From 1880 to 1898 the working class black women of Wilmington, North Carolina forged a politics of recognition in the city streets by asserting their own terms of womanhood and demanding protection. However, during this period these women were labeled “disorderly” in The Wilmington Morning Star. Assessing the politics of the city’s working class black women required evaluating the hidden transcript of the “disorderly” reports. Additionally, also exploring the public transcript of the reports revealed the advantages a white press gained in portraying such an unruly image of the women. While these accounts lacked a direct perspective from the working class black women themselves, interpreting the hidden transcript offered the opportunity to find their political voice
