Black teachers in the South found that the gap between their salaries and those of their white counterparts increased dramatically during the twenty-year span from 1890 to 1910. In 1890 the salary for black teachers generally was less than that paid white teachers, but the gap was much smaller than it would become later. In 1890 in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, black teachers earned about 80 percent of the salary of white teachers. In North Carolina and Florida the gap was only 2-6 percent; in Alabama black teachers made slightly more than white teachers.

By 1910 the salary gap between the races increased significantly. Average annual salaries of white teachers more than doubled during the period, while the average salaries of black teachers generally dropped or remained stagnant.

Table: Annual Salaries of Public School Teachers in Selected Southern States (1890-1910)

Alabama