25 Black lodges were established in Virginia. These groups served as important vehicles for Black philanthropy and other social and political interests.
View looking towards Samuel Harris’ Cheap Store located at the corner of Botetourt and Duke of Gloucester Streets, Williamsburg, Virginia, circa 1900, Elizabeth Coleman Photograph Collection, AV2009.56, image #Cole-38d
Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Black philanthropy continued its focus on improving the quality of Black schools by sustaining underfunded and inadequately supplied schools. Black communities pulled together to raise the matching funds to build the Rosenwald schools, a school construction project started across the South by Julius Rosenwald, a co-founder of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and Booker T. Washington. The “separate but equal” doctrine resulted in fewer public resources for Black schools. The Rosenwald Fund pledged a certain amount for school construction; Black communities raised the matching funds, and White school boards oversaw the facilities. To raise money, Black women auctioned off box lunches. Families planted extra acres of cotton, raised additional livestock, and contributed free labor. Black landowners donated land. In Virginia, 381 Rosenwald schools were built, four in Chesapeake.30
during the Reconstruction era in the 1870s. Robert settled in Yorktown and led Lone Star, a fraternal organization. After the Civil War, Daniel testified before Congress about the abuse of Black laborers and unpaid wages for work, arguing the need for a continued federal presence in the South.
CIVIC LIFE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS Political representation mattered: by 1877 more than 60 percent of registered voters in Williamsburg, James City, and York County were Black men, and Republicans dominated politics as a result of their support.28 During the early years of the Jim Crow era, Black civic activity was less outwardly visible, contrasting to the active participation in Reconstruction politics. Booker T. Washington’s appeals to separation of the races and self-help and his emphasis on vocational education resonated with many in the Black community. By the turn of the century, as Hampton Roads’ Black population expanded, Blacks’ political rights decreased. The 1902 Virginia state constitution stripped away the political rights of Black Virginians. In response, Black Hampton Roads used its collective power to resist these restrictions and confront policies that diminished their political rights. By 1930 over
View looking east on Duke of Gloucester Street towards Samuel Harris’ Cheap Store located at the corner of Botetourt and Duke of Gloucester Streets, Williamsburg, Virginia, circa 1900, Elizabeth Coleman Photograph Collection, AV2009.56, image #Cole-040 Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
29
