What would our Black forefathers think of us today?
on July 17th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
When I saw this video this morning of thousands of mostly Black folks literally running to the government for a chance at subsidized housing, my heart just sank. Yes I am quite aware that welfare is touching folks of all races (especially in this economy), all backgrounds, etc. I am also aware of corporate welfare. But for those Black folks who always throw those cards on the table as a response to scenes like the one above, I think it is time to stop diverting the issue. We have to take a serious look at OUR OWN HISTORY and realize that somewhere down the line we dropped the ball.
As I have mentioned on this site many time in the past, some of the greatest accomplishments of Black people in this country took place when government did not want to have anything to do with us. No I am not suggesting that there was some “benefit” to slavery or Jim Crow. What I am saying is that when you take a honest look at the historic examples that I have provided below, you will see that we as Black people in this country at one time had an innate ability to be self-sufficient and self-relient as a people and as a community. Headlines like the following would have been non-existent in those days. Why? Because there was no “social-security” for Black folks.
Social Security Cuts To Drive Black Women Into Extreme Poverty
Think about it. They are handing out vouchers for something that these po’ folks will never own. Thank about that!!
So the question before you today is “What could a race of people accomplish with no government assistance?” The answer is just below this fold.
Photo from Weeksville, New York back in the day
Weeksville, NY
“In 1838, just eleven years after the abolition of slavery in New York, James Weeks, a free African American, purchased land on the edge of the settled areas of Brooklyn. This purchase marked the establishment of Weeksville, a village of free African Americans – laborers, laundresses, craftsmen, doctors, entrepreneurs and professionals – who worked and thrived in New York throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. A vibrant and self-sufficient community, Weeksville’s residents established schools, an orphanage, an elderly home, churches, benevolent associations, newspapers, and participated in anti-slavery activities.”
(click to read more)
Watch the full episode. See more The City Concealed.
Greenwood, Oklahoma
Do a Google search on “Greenwood, Oklahoma” or “Black Wall Street” and the majority of the links results will jump completely over the details of what made this city great. Instead, most of them jump straight to it’s tragic end when racist Whites destroyed the town. If that is how people want to remember this town, we completely miss what made this town great in the first place and the racists have won.
Allensworth, CA
“Allen Allensworth, a former soldier, and William Payne, a teacher, created the California Colony and Home Promoting Association, with offices in the San Fernando Building on Main Street and in downtown Los Angeles. Others also played significant roles in the colony’s founding‑John W. Palmer, a miner; William H. Peck, a minister; and Harry A. Mitchell, a real estate agent. The Pacific Farming Company, a White-owned rural land development firm, offered the association prime land in Solito, a rural area in Tulare County 30 miles north of Bakersfield.
Quickly renamed, Allensworth was a good site for the colony. It had a depot station on the main Santa Fe Railroad line from Los Angeles to San Francisco, the soil was fertile, the water seemingly abundant, and the acreage not only plentiful but also reasonably priced. Initially, many of the colony residents, including Colonel Allensworth, were surprised but gratified that a White company had come to their aid. Yet within five years, the Pacific Farming Company would become the colony’s adversary in a water controversy. The 1912-1915 period marked the apex of Allensworth as a thriving community. African-American newspapers throughout the nation noticed the tiny hamlet.
The New York Age chronicled its growth, the Washington Bee congratulated all involved with the enterprise, and the California Eagle gleefully exclaimed, “There is not a single white person having anything to do with the affairs of the colony.” Even the Los Angeles Times took note, labeling Allensworth “an ideal Negro settlement.” The national Black community was starved for race victories. Positive actions such as those taken by Allensworth residents were one way to portray Blacks in a more favorable light. Also during this period, Allensworth favorably affected the surrounding area’s economic and political structure. Sources such as the Oakland Sunshine (a leading San Francisco Bay area Black newspaper) claimed that in 1913, the citizens of Allensworth generated nearly $5,000 monthly in their business ventures.”
Freedman’s Town, Texas
This is yet another example of how a Black town was very prosperous until government decided to move in. From that point on, the city began to deteriorate.
“Initially located where Allen Parkway Village now stands, Freedmen’s Town was established immediately after the Civil War when many farmers gave or sold their truck farms and property to freed slaves. Freedmen’s Town prospered during the turn of the century. Economic, community, and social development were at a peak until local government became threatened by the Black area’s prosperity. Black businesses, homes, and churches soon became displaced in order to make way for “progress.” Government buildings, such as City Hall, the Albert Thomas Convention Center, and the Music Hall and Coliseum have replaced that portion of Freedmen’s Town whose boundaries extended east to Travis Street; west to Taft Street; north to Allen Parkway, and south to Sutton Street.
Wards were established in Houston in 1841. Although the “ward” system was officially discontinued in 1906, Houstonians continued to identify the city’s various communities by those political subdivisions. By 1920, Freedmen’s Town had grown to represent one-third of Houston’s population.
In the 1920′s , Freedmen’s Town was Houston’s “Harlem.” The area was filled with many restaurants, jazz spots, and night clubs. These establishments were frequently visited by Houston’s white citizens as well. West Dallas was the community’s main commercial strip.
In 1929, a survey conducted by the National Urban League revealed that city services were not being extended to Houston’s Black citizens. In addition, a pattern of segregation was preventing Freedmen’s Town residents from moving to better jobs. In that same year the official report of the City Planning Commission recommended strict segregational zoning of Blacks into the Second, Fourth, and Fifth Wards. While this proposal was not accepted, it was implemented on a de facto basis through deed and housing restrictions. With the coming of integration, many Freedmen’s Town residents began to move toward Texas Southern University, in the Third Ward, and other areas of the city, such as Studewood, South Park, Riverside Terrace, Kashmere Gardens, and Acres Homes.”
(Click to read more)
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Just a side note: I spent a good part of the morning finding all of the information in this post by simply doing a few searches on Google. This is EXACTLY why when someone asks me to provide them with a link, I typically tell them that if they really want to know, do what I did and look it up. Some of the most raunchiest and most ignorant Internet videos produced by and feature us have view counts that are in the tens of thousands. Why? Because we make the effort to find them and ridicule ourselves in the process. Knowing the rich history of our people, I have to expect more from my own. Our forefathers would not have had it any other way.
In this post, I am talking about the economic part of our history. In a later post, I will talk about our spiritual heritage and how that was a foundation to everything discussed in this post.
