Mining Labor | Encyclopedia of Alabama
The 1890 Census identified approximately one-third (34.9 percent) of the mining labor force as native-born whites. Of the remaining workforce, 46.2 percent were black and 18.7 percent were foreign-born immigrants. The mining population increased from 11,751 in 1900 to 24,000 in 1930, peaking at 26,200 in 1920.