A N AB B RE V IA TE D H I ST O RY
African Americans in North Carolina Politics
D
uring slavery and before the Civil War, North Carolina African American men and women have had a hunger for being a part of the political process yet could not actively participate until the Reconstruction Era. Throughout slavery, Black slaves were only used as property and political props to bolster white southern political power. They had no agency over themselves and their political power. Sadly enough, African Americans did not even equate to a whole person. White politicians commodified Black bodies to be three-fifths of a white person, which gave slaveholders more political power. Fortunately, freed African Americans had a brief opportunity to tap into their political potential in the Reconstruction Era. Slavery set the precedent that African Americans would not be seen as equal to their white counterparts in United States politics.
to ensure Union rebels would stay in line. During Reconstruction, the 15th Amendment was ratified, giving African American men the right to vote. Several African American men were also elected to political office. Many white male property owners were upset that newly freed African Americans gained so much political power and sought to change that. During the subsequent election cycle, newly appointed African American lawmakers were removed from their offices, and new restrictions were put in place regarding who could participate in elections. Laws like the Grandfather Rule, reading tests, and poll taxes were created to ensure that African Americans would not gain more political power in North Carolina.
Moreover, voter intimidation tactics used by the Ku Klux Klan fueled fear among African Americans. The use of vigilante intimidation plus the passage of Jim Crow laws began an Since the state government was in shambles era of voter suppression that made it difficult from the Civil War, North Carolina had to for African Americans to participate in the rebuild politically and economically during political process until the 1960s. Reconstruction. To do this, President Andrew Johnson sent military troops to North Carolina
4 | BLACK POLITICAL TRAINING TOOLKIT
