No South to Us
No South to Us
African American Federal Employees in Republican Washington
This chapter describes Washington, D.C. as the nation's most important city for African Americans at the turn of the twentieth century. Black Washingtonians' cultural and educational institutions, political connections, and prospects for stable employment stood out against the penury, terror, and segregation that plagued black lives elsewhere in the United States. Four decades of decent employment in federal offices had made Washington a city of opportunity and relative freedom for black men and women, a place where respectability and status could be earned by work in the nation's service. The salaries paid to black federal clerks fueled a growing black middle class, and its power and prestige limited racial discrimination in the city. Life in the District was hardly free of racism or struggle. But for ambitious African Americans, the social as well as economic value of federal positions was incalculable.
Keywords: Washington, D.C., African Americans, Black Washingtonians, segregation, black lives, federal positions
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