History of Raleigh

y laws. They were unsuccessful. In 1900, the state legislature passed a new constitution, with voter registration rules that disfranchised most blacks and many poor whites. The state succeeded in reducing black voting to zero by 1908. Loss of the ability to vote disqualified black men (and later women) from sitting on juries and serving in any office, local, state or federal. The rising black middle-class in Raleigh and other areas was politically silenced and shut out of local governance, and the Republican Party was no longer competitive. It was not until after federal civil rights legislation was passed in the mid-1960s that the majority of blacks in North Carolina would again be able to vote, sit on juries and serve in local offices. No African American was elected to Congress until 1992.

20th century

In 1912, Bloomsbury Park opened, featuring a popular carousel ride. Relocated to Pullen Park, the carousel is still operating.

From 1914 to 1917, an influenza epidemic killed 288 Raleigh citizens.

In 1922, WLAC signed on as the city's first radio station, but lasted only two years. WFBQ signed on in 1924 and became WPTF in 1927. It is now Raleigh's oldest continuous radio broadcaster.

On December 12, 1924, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh was officially established by the Vatican and the Sacred Heart Cathedral became the official seat of the diocese.

The city's first airport, Curtiss-Wright Flying Field opened in 1929. That same year, the stock market crash resulted in six Raleigh banks closing.

During the difficult 1930s of the Great Depression, government at all levels was integral to creating jobs. The city provided recreational and educational programs, and hired people for public works projects. In 1932, Raleigh Memorial Auditorium was dedicated. The North Carolina Symphony,