Education
Pre-Emancipation
There is unfortunately little information available regarding African American education in Davidson pre-Emancipation. At the time, North Carolina State Law prohibited teaching any enslaved individual how to read or write, although it is unknown how aggressively such laws were enforced (Blodgett & Levering 2012, 25). Therefore, we cannot know for certain whether or not any enslaved individuals received such an education in Davidson. If they did, however, it would most likely have been a discreet affair.
Post-Emancipation
The North Carolina state government did not provide any funds to assist local governments until 1897. This is worth noting because of the effects it had on public funding for education, which was negligible in the 1860s and 1870s (Blodgett & Levering 2012, 52). In Mecklenburg County, the 1874 education budget included $5,346 for 46 white schools including 1,702 white children, and $2,948 for 34 black schools including 1,814 black children (Blodgett & Levering 2012, 52; Tompkins 1903, 166). The disparities in funding become even more apparent when considering how these funds were used; that particular year, all of the money allocated for black schools went to construction, leaving none with which to pay teachers (Blodgett & Levering 2012, 52; Crow et al. 1992, 153-154). Furthermore, even though black schools clearly existed in Mecklenburg County, most of them were located in the southern part of the county. The town of Davidson itself had no black schools. Though a few were listed as attending private institutions in other towns, most black children in Davidson had to make do with local Sabbath Schools (Blodgett & Levering 2012, 52) (see Religious Life section for more details). Black residents felt the disparity; as Ralph Johnson writes in his autobiography:
But as far as education for Negroes was concerned, hardly any attention was given to it, and it seemed little more than a farce (Johnson 2000, 32).
The first mention of a dedicated black school in Davidson occurs in the January 1893 issue of The Davidson Monthly, the college magazine:
One of the most enjoyable events of the season was the exhibition of the colored school at the close of the session, December 22nd. Notwithstanding the fact that the Bible examination was held the following day, about one-third of the audience was composed of students.
What in particular made this exhibition such an enjoyable event is never specified. Annual celebrations like this one were considered commonplace for local schools; although details surrounding the festivities of black school exhibitions are sparse, the celebrations of white schools in the area featured speeches, music, and skits (Blodgett & Levering 2012, 75).
Bibliography
Blodgett, Jan, and Ralph B. Levering. One Town, Many Voices: A History of Davidson, North Carolina. Davidson, NC: Davidson Historical Society, 2012.
Crow, Jeffrey J., Paul D. Escott, and Flora J. Hatley. A History of African Americans in North Carolina. Raleigh, NC: Dept. of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History, 1992.
Johnson, Ralph W. David Played a Harp: An Autobiography. Davidson, NC: Blackwell Ink, 2000.
Tompkins, Daniel A. History of Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte: From 1740 to 1903. Charlotte, NC: Observer Print House, 1903.