THE ATLANTA UNIVERSI^Y^OKFERENOE
Special-Export, January, 1003
SOMJ
i
. . 03 .
SOME XOTES
0?f THE
NEGROES IN NEW YORK CITY
COMPILED FROM THE REPORTS
OF THE UNITED STATES CENSUS
AND OTHER SOURCES .... Bt
AV. E. IVUKGIIARDT DU BOIS
A.tlfeu.itci tjtiiversitv-
ATLANTA., GA.
WO^
the whole, therefore, we cannot but regard the re-
(|r searches of the Atlanta Conference as going to show
that the possibilities of economic development for the Negrc
race in America are more varied and considerable than many
observers would have been inclined to expect."
The Spectator, (London, Eng.,) March 31, 1900.
SOME m)TES
OX THE
NEGROES IX NEW YORK CITY
1. Numbers, 1704-1900.
1
New York.
Krooklvn.
Greater New York.
1704
1.500
1741
2.000
1757
3,000
1790
3,240
419
1800
• 6,367
641
1810
9.823
1820
10,888
842
1830
13.976
1,245
1840
16.358
1,776
1850
13,815
2,424
1860
12,472
4,313
1870
13.072
4.944
1880
19.663
8,095
1890
23.601
10,287
1900
38,616*
18,367
60,666
'"•Manhattan and Bronx; 3,(588 Negroes in the other boroughs of Greater New York are included in
the total.
2. Distribution, 1800-1900.
NEW YORK.
1800—Two-thirds of all Negroes were in the Seventh, Sixth, Third and
Second wards.
1820—One-half the Negroes were in the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh wards,
and many others in the First, Third and Ninth wards.
1840—Two-thirds of the Negroes were in the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Tenth,
Fourteenth and Fifteenth wards.
1850—Beginning of segregation : Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth wards con¬
tain 6,162 Negroes; Sixth, Fifteenth and Nineteenth wards contain
2,797. These six wards hold two-thirds of the Negroes.
1860—Fifth, Eighth, Fourteenth and Twentieth wards hold 6.860 Negroes.
' 1870—Beginning of up-town movement west of Broadway—Eighth, Four¬
teenth, Fifteenth and Twentieth wards hold 6,792 Negroes.
1890—Extreme segregation in new centres, between Houston street, Sev¬
enth Avenue and Central Park; Ninth,Twelfth,Fifteenth,Sixteenth,
Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-second wards contain 20,456
Negroes—five-sixths of all.
2
1900—Partial expansion, principally northward with centre of population
in the Nineteenth Assembly District. The chief centres of popu¬
lation are:
5th Assembly District 1,378 23rd Assembly District 3,16!)
9th Assembly District 1,673 25th Assembly District 2,950
11th Assembly District 3,756 27th Assembly District 3,318
13th Assembly District 2,584 31st Assembly District 1,483
17th Assembly District 1,214 32nd Assembly District 1,680
19th Assembly District 4,982 All other districts 6,924
21st Assembly District 1,135 Total Negro pop. of Manhattan. .36,246
BROOKLYN.
The increase in the Negi'o population of Brooklyn began about 1860.
1850—Chief Negro population in Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and Eleventh wards.
I860—Chief Negro population in Fourth, Ninth, Eleventh and Sixteenth
wards.
1870—Chief Negro population in Fourth, Ninth, Eleventh, Sixteenth and
Twenty-first wards.
1890—Chief Negro population in Fifth, Seventh, Tenth, Eleventh, Nine¬
teenth, Twentieth, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth wards.
1900—The chief Negro population was in the following wards:
Ward 7 1,069 of Brooklyn 18,367
Ward 10 1,156 Negro population of Bronx
Ward 11 3,211 Borough 2,370
Ward 20 1.262 Negro population of Queens Bor-
Ward 23 1,653 ough 2,611
Ward 24 1,937 Chiefly in Ward 3 1,224
Ward 25 1,112 Negro population of Richmond
Ward 31 1,204 Borough 1,072
All other wards 5,763 Total Negro population of New
Total Negro population of Borough York City 60,666
3. Character of the Population, 1900.
The Negroes of the city are chiefly immigrants; of the 100,000 in the
state in 1900 only 44,614 were natives; 24,118 came from Virginia, and 19,000
from other parts of the South. In the city of New York the proportion
of immigrants is still larger.
