Black History

Before Chocolate Cities: The New Promised Land

During the late 19th and 20th centuries, at least 88 and as many as 200 Black towns were established throughout the United States. Mostly or completely Black incorporated communities with autonomous Black city governments and commercially oriented economies, these cities were created with purposeful economic and political motives.

Published

2 years ago

February 15, 2023

Oakland Post

At the end of the Reconstruction-era South, Nicodemus, Kansas, (1877) was founded by newly freed slaves.

By Tamara Shiloh

The greatest draw to these cities was the ability to escape racial oppression, control one’s economic destiny, and prove Black capacity for self-government. They were thought to be the New Promised Land. Texas would lead the effort with the founding of Shankleville Community (1867) and Kendleton (1870), both populated by ex-slaves from the surrounding countryside.

At the end of the Reconstruction-era South, Nicodemus, Kansas, (1877) was founded by newly freed slaves.

The land on which Nicodemus and other Black communities in Kansas stood turned out to be unproductive for agriculture. Natural drought cycles diminished efforts to raise crops. Despite this setback, the lifestyle remained better than that of the South. Instead, residents built houses, businesses, clubs, churches, and schools. They also “participated in political and commercial life in ways previously denied to them,” according to the National Park Service website.

Nicodemus, populated with some descendants of the original settlers, still stands. The 2020 census reported its population to be 14.

On June 30, 1908, Allen Allensworth, a former soldier, and William Payne, a teacher, created the California Colony and Home Promoting Association. It was soon dubbed Allensworth. 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 was plentiful and reasonably priced, according to the News One website.

The town became a member of the county school district and the regional library system. There, the first Black Justice of the Peace in post-Mexican California was elected. By 1914, it boasted 100 residents. Most of the adults worked 10-acre farms nearby, which they purchased for $110 per acre on an installment plan.

Allen Allensworth, in 1914, lobbied for an educational institute. That’s when a series of methodical racist acts began to trigger the community’s decline. The Santa Fe Railroad built a spur line to neighboring Alpaugh, depriving Allensworth of its lucrative carrying trade. Santa Fe also refused to hire Blacks as managers or ticket agents of the station located in the colony despite repeated letters and recriminations.

Powerful white farmers diverted the White River to irrigate their own crops and cut off Allensworth’s supply. The Pacific Farming Company then failed to honor its commitment to supply sufficient water for irrigation. But the largest factor in the community’s decline was Allen Allensworth’s death. By 1920, people began to leave the area.

On Oct. 6, 1976, what was once a thriving Black community was dedicated as a park.

Read more about the dynamic network of cities and towns built, maintained, and defended by African Americans in “Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life,” by Marcus Anthony Hunter and Zandria F. Robinson

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Black History

From Louisville to the Olympics: The Legacy of William DeHart Hubbard

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history. Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

William DeHart Hubbard made history in 1924 when Hubbard made Olympic history by winning the Gold Medal in the long jump. Public Domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history.

Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Hubbard was the only African American on the school’s track team; he was also the first African American varsity track letterman at the university. In his college career, Hubbard won several meets including being a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion, eight-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) champion, and seven-time Big Ten Conference champion in track and field. His 1925 outdoor long jump of 25 feet 10¹⁄₂ inches stood as the Michigan Wolverines team record until 1980, and it is still second. His 1925 jump of 25 feet 3.5 inches stood as a Big Ten Championships record until Jesse Owens broke it in 1935 with what is now the current record of 26 feet 8.25 inches.

In 1924, he was selected to represent the United States at the Paris Summer Olympics.

Competing against some of the best athletes in the world, Hubbard made history by winning the gold medal in the long jump by jumping 24 feet 5.5 inches. This victory made him the first African American to win an individual gold medal in the history of the modern Olympic Games.

In 1925, Hubbard broke the long jump world record with a leap of 25 feet 10⁷⁄₈ inches at the NCAA championships. In 1927, he bettered that with a jump of 26 feet 2.25 inches — which would have been the first ever over 26 feet — but meet officials disallowed it, claiming that the take-off board was an inch higher than the surface of the landing pit. He also competed in the hurdles at the 1926 AAU championships. He graduated with honors in 1927.

He specialized in the long jump, a sport that would soon bring him international fame.

Hubbard’s Olympic success was not just a personal triumph but a milestone for African Americans in sports. His victory challenged the prevailing stereotypes of the time and inspired a generation of Black athletes to pursue their dreams in the face of adversity.

After his Olympic success, he continued to excel in track and field. He set an additional world record in 1925 with a jump of 25 feet 10.75 inches, which stood for several years. His accomplishments were not limited to athletics, as he also became involved in civic and business endeavors after his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1927.

Following his athletic career, Hubbard returned to his hometown of Cincinnati, where he took on various roles serving his community and the progress of African Americans. He worked as a manager for the Department of Colored Work for the Cincinnati Public Recreation Commission and later became a race relations adviser for the Federal Housing Administration.

Hubbard passed away on June 23, 1976. As the first African American to win an individual Gold Medal in the Olympics, he not only paved the way for future generations of athletes but also demonstrated the profound impact that sports can have on societal change.