ABSTRACT
Between 1890 and 1918, the African American population in Washington, DC grew dramatically as Blacks moved to the city to flee the lynch mobs, political and economic oppression, and poverty of the South.1 The prospect of employment in the federal government provided opportunities for Blacks and contributed to the emergence of a Black “middle class” who generally lived near Howard University. As Paul Dunbar wrote, “here comes together the flower of colored citizenship from all over the country . . . the breeziness of the West here meets the refinement of the East, the warmth and grace of the South, the culture and fine reserve of the North” (1901, p. 9).
