Politics (04:29)

A wave of Afro-Caribbean immigration to the United States occurred in the early 1900s. Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican immigrant, started the Universal Negro Improvement Association, which had a global reach. It had a different political approach than the NAACP.

Harlem Renaissance (08:08)

Black people began creating their own music and art Wealthy black people, like A'Lelia Walker, hosted lavish parties. Artists gathered at saloons to share ideas and create black culture.

Credits: "Making Black America: Episode 2" (00:59)

Credits: "Making Black America: Episode 2"