The age of the Negro population was as follows in 1900:
Children under 15 years old 12.002—19.8^
Youth, 15 to 19 years 5,309— 8.84c
Young people, 20-29 years 18,297—30.2(/c
Men and women, 30-64 years 23,791—39.3'/<-
Old people, 65 years and over 1,143— 1.9l/c
A normal group has about 45% of its population under 20 years of
age, and 16 to 18% in the years 20-30. This shows that the Negroes in New
York are largely young immigrants, 20-30 years old, without families.
As to marriage there are, over 15 years of age:
Men. Women.
Single 9,380 10,376
Married 11,067 11,968
Widowed 865 4,771
Divorced 45 96
The number of widowed women is abnormal. Marriages take place
comparatively late, in the years from 25 to 45 among the men, and 20 to
^rnong the women.
Of the young people, 25-35 years of age, there are:
Single. Married. Widowed and Divorced.
Men 41.2 % 57.2% 1.6%
Women....- 82A1// 58. % 9.6%
This indicates a postponement of marriage dangerous to an undeveloped
people.
It is also noticeable that the females considerably outnumber the males,
there being 1,236 females to every 1,000 males. Some excess of females is
usual in city groups but so large an excess is quite abnormal. It shows
restricted economic opportunity for the men and is a source of social
disorder.
4. Occupations, (1890) .*
Total males, 10 years of age and over, in gainful occupations, about 8,000
" females, " " " " " " " " " 6,000
Total at work, about .- 14,000
Males in selected occupations:
Musicians and teachers of music.... 49
Government officials 7
Lawyers 5
Physicians and surgeons 14
Barbers and hairdressers Ill
Bartenders '29
Stationary engineers and firemen... 61
Janitors 366
Common laborers 822
Restaurant and saloon keepers 80
Servants 3,647
Watchmen and policemen 37
Agents and collectors 27
Sailors 106
Clerks and book-keepers 236
Females in selected occupations:
Musicians and teachers of music.... 24
Teachers 28
Boarding house keepers 23
Housekeepers and stewardesses 83
Laundresses 1,526
*Census figures for 1900 are not yet published.
Draymen and teamsters .476
Hostlers and livery stable keepers.... 100
Messengers and porters 559
Carpenters 33
Masons 20
Painters and varnishers 99
Plasterers 10
Plumbers and steamfitters 11
Printers 21
Tailors 20
Tobacco & cigar factory operatives.. .146
Miscellaneous artisans 108
Railway employees 34
And about 850 in miscellaneous
employments.
Nurses 67
Dressmakers 418
Seamstresses 103
Servants 3,754
5. Homes, 1890, 1900.
1890:
New York. Brooklyn.
Aggregate homes 5,106 2,217
Total owned 31 112
Total hired 5,075 2,105
1900:
Manhattan and Bronx. Brooklyn. Greater New York.
Private Negro Homes 8,886 3,844 13,463
Total owned 54 217 435
Total hired 8,280 3,57Q 12,406
Unknown 552 51 622
4
The condition of the private homes of Negroes can be judged in part
from the reports of those in the Eleventh and Thirteenth Assembly Dis¬
tricts as canvassed by the Federation of Churches:
Rents Paid Per Month. Size of Homes.
Under $10.00
$1( '.00-$14.00
$15.00-$24 00
$25.00 and over
Total
—337 families.
-591
—415
— 36
1,379
1 room
2 rooms
3 rooms —751
4 rooms —767
5 or more rooms—129
— 13 families.
—365
Total
2,025
No private water closet—1,499 families.
