African American Community in Durham, North Carolina

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African Americans formed family patterns quite distinct from whites in Durham, North Carolina in 1900. This is evident from comparing 1,261 African American and 308 white families in this city. Not only were African American families more often female-headed than white familes, but a greater proportion of African American families included such relatively distant members as uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and cousins. Some African Americans even adopted unrelated infants in their families. These characteristics were either the results of their migration patterns from surrounding rural communities or of their usually temporary employment practices prevalent in domestic working conditions. The temporary nature of their employment and living conditions fostered development of various community networks which supplemented fragility of the African American family in this city.