W.E.B. Du Bois ‘Of the Quest of the Golden Fleece’ in Souls of Black Folks (1994) 89: The merchant of the Black Belt is a curious institution,—part banker, part landlord, part contractor, and part depot. His store, which used most frequently to stand at cross-roads and became the centre of the weekly village, has now moved to town; and thither the Negro tenant follows him.at black belt (n.) under black, adj.