History of African Americans in Houston
[1] The Greater Houston area has the largest population of African Americans in Texas and west of the Mississippi River.
[4] African Americans in Houston were poorly represented by the predominantly white state legislature and city council, and were politically disenfranchised during the Jim Crow era; whites had used a variety of tactics, including militias and legislation, to re-establish political and social supremacy throughout the South.
[5] African Americans have owned land in Houston since Texas’ early colonial period and still is to this present day.
[8] White people began to move from the Third Ward area, partly due to the passage of Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954.
On Friday, March 4, 1960, Texas Southern University students led Houston's first sit-in at the Weingarten's grocery store lunch counter located at 4110 Almeda Road.
[21] In addition to the New Great Migration, many African Americans in the US are now recently moving to Houston for lower cost of living and more job opportunities.
[31] Bernadette Pruitt, author of The Other Great Migration: The Movement of Rural African Americans to Houston, 1900-1941, wrote that Creole cooking became "an important cultural bridge" in the city and in its African American community, and that, "As cooks, Creole housewives transformed Houston's typical southern cuisine.
Their percentage of the total population increased during that period from 23.4% to 31.1% because large numbers of white people left the central city.
[1] In 2004 55% of the African American population born in Harris County originated from the Houston area either by birth or through growing up there as children.
[44] Shrine of the Black Madonna is a cultural center, museum and bookstore that is owned and operated by the Pan-African Orthodox Christian Church.
[46] The mission of the society is "to perpetuate the dream, aspiration, and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by fighting for equal rights for all people.
[53] The number of African American Catholics in Houston increased after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 affected rural areas in the Southern United States.
[64] The number of African-American Catholics in Houston increased after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 affected rural areas in the Southern United States.
KCOR launched the careers of radio personalities Michael Harris, Ralph Cooper, Don Samuel, Wash Allen.
and presents the First Amendment Conference annually for high school and college journalism students during March, African American Press Month.
The Sun's staff is made up of journalists and interns who covers city hall, school board and local community news.
[citation needed] Texas Southern University is one the largest historically Black colleges (HBCUs) in the U.S. and the only HBCU fully based in Houston.
[85] Racial desegregation of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), resulting from the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s,[86] occurred in the 1970s.
President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and published it on January 1, 1863, but it did not reach Galveston, Texas until June 19, 1865.
Over the next few years, African-American populations across Texas collected money to buy property dedicated to Juneteenth celebrations.
[98] Emancipation Park, with a space of 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2), is located in the Third Ward and is a popular destination for annual Juneteenth celebrations.
As of 2007 Ovide Duncantell was the executive director of the Black Heritage Society and Charles Stamps is the CEO of the MLK Parade Foundation.
[106] In 2007 Lee Rosenthal, a U.S. district judge, on January 10, 2007, ordered the city government to allow both parades to hold their events in Downtown Houston.
[105] Every spring, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo dedicates a day of the festival to acknowledge and celebrate black culture.
Annually over 40,000 fans and spectators show up to the NRG Stadium to see several HBCU band programs perform and help raise money for them.
[117] For two weeks every year, many black-owned restaurants and black culinary professionals participate in this event that highlights their contributions to the city's food scene.
[120] Social media has played a major role in brunch and nightlife in the city becoming a top destination for Black adults around the world (especially Nigerians).
[121][122][123][124] Unlike most cities, Houston offers many popular restaurants, bars, lounges, clubs, and events that culturally caters to Black adults.
Houston's black LGBT community annually celebrate its presence during a special event called "Splash", which organizes gay and lesbian events in order to improve the cultural, environmental, medical and social health of gay men, lesbian and transgender people of African descent.
A high number of blacks have moved to suburban cities or outside Loop 610 of Houston seeking a more affordable cost of living.
