Agenda - 08-25-1997 - C2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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JS the Cedar Grove Township than in any other in the county,with the exception of the densely populated Chapel Hill vicinity in which the Black population totaled 2,629(U.S.Census 1941, p. 53). The relatively large 1940s Black population in the Cedar Grove Township was heavily involved in agriculture. Overall in Orange County there were 503 Black-owned farms and nearly half were located in the Cedar Grove Township. There were also 267 White-operated farms in the township which was only about 20%of all White-operated farms in Orange County but nonetheless a significant number. Nearly three- fourths of the Cedar Grove Township population was described by the 1940 Census as"rural farm. population." The percentage of Black tenant farmers was higher there than in any other township in Orange County which listed a county-wide average of 27.2%. The percentage of White tenant farmers in the township was also high, 57.3%,compared to a county-wide average of 39.3%(U.S.Census 1941, p.53).) Race relations,however,were relaxed in Cedar Grove and the blatant racism which generally characterized the South was not evident given that the institutions that were traditionally segregated in the South— restaurants, public bathrooms,bus depots,and theaters did not exist in the community. Blacks were legally prevented from attending White schools and social conventions kept the churches and dances segregated; however, on occasion White and Black musicians gathered at dances. Blacks and Whites also collaborated on farming efforts and White merchants were willing to extend credit to Blacks(Lomeli 1976,p.47). This was the social and economic context in which Black musicians were performing secular music in the Cedar Grove community from the late 1930s until the late 1940s. Fiddles and banjos were the principal instruments of these musicians. Many musicians from nearby communities traveled to Cedar Grove to accompany dances known asset dances,square dances,or most commonly,barn dances. Interviews with senior residents of the community reveal that these dances were occurring as early as the 1880s and as late as the 1940s(Lomeli interview with Joe Thompson,May 15, 1976 and Graybeal interview with Lois Hughes, July 10, 1997). The occurrence of these square dances was related to the agrarian cycle in Cedar Grove. The dances were held in celebration of the completion of harvesting in the fall and the recreational season was ushered in by a "corn shucking"dance between mid-October and November. Some dances attracted as many as 75 to 100 people, many of whom traveled from distant parts of the county and neighboring counties(Lomeli interview