1886

The Colored Farmers' National Alliance and Cooperative Union was founded in Houston County, Texas in 1886 and by 1891 claimed approximately 1.2 million Black members across the South. It ran cooperative exchanges, stores, and cotton gins, and advocated for federal land reform. When it organized a cotton pickers' strike in 1891, white planters and their allies crushed it through violence, killing leader R.M. Humphrey's allies.

Born enslaved in Georgia, Alonzo Herndon opens his first Atlanta barbershop in the 1880s and by the 1890s operates three elegant shops serving Atlanta's white elite, earning him the title of 'wealthiest Black man in Atlanta.' The capital he accumulated funded his 1905 founding of Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the largest Black-owned businesses in U.S. history.

Born enslaved in Georgia, Alonzo Herndon opens his first Atlanta barbershop in the 1880s and by the 1890s operates three elegant shops serving Atlanta's white elite, earning the title 'wealthiest Black man in Atlanta.' The capital he accumulated funded the 1905 founding of Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the largest Black-owned businesses in U.S. history.

Granville T. Woods patents an electrical railway system and improved steam boiler furnace. His 'troller' system for electric streetcars was widely adopted in U.S. cities. Both Edison and Alexander Graham Bell's companies challenged his patents in court and lost, then purchased his designs.

Granville T. Woods patents an improved steam boiler furnace and an electrical railway system in 1886, advancing both industrial power generation and urban transit. His 'troller' system for electric streetcars was adopted widely. Both Edison and Alexander Graham Bell's companies attempted to challenge his patents and lost, then purchased his designs.

Granville Woods, a self-taught inventor known as 'the Black Edison,' patented an improved arc lighting system in 1886. He also patented an induction telegraph allowing moving trains to communicate with stations, preventing collisions. Thomas Edison challenged his patents twice and lost both times. Woods sold many patents to Westinghouse and American Bell Telephone.

Norris Wright Cuney rose to become chairman of the Texas Republican Party and the most powerful Black political figure in the South during the 1880s and early 1890s, also serving as Collector of the Port of Galveston — a major federal patronage position. He commanded significant influence over federal appointments in Texas and used his position to advocate for Black workers and political rights. His career represented the peak of Black political power in the post-Reconstruction South before the wave of disenfranchisement.

Granville Woods, a self-taught inventor from Columbus, Ohio, patented an improved arc lighting system in 1886, one of dozens of patents he would secure. Known as 'the Black Edison,' Woods battled Thomas Edison in patent disputes and won. His inventions spanned electrical systems, railway communications, and motors, many of which he sold to major corporations including Westinghouse.