Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 8-13-21

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More Black Towns In Oklahoma
klahoma is a state
that was home to more than 50 all Black towns – the largest number than any other state. Today, only 13 all Black towns still exist. Between 1865 and 1920, Blacks created the identifiable towns and set- tlements on or near Indian Settlements given to the Na- tive Americans at the end of the Trail of Tears between 1831 and 1877.
Even though a few of the towns are left, their exis- tence and legacy became (and still is) an important part of the struggle for Blacks “for freedom, inde- pendence and prosperity.”
Many of the towns were founded along the railroad lines and thrived until the cotton price fell, the Depres- sion of 1929, enactment of segregated and Jim Crow laws, and racial violence caused mass migration to Canada, the West, Texas, Mexico and Africa (Back to Africa Movement).
Indeed, all Black towns provided refuge from racial discrimination, prejudice and both police and hate brutality.
The remaining eight of the 13 former all Black towns include: Red Bird, Tullahassee, Taft, Ver- non, Grayson, Lima, Summit and Tatums.
Red Bird was founded by Rev. J. M. Loughridge of the Presbyterian Mission and was organized in 1907 and developed seven churches, two general stores, eight juke joints, and schools. With a population of 137, the town now has no
retail businesses, but still has three active churches, and a growing population.
In 1911, the town was stymied in its growth be- cause white farmers signed pledges to “never rent, lease or sell land to persons of Negro blood unless it was a mile away from a white or Indian landowner.” They also signed pledges to not hire “Negro labor.”
Tullahassee was founded in 1850, and had lost half of its population by 1920. Its name is derived from the native American language (Talwa “town,” and “ahassee” something). It is the oldest surviving all Black town on Indian terri- tory. The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) es- tablished and opened Flip- per Davis College in 1916, as the only private higher education institution for Blacks in Oklahoma.
The college closed in 1935. Its current population in 106.
Taft was created on land that was owned by the Creek Freedmen and was named after President William Howard Taft. With a cur- rent population of 250, Taft is home to four educational institutions and two pris- ons.
The town of Vernon was founded in 1911 and named for AME Bishop Williams Tecumseh Vernon. Both Fort Smith and the Western Railway opened in 1899 and closed in 1939. The railway had served the mining industry in eastern Oklahoma.
The town’s post office,
grocery store and dry goods store building were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Grayson was founded in 1902 and was originally named Wildcat. The name was changed to honor a Muscogee chief, George W. Grayson, in 1902. The town’s name wasn’t legally changed until 1964.
Lima, Oklahoma was in- corporated in 1913, and be- came the home of a Rosenwald School, news- paper, oil wells, churches, and the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.
The current population is 53 and it is well known for both boys and girls’ champi- onship basketball teams.
Summit was originally called South Muskogee and was founded in 1910. Its current population is 139 with 54 families. The town is home to a Baptist church and the WEB Dubois School.
The last town, Tatums was founded by Lee and Mary Tatum and incorpo- rated in 1896. Tatum served as the first postmas- ter, ran a grocery store and was a U. S. Marshal. The town was home to a cotton gin, hotel, a Rosenwald School, sawmill, churches, and neighboring oil wells. The Bethel Missionary Bap- tist Church still stands today and is included in the Na- tional Register of Historic Places.
There were so many Black towns in Oklahoma until Kansas State Auditor E. P. McCabe submitted legislation in 1890 to make Oklahoma an all-Black state.
Of course, the legislation did not make it out of com- mittee. No doubt, the mass Black exodus from Okla- homa in the 1920s and 30s greatly reduced the Black population in Oklahoma, which now stands at less than 8%. Harambee
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
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So Close: Worldwide Hate
he more the world changes, the more it remains
the same. Moreover, when we look at the political and cultural issues of different countries, the more they look the same. For instance, recent comments made by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Vicktor Orban, in which he confirmed his country’s anti-diver- sity stance in a slap at the United States.
The country, which has a legacy of xenophobia be- ginning with late 1930s and early 1940s... anti-Semi- tism pogroms, massacres, and assaults during the 19th and 20th centuries; collaboration with Nazi-led groups in the early 1940s; current anti-refugee practices; and its highly criticized LGBT law which bans schools from using teaching materials that appear to promote homo- sexuality.
The National Public Radio organization (NPR) wrote and reported on what they described as Hun- gary’s “Xenophobia Problem.” Other news organiza- tions have described Hungary as being “one of the most anti-refugee countries on the continent.”
In one of Prime Minister Orban’s 2018 Election speeches, he promised to defend “Christian Europe against Muslim invaders.” Hungary’s population of 9.773 million includes only 5 percent of foreign born (488,650).
The Hungarian Jewish community is estimated at 75,000 to 100,000 and are victims of “occasional anti- Semitic incidents and must contend with an active Nazi party, Jobbik. One survey found that only 10 percent of Hungarians feel comfortable having an immigrant as a friend, while 55 percent felt uncomfortable having an immigrant as a friend. Consequently, Hungarians are said to “not like foreigners.”
So is there any surprise that Republican Tucker Carlson, FOX News host who just completed a week- long visit in Hungary, met with Prime Minister Orban. Carlson, as reported by other news sources, is said to have praised the authoritarian Hungarian regime as “a model for the Americans;” and “is a great place, it’s friendlier to dissent than the United States.”
Of course, Tucker is described as a ‘right wing Republican and Trump supporter.’ Don’t forget Trump idolizes authoritarian and dictator leaders and attempted to use that leadership style while in office. The lesson to be learned --- we nearly went Hun- garian on January 6, 2021, when hordes of haters stormed the Capitol.
We cannot afford authoritarian and dictator style leaders. Everybody needs to wake up and realize how close we came and how close we are to being like Hungary with Republicans like Tucker Carlson.
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