Pictured is the sharecropper family of Wade Keith in Wake County c. 1911.
Shown are, left to right, Cephus Keith, John Keith, Susie Durham, Esther Keith, Hudie Keith, Viola Allen Keith, Wade Keith, and Rufe Keith.
Pictured is the sharecropper family of Wade Keith in Wake County c. 1911.
Shown are, left to right, Cephus Keith, John Keith, Susie Durham, Esther Keith, Hudie Keith, Viola Allen Keith, Wade Keith, and Rufe Keith.
Sharecropping became a common practice for both white and Black farmers in the South after Reconstruction.
This legal agreement allowed croppers to farm the land in exchange for a share of the crops produced.
Since sharecroppers were at a social and economic disadvantage, they were very often taken advantage of by the land owners by compounding their debt and manipulating crop prices.
This left the farmers no choice but to stay and continue farming for little in return.
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Source: N.91.8.20-From the General Negative Collection, State Archives of NC