The Philadelphia Negro
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| W.E.B Du Bois |
W.E.B Du Bois, a prominent African-American scholar, published the book, The Philadelphia Negro in 1899. In it, he described the plight of the African American in the city.
Excerpt from his book:
3. As to entering new lines of work:
“Men are used to seeing Negroes in inferior positions; when, therefore, by any change a Negro gets in a better position, most men immediately conclude that he is not fitted for it, even before he has a chance to show his fitness.
If, therefore, he set up a store, men will not patronize him; If he is put in public position men will complain.
If he gained a position in the commercial world, men will quietly secure his dismissal or see that a white man succeeds him.
4. As to his expenditure:
The comparative smallness of the patronage of the Negro, and the dislike of other customers makes it usual to increase the charges or difficulties in certain directions in which a Negro must spend money.
He must pay more house-rent for worse houses than most white people pay.
He is sometimes liable to insult or reluctant service in some restaurants, hotels, and stores, at public resorts, theaters, and places of recreation; and at nearly all barber shops. (48)
African Americans began to build insular communities with their own restaurants, theaters, grocery stores, and churches.