Between 1889-1907, thousands of African Americans emigrated into the Oklahoma district of Indian Territory in search of the freedom to exist outside Jim Crow policies and “Black Codes” that limited civil liberties and rights in other parts of the United States. Many of the individuals and families who relocated formed tight-knit, all-Black communities in areas inside and outside of newly established townships in northwestern, central, and southern counties. These homesteading communities with names like “Sweet Home,” “Elbow,” and “Lincoln City” served as glimpses into the possibilities of equality and autonomy. While there are many examples of successful relocation, hundreds of new Black residents were also prevented from remaining on their claims due to very little capital or political power and persistent anti-Black racism in what soon became an increasingly hostile and unwelcoming racialized environment. The OBHP hopes to foster complex and rich conversations about how the history of Oklahoma is connected to the promises and ideals of Black freedom locally and nationwide. The OBHP will serve as a digital archive of census data, maps, visual guides, oral histories, narratives, and scholarship chronicling this period in American history.
Contact us!
We are working to discover and preserve stories of African Americans who claimed homesteads in the Great Plains. If your ancestor was a Black homesteader, we invite you to help us save these stories for future generations. You can do so by telling us about your ancestors via email: oklabhp@gmail.com
Watch
Dr. Kalenda Eaton and Dr. Heidi Dodson of the Oklahoma Black Homesteader Project research talk about their new research on Black homesteaders in Oklahoma Territory. The presentation discusses the process of researching and locating specific homesteading families with a preview of new archival research that expands common understandings of the Black homesteading experience.