The segregated Elizabeth City Hook and Ladder Company was formed in 1891 to fight fires, rescue and demolish compromised buildings with its famous “hook.” The 1890s represented the apex of African American accomplishments after the Civil War. Elizabeth City did not integrate fire and rescue until 1977.
The exhibit, “Freedom! A Promise Disrupted: North Carolina, 1862-1901,” on loan from the N.C. Museum of History, opens at Museum of the Albemarle Saturday, April 1.
The segregated Elizabeth City Hook and Ladder Company was formed in 1891 to fight fires, rescue and demolish compromised buildings with its famous “hook.” The 1890s represented the apex of African American accomplishments after the Civil War. Elizabeth City did not integrate fire and rescue until 1977.
A new exhibit opening next month at Museum of the Albemarle explores the struggles newly freed African Americans in North Carolina encountered to keep their freedom following the Civil War and the Reconstruction era.
“Freedom! A Promise Disrupted: North Carolina, 1862-1901,” on loan from the N.C. Museum of History, opens at Museum of the Albemarle Saturday, April 1.
According to the museum, African American citizens pushed for a “radical reconstruction” of both government and society following the Civil War that would guarantee them more rights and protections under the law.
“After the Civil War, African Americans in North Carolina helped to rebuild the nation on a new foundation, one that for a brief moment hoped to fulfill to the promise of liberty for all,” said Susanna Lee, exhibit curator and an associate professor at North Carolina State University’s Department of History.”
African Americans’ efforts to keep their freedom and bring greater equality were often met with heavy and violent backlash by white citizens. By the turn of the 20th century, those efforts had stalled as white supremacists returned to power in North Carolina.
“After the Civil War formerly enslaved people formed families, established churches, educational institutions, and communities for the first time in history only to see racism and segregation reverse those gains by the turn of the 20th century,” said NC Museum of History Museum Curator and Exhibit Consultant Earl Ijames.
“Freedom! A Promise Disrupted: North Carolina, 1862-1901” explores how the Civil War and Reconstruction affected African Americans in North Carolina and details their journey to gain equality.
The exhibit will remain on display at the museum through Oct. 18.
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