Around the "Y" Community

A predominantly African American community originally known as around the "Wire" and later known as the "Y" community sprang up in the early 20th century and remained intact until the mid 1970s under U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Affairs redevelopment plans. Early settlers faced slavery, the Jim Crow period, and the Great Depression, and their courage, religious faith, and strength of character carried them through those difficult times. For most of the early settlers, livelihoods centered on the railroad, tobacco, cotton, and domestic work. Their contributions added significantly to the economic vitality of Rocky Mount and the coastal plain region of North Carolina, and their descendants continued to make substantial contribution to the well-being of the city, state, and nation.

Rocky Mount, North Carolina · United States