The Freedmen s Towns That Built DFW Black History
Free Black Americans living in North Texas after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation relied on a series of communities known as Freedmen s towns to congregate, shop, sell goods and services, and build businesses. They were crucial not just to the culture but to the very survival of Blacks in the antebellum period.
Time has paved over these towns, literally and figuratively, as highways, developments and new generations put their stamps on these landmark neighborhoods.
Dallas is in danger of losing this important history as cities and residents don t prioritize preservation, according to George Keaton Jr., CEO of Remembering Black Dallas Inc.