BRYAN COUNTY HISTORY: Oberlin, an all-black town
Bryan County Genealogy Library
Most All-Black towns were created in Oklahoma when former slaves of the five civilized tribes were granted allotments of forty acres. Most chose to live near other African Americans for security and fellowship. They formed communities with churches, schools, businesses, and newspapers. As they grew larger and more established, they advertised in the “states” for other freed slaves to join them. Many of those migrating to the Territory participated in the land run of 1889. From 1865 to 1920 African Americans created at least fifty identifiable towns. Some lasted only a few years, and others couldn’t survive the depression years.
1. What were All-Black towns?Â
All-Black towns were towns where African Americans lived freely from racism and other prejudices found in communities across the Midwest and the South. Arthur Tolson, a pioneering historian of Blacks in Oklahoma, asserts that many African Americans turned to ideologies of economic advancement, self-help, and racial solidarity within the communities.Â
2. Why was now present day Oklahoma picked for All-Black towns?Â
All-Black towns grew in Indian Territory after the Civil War when the former slaves of the Five Tribes settled together for mutual protection and economic security. Entrepreneurs in these communities started every imaginable kind of business, including newspapers, and advertised throughout the South for settlers. Many African Americans migrated to Oklahoma, considering it a kind of promise land.