No bath —2,006
6. Schools and Illiteracy, 1890, 1900.
Illiteracy of Negroes, 1890: New York, 15.3'/^
Brooklyn. 14.3'/
1900: Greater New York, 10. l/i
School attendance, New York City, 1900:
Children under 5 years 58
5-9 years 2,1(58
10-14 •' 2,953
15-20 " 69-">
21 years and over 54
Total 5,928
Total children 5-14 years of age 7,436
7. Voters, 1900.
Total male Negroes 21 years of age and over 18,651
Of these, 1,286 or 6.9cjc are illiterate.
8. Death-rate and Crime, 1900.
The death rate per 1,000 of population was, in 1890:
New York. Brooklyn.
City, 28.63 25.54
Whites, 28.47 25.41
Native whites. 32.33 26.53
Colored, 37,47 34.99
1900:
Under 5 Years. All Ages.
New York City, 374.4 20.4
Whites, 374.1 20.3
Native whites, 578.2 20.6
Colored, 386.8 29.3
Of the 1,970 colored deaths in 1900, there were caused by:
Consumption, 359 Diarrheal diseases, 152
Pneumonia, 340 Heart disease and dropsy, 131
Diseases of nervous system, 157 Diseases of urinary organs, 130
Colored death rate— Brooklyn—27.5
" " " —Manhattan —30.3
In the 10 years, 1890 to 1899, the Negroes forming 1.7%' of the population
furnished about 3% of the arrests.
5
9. Historic Incidents Touching the Negro in New York.
1628—The Dutch West India Company pledges itself to furnish slaves.
1664—Slavery regulated by the Duke of York Code.
1682-1684—Ordinances of the Common Council against disorders of slaves.
1702—Act for regulating slaves.
1704—First Negro school in the United States opened by Elias Neau; 200
pupils.
1706—Act to encourage the baptism of slaves.
1707—First Negro plot—7 whites and 4 Negroes killed.
1709—Slave market erected at the foot of Wall street.
1712—Second Negro plot—10 whites and 19 Negroes killed.
1710—Negroes on the street after nightfall must carry lighted lanterns.
1722—Ordinance to prevent gambling among slaves. Death of Neau;
school continued by Huddleston, Wetmore. Colgan and others.
1741—Third Negro plot—154 Negroes and 24 whites arrested ; 14 burned and
22 hanged.
1767—Bill to prevent slavery lost in Legislature.
1774—Act granting freedom to slaves serving three years as soldiers.
1776—Negroes take part in the battle of Long Island.
1777—Suffrage extended to Negroes.
1780—Two Negroes aid in the capture of Andre.
1786—African Free School organized on Cliff street, between Beekman and
Ferry.
1788^Prohibition of the slave trade.
1796—Negroes secede from white Methodists on account of color discrimi¬
nation, and form the African Zion Church.
1799—Act for the gradual abolition of slavery.
1808—Free African Society founded.
1812—Negroes fight under Perry and Chauncey.
1813—Slave marriages legalized.
1814—2,000 Negro soldiers called for. One-half McDonough's men on Lake
Champlain are Negroes. African school burned.
1815—Negro school re-opened on William street; 200 pupils.
1820—Larger Negro school opened on Mulberry street, between Grand and
Hester; 500 pupils.
1821—Suffrage of Negroes restricted by property qualification of $250, ap¬
plying to them alone.
1824—Lafayette visits the African school. He is surprised at the increase
of color prejudice.
1827—Final abolition of slavery.
1827—First Negro newspaper in New; York.
1834—The Negro schools come under the supervision of the Public School
Society. Riots in which Negroes suffer.
1836—Negro refused license as drayman. Three new schools opened.
1846-1850—Legislature refuses to remove restrictions on Negro suffrage.
1853—Negro schools transferred to control of city.
1863—Draft riots—Negroes killed and abused.
1900—Police riot against Negroes.
i6s£\HE function of the university in every educational
t system has never been held to be merely the in¬
struction of the comparatively few who can obtain admis¬
sion at its doors. One of its most important duties is to
stand behind and strengthen the lower schools by supplying
high educational ideals and by furnishing teachers whose
knowledge is not limited to the branches which they teach."
N. Y. Evening Post, in Editorial on "The Necessity of the Negro College,"
Sept. 11,1902'.