Late 1800s:In 1880, the African American population of North Carolina is 531,000 out of a total population of 1.4 million. African Americans comprise almost thirty-eight percent of the state's population.

1990s: In 1997, North Carolina's total population is just over 7.4 million. Of this figure, close to 6 million North Carolinians are white and just over 1.6 are African American. African Americans comprise almost twenty-two percent of the state's population.

Late 1800s: Between 1899 and 1909, lynchings become an increasingly southern and racial phenomenon. In 1888, 137 Americans are lynched; 68 of these are white people and 69 are African Americans. By 1899, of the 106 lynching victims, only 21 are white and the remaining 85 are African American. In North Carolina, between 1882 and 1903, 15 whites and 48 African Americans are lynched.

1990s: No lynchings take place in the 1990s, or in the several decades preceding it. However, hate crimes do persist and seem to be on the rise. Hate crimes are...