Decades of history, resilience and pride live at the intersection of 5th Street NE and East Tudor Street. Known to many as Guestâs Corner, the neighborhood was a bustling hub for the Black community in Paris dating back to the 1920s when Paris was segregated and Black residents and business owners founded a place for themselves in an often hostile environment.
âWe called it âLittle Black Paris,ââ said Mary Desmond, who spent her youth at Guestâs Corner.
Paris native Elbert Desmond, Maryâs husband of 65 years, said the land was gifted to the community by a businessman, George Guest, for whom the neighborhood is named, in the early 20th century, and Black businesses began to flourish there through the 1950s.