Founded in 1902 by Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, who led it for fifty years, Palmer Memorial Institute near Greensboro was a unique private school for Afro-Americans.
Within the Hayti district in Durham in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Afro-Americans built strong economic and social institutions, although they were still rigidly segregated elsewhere.
Many ordinary people led civil rights protests. In 1968-69, when school desegregation in Hyde County threatened the loss of two Afro-American schools, a one-year student boycott saved the schools.
Begun in 1785 with 167 skilled and unskilled slaves, Somerset Place in Washington County was a prosperous plantation by 1790. Slaves' descendants continued the work until the end of the Civil War in 1865.
Slavery in the state's mountains differed from that supported by the cash-crop economy of the east. In the west, slave owners were mostly professional men who used the slaves in their businesses or hired them out to others.
The marketing of the state's scenic and historic areas and man-made attractions, like museums and aquariums, has made tourism a major business in North Carolina. Over 250,000 people are employed in travel-related businesses.
When WBT in Charlotte, the state's first commercial radio station, began broadcasting in April, 1922, people's horizons expanded to encompass national and international events and a variety of entertainment.
Railroads in the state have continued to prosper during the last fifty years despite a number of challenges, including mergers, changing engine technology, and competition from airline and trucking industries.
With the establishment of the North Carolina Film Office in 1980 and the creation of lighter moviemaking equipment, filmmaking in the state began to increase in places like Wilmington, Charlotte, and High Point.
In an age of mass-production technology, traditional craftsmen continue to practice their art across the state. They learn their skills from more experienced craftspersons or from schools, like the Penland School of Crafts.
From colonial times, the state's economy and connections with the nation and world depended, in part, upon an efficient transportation system. Once powered by water, then steam, the system is now fueled by petroleum.
Commercial fishing's powerful machinery, nets, and technology have replaced the muscle-powered boats of the 1800s. Bigger nets, though, affect the environment through over fishing and accidental kills of other fish and animals.
Quakers felt the need to free their slaves but were prohibited by a 1741 law that stated only the state could grant freedom. To get around this, Quakers deeded slaves to the Yearly Meeting, which by 1814 had around 800. They were later moved out of state.
Three distinct classes made up antebellum white society: the upper class, or plantation owners who grew cash crops; yeoman farmers, who owned land and grew crops for subsistence and bartering; and poor whites who rented land.
The Protestant religion had a strong influence in antebellum society, with most people being either Baptist or Methodist. Not only was the church a place of worship, it was also a social gathering place, community disciplinarian, and education promoter.