A city known historically for its ethnic diversity, Fayetteville has truly served as a leader and model in the state by providing opportunity to the African-American community. During the South's antebellum era, freedmen and local slaves established a strong black identity in the city, one that would grow cosmopolitan and evolve over the decades, surviving wars, depressions, and social inequalities. This work, with over 200 images, relates the black contribution to the city, featuring its earliest civic leaders, some of its older schools, such as Fayetteville State University, and a few of its outstanding citizens.