african americans in oklahoma city!! (Tulsa, Norman: rent, houses, employment)

[Zachj7]

Originally Posted by debzkidz

Wow, that's really interesting, because we have noticed way more interracial couples here in OKC than we ever saw living in Texas. In our kids high school, seeing kids of different races dating was no big deal. I see women out shopping all the time with what appear to be bi-racial children. I have a friend whose grandchildren are bi-racial. No on I know gives it a second thought.

Interesting. I would have thought that Texas would have more interracial couples. Out of all the places I have lived, there seems to be fewer interracial couples here than Oregon, California, and even Stuttgart(southern Germany). I am probably much more used to it being accepted but now that you mention it, I will keep my eye out. I think the younger crowd is much more open to it. My parent's generation was rather open to it where I grew up but I don't run into many mixed kids too often here.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

I was a student at Edmond Memorial High School in Edmond when the first black student to attend Edmond schools enrolled in 1975. He was named "King" of one of those sports courts (can't remember which one).

Edmond has done pretty well in terms of integration since those days. OKC is much more diverse than other places. While historically, the african american part of town grew out of the near eastern edge of downtown, and now includes most of northeastern OKC, black neighborhoods are located in north OKC, Spencer, and Del City and Midwest City are completely mixed neighborhoods now. The Putnam City school district area has a large number of black students who live in the district (which is the "desirable" part of OKC).

Norman which was all white until 1967 now has an african american population at 5%.

Stillwater's schools were integrated in the mid 1960s when the town's only black public school was closed. Unlike other cities, like Norman, Stillwater didn't have a sundown law or tradition. But it had a black section, which probably wasn't a much better situation.

[okcpulse]

Fact: Oklahoma was proposed as a black state and has more black- founded towns than any other state in the nation. Bet Charles Barkley forgot to check on that one!

[sisepuede]

Originally Posted by okcpulse

Fact: Oklahoma was proposed as a black state and has more black- founded towns than any other state in the nation. Bet Charles Barkley forgot to check on that one!

What? Oklahoma a black state? Where did you pull this out of?

Oklahoma was of course given to Chickasaw,Choctaw,Creek,Seminole, Cherokee as recourse for taking their land in the Mississippi Valley and Florida.

I'm not sure about the black founded thing, but freedmen townships were established all over 'the west'

To the OP, it will be a culture shock. I moved from CA to OK in the 80s and bounced between throughout my college/adult years and they are two drastically different places to live. You didnt state what part of CA you're leaving but if you lived in an urban (and I don't mean the code word for black) environment, then you will be culture shocked. You might like it. I really enjoy the wide open spaces, and the generally friendly attitudes to get from folks. But the best thing about OK, IMO outside of the Thunder is that everything is so inexpensive compared to CA. And speaking of Thunder, the weather is a HUGE difference. OK weather just plain sucks! CA weather is the best in the world.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by okcpulse

Fact: Oklahoma was proposed as a black state and has more black- founded towns than any other state in the nation. Bet Charles Barkley forgot to check on that one!

This is not exactly true but is not far off.. Edwin McCabe came from Kansas and founded Langston. He wanted Oklahoma to be a "majority black" state and thus started a movement to start black towns as you stated. During segragation these towns thrived as small farming communities but most all of them have dried up in the last 80 years.

Many of these towns were around Okmulgee, Muskogee with a few others in central Oklahoma (Greenpastures, Arcadia, Langston and Earlsboro). There were a few in southcentral and southwestern Oklahoma as well.

T

[sisepuede]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

This is not exactly true but is not far off.. Edwin McCabe came from Kansas and founded Langston. He wanted Oklahoma to be a "majority black" state and thus started a movement to start black towns as you stated. During segragation these towns thrived as small farming communities but most all of them have dried up in the last 80 years.

Many of these towns were around Okmulgee, Muskogee with a few others in central Oklahoma (Greenpastures, Arcadia, Langston and Earlsboro). There were a few in southcentral and southwestern Oklahoma as well.

T

Thanks for clarifying, Eddie. Only thing is when people say it was PROPOSED as a black state makes it sound like it was on the verge of being a black state, as opposed to just one man who dreamed of a black state, but settled on founding Langston.

[okie1962]

Maybe people form other states think Oklahoma is racist because of statements some of our politicians make.

Kern apologizes for comments during affirmative action debate | Tulsa World

[proudvoterofObama]

Originally Posted by CoreyS

I've been here for a little over 2 months and I'm half black, and by my looks you can tell I'm obviously not from here, and I'd say it exists but not quite enough to worry about. Sure I would expect more trouble in the more rural areas but people here have been nothing but nice so far and I try to stay in more city-like areas... With that said, I've also noticed a lot of dirty looks (I'm sure you know the kinds of looks) here and there by some older folks when I'm out and about with a white girl on my arm. I'm sure they're just oldtimers living in the past but I have yet to receive any trouble from anybody.

...and for the record, a girl I used to hang with, her parents were racist. So it's definitely out there, some might hide it better than others.

This makes me sad. I can't believe people still act that way. It's disgusting.

[okcpulse]

I'll correct myself... It was considered as an option but never proposed. I had done some research on this in the 1990s at the UCO library, but it's been so long that I can't recall the print sources I read. However, this link provides more information on the option of admitting Oklahoma as a black state in 1907. It was considered by Benjamin Harrison but was obviously dismissed.

Afrohoma - Perspectives on a Black State of Oklahoma

[sisepuede]

Originally Posted by okcpulse

I'll correct myself... It was considered as an option but never proposed. I had done some research on this in the 1990s at the UCO library, but it's been so long that I can't recall the print sources I read. However, this link provides more information on the option of admitting Oklahoma as a black state in 1907. It was considered by Benjamin Harrison but was obviously dismissed.

Afrohoma - Perspectives on a Black State of Oklahoma

Thanks for the link. An interesting read. Quickly reading over it, it seemed like hindsight vision of where newly freed slaves could have lived to escape bigotry and institutionalized racism in a place called Afrohoma.

From my understanding from 1865 - early 1900s blacks did extensively migrate from the Missisippi valley and florida, westward to OK, TX, KS, CO and then also north west to Chicago and Kansas City, Memphis on up to Detroit because industrilized jobs were more plentiful there which provided plenty of manual labor jobs for not only semi-literate former slaves but semi-literate poor whites.

As far as OK goes around that time, my (African/Creek/Chickasaw) family was in Oklahoma and they lived like most other Oklahomans at the time...men were mostly day laborers and farmers and women were mostly housekeepers. I don't THINK they lived in any constant fear of KKK or anything, mainly because it was rural. One house every couple miles or so. So they kept to themselves. And the people around were also Black/Native American. I think that was life in OK circa 1900 for blacks. Rural living, most people keeping to themselves trying to keep food on the table, educate their kids but of course with the underlying status quo of Jim Crow institutionalized racism.