(Photo: Ruben Mitchell, circa 1910)

I. African-American Occupations

"The most popular African-American occupation was farming, usually cotton with other crops to supplement earnings or to use for home use. Some owned their own acreage; others sharecropped or 'havers,' sharing half the proceeds of the crop with the land owner. Many land owners had difficulty holding their family plots over time. Family lands were lost through tax collection, loan collection, and outright purchase.

After the Civil War, labor prices were set for the year, working from sunrise to sunset: First Class--$150, Second Class--$125, and Third Class-$100. Women earned the following: First Class--$100, Second Class-$85, and Third Class-$70.

Some African-Americans worked for the railroad, at sawmills, with timber for the Civilian Conservation Corps, and at other various local businesses."

II. African-American Businesses

William Mullen, 'Little Billy,' owned a grist mill, cotton gin, and sorghum mill west of Oxford during the early part of the century. His children were his workers on the farm and in the mills.

'Bird' Kirkwood ran a blacksmith shop in Freedmantown during the 1920s. He shoed horses, farmed in the area, and had a stable with oxen. His wife ran a small store next door.

On the Square, Rob Boles ran his shoe shop, Henry Logan and Butch Morgan, a café, Walter Rogers a pressing shop, and Rufus Threkeld a barbershop. Numerous laundries operated at various times serving the students and the staff at the University."

III. Midwifery

Many women served as midwives for both the white and African-American communities. Women such as Rose Taylor, Hittie Mae Toles, Gertie Mae Carter, Judy Taylor, Roxie Bramblett, Mattie McEwen, Lou Thompson, and others helped new children into the world. Each woman had her own tools including a sharp pair of scissors to cut the umbilical cord, Lysol for disinfectant, and a sterilized belly band. Often such women also knew of herbs and home remedies that they passed on to their parents.

Lou Thompson handed down her skills to her grand-daughter Rosie Lou Mitchell who received additional training and now works as a midwife at a Jackson hospital.