History of African Americans in Austin facts for kids
The history of African Americans in Austin began in 1839 with the arrival of Mahala Murchison. By the 1860s, many communities were started by formerly enslaved people, which later became part of the city. The number of African Americans in Austin has changed over time, but their contributions have always been important.
After the Reconstruction Era, many African Americans who had been enslaved moved from farms to cities. They created special communities called freedmen's towns. In Austin, some of these communities included Clarksville, Wheatville, Masontown, and Kicheonville.
African Americans have also been pioneers in public safety in Austin. The city hired the first African American firefighters in Texas. African American police officers were hired by the Austin Police Department starting in the early 1900s. Officers John Gaines and Tom Allen were among the first officers to die while on duty for the department.
In 1968, Wilhelmina Ruth Delco became the first African American person elected to public office in Austin. Later, in 1972, Barbara Jordan, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, was elected to the Texas Senate. She was the first African American to serve in the Texas Senate since the Reconstruction Era. Even though she couldn't attend the University of Texas at Austin because of segregation, she later taught there as a professor. Today, there is a statue honoring her on campus and a street named after her.
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Austin's African American History
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Early in Austin’s history, many enslaved people were brought from the Colorado River area. They worked on large farms, growing cotton and other crops. In 1885, many African Americans were forced to work to help build the Texas state capital building.
Texas was the last Confederate state to end slavery. This happened on June 19, 1865, when Union Army General Gordon Granger announced that all enslaved people in Texas were free. This day is now celebrated as Juneteenth. The first Juneteenth celebrations in Austin happened in 1867. By 1872, black leaders in Texas raised money to buy 10 acres of land to celebrate Juneteenth. This land is now Emancipation Park in Houston.
In 1863, the Henry Green Madison log cabin was built. Henry Green Madison was an important community leader and the first African American to serve on the Austin City Council. His cabin was later rebuilt at the Rosewood Recreation Centre. It was home to Madison, his wife, and their eight children.
The Dedrick-Hamilton House was once owned by Thomas Dedrick. He was one of the first formerly enslaved people in Travis County, Austin. The house was built in 1880 in one of the first African American communities in East Austin. Today, the house is restored and serves as an African American Visitors Centre. It also houses the Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce, which helps Black businesses succeed in Austin.
For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, Austin, like other parts of the United States, had strict racial segregation. African Americans faced laws and systems that separated them from white people in public places and services. This forced many African Americans in Texas to move into East Austin neighborhoods. Many homes in these areas became places for the African American community to gather.
The 1928 Austin City Plan was a strategy to separate minority groups. It created a "negro district" and other areas for ethnic minorities. People in these districts could only go to schools and public services within their assigned areas. This segregation was made even stronger by the New Deal program in 1935. This program was meant to help people after the Great Depression but often excluded African Americans and other minority groups.
During the 1960s, Joan Means Khabele, an African American woman from Austin, swam in the famous Barton Springs Pool. She did this to protest the racial segregation in Austin at the time. Her actions led to weekly "swim-ins" by members of the Black community. These protests eventually helped to end segregation at Barton Springs Pools.
The Limerick-Frazier House provided lodging for African American students and travelers. They were not allowed in white-owned hotels in Austin during the Jim Crow Laws era. The house was owned by John W. Frazier, an African American professor at Samuel Huston College. It has a long history connected to African American life.
The W.H. Passon Historical Society was started in 1975. Its goal is to save materials, artifacts, and historic sites related to African American culture. The society is named after Wesley H. Passon, an educator who wrote one of the first histories of African Americans in Austin in 1907.
In 2016, the Texas African American History Memorial was placed on the State Capital grounds. This memorial honors and remembers Austin's and Texas’ African American population. Sculpted by Ed Dwight, it shows African American history from early times to today. It includes important figures like Hendrick Arnold and Barbara Jordan and also mentions Juneteenth.
African American Culture in Austin
Music
Austin is known as the 'Live Music Capital of the World'. This is largely thanks to the important African American jazz and blues music that started in the early 1900s. The Victory Grill became a famous place for blues and R&B music in Austin during the 1940s. It had live music and showed African American movies every week.
