A common accusation from whites in Wilmington, particularly the working classes dominated by Irish immigrants, was that blacks did not pay taxes or did not pay enough. But the city’s 1895 tax rolls listed 2,238 blacks who paid their taxes in full. In 1897, at least 13 blacks, one of them a woman, owned at least $2,000 in property and paid taxes on every parcel. Tax revenues paid for street improvements, electric lights, sanitation, and other city services—but primarily for white neighborhoods. Predominately black neighborhoods were denied most public conveniences, including reliable police and
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