Charlie Gilden, an African American businessman, bought a block on the East Side of Austin in the 1950s, when segregation was still strong. This block included a jazz and blues club called ‘Charlie's Playhouse’ and an after-hours club called Ernie's Chicken Shack. Henry “Blues Boy” Hubbard and The Jets were the house band for both clubs. Hubbard is considered one of Austin's most famous living musicians.
Sport
The Austin Black Senators were a minor league Negro League baseball team in Austin from the early 1900s to the 1940s. Their home field, Downs Field, is now used by Huston–Tillotson University and the Austin Metro Baseball League. Willie Wells, a famous baseball player, played one season for the Black Senators in 1923.
Downs Field was first built at its current location in 1927. It was the home field for Samuel Huston College. In 1949, the city built Downs Field in a different spot, and it was moved to its current place in 1954.
In 2015, the Texas Historical Commission named Downs Field a Historical Landmark. It was the first baseball field in Texas to get this honor. The field has been updated to include mosaics of Negro League legends like Satchel Paige, Hilton Smith, Toni Stone, “Smokey" Joe Williams, and Willie Wells.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference was created by Texas Black Schools in 1920. This allowed African Americans to play football and other sports, which they often couldn't do during segregation. This conference became one of the top African American athletic conferences in the United States.
Education
In 1884, the Robertson Hill School was built. It was one of Austin's first schools for African American children. A high school was added in 1889 and later moved and renamed E.H Anderson High School.
The Coloured Teachers State Association building served African American teachers from 1952 to 1966. This group was very important in the fight to end segregation in public schools. They also worked to win equal rights and pay for African American teachers across Texas.
At the University of Texas at Austin, the Big XII Conference on Black Students was formed. Black students from different schools in the Big Eight Conference came together because they faced similar challenges. This annual conference promotes leadership and goodwill in the Black Communities in Austin and Texas.
The Art Galleries at Black Studies at the University of Texas have two galleries. These galleries, the Christian-Green Gallery and the Idea Lab, show stories of Black and African identities.
Politics
Barbara Jordan, who grew up in Austin, was the first African American person to serve in the Texas Senate since its reconstruction. She served from 1966 to 1972. She was also the first African American woman from the South elected to the U.S. Congress, serving from 1972 to 1978. She was the first woman to give the main speech at a national political convention (the Democratic Convention in 1976 and 1992). To remember her achievements, there are statues of Jordan at Austin's airport and on the University of Texas at Austin campus.
Housing
The Rosewood courts were the first housing projects built for African Americans under the U.S. Housing Act of 1937. They were part of the New Deal program, supported by then-congressman Lyndon B. Johnson.
The Rogers Washington Holy Cross Historical district was developed in the 1950s. It was named a historic district in 2020. It was the first Black-only district in Austin and included seven homes.
Arts
The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Centre collects and displays African American historical and cultural items in Austin. The museum has two art galleries that change their exhibits, plus four permanent exhibits honoring African American history in Austin and beyond.
Six Square is a non-profit group in Central East Austin. It works to save the art, culture, and history of Austin’s African American community. It was started in 2013 as part of a city plan to address differences and biases faced by the Black population in Austin.
The Spectrum Theatre Company is an Austin-based group that explores the human experience through the eyes of African Americans. They tell stories and share the history of the African American community in Austin.
Community
The African American Youth Harvest Foundation (AAYHF) helps young people and their families in Austin who need support. They have helped over 9,000 young people and adults at their African American Youth Resource Centre.
The Dance Africa Fest has been held in Austin since 2014. It lets Austin and Central Texas communities experience and learn about music and dance from the African/Black diaspora. Their team includes professional African American musicians and experts on Black culture in Austin and Texas.
The Austin Black Pride organization was created in 2016. It represents the LGBTQ African American community in Austin. They aim to provide education, healthcare, jobs, and housing to members of the African American community. They also raise awareness about issues within the Black community.
Notable people
- Barbara Jordan – US Representative
- Willie Wells – American Baseball Player
- Wesley H. Passon – Educator and Churchman
- Gary Clark Jr. – Musician
- Nelly – Musician
- Mehcad Brooks – Actor
- Ephraim Owens – Musician
- Don Baylor – American Baseball Player
- Thomas Henderson – American Football Player
- Richard Lane – American Football Player
- Michael Devin Griffin – American Football Player
Images for kids
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Mosaics depicting Willie Wells, Smokey Joe Williams, Toni Stone, Hilton Smith, and Satchel Paige.
