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The black American experience is more than just Harlem and Mississippi, North and South, ghettoes and Jim Crow. There was a Western front, and it wasn’t all that quiet.
Reading obituaries about John Hope Franklin reminded me about a long-standing beef I have with a certain limited way of thinking about who African Americans are. For me, though, the telling biographical fact was where he was born—Oklahoma.
In its obituary, the Raleigh News & Observer said the eminent historian “gave definition to the African-American experience.” That’s quite a legacy. A black Okie did all of that?
You see, too many African Americans—you know who you are—believe real black folks are from the South or the urban North. They’re not from the West, not Oklahoma, not Colorado—where I was born—and certainly not Hawaii, though there are exceptions made for California and L.A. I’ve been hearing it for the 30 years or so I’ve lived on the East Coast.
This narrow-mindedness results in part, I think, from our creative imaginations of the black experience, in fiction and film, almost exclusively in the South or North. Historically, African Americans have been concentrated in the South, but major migrations have taken us not just to the North but to the West. By taking a geocentric view of blackness, we cut ourselves off from parts of our history—and even some of our heroes. With a black Hawaiian in the White House, it’s time to embrace an expansive view of the black experience in its full diversity.
For the skeptics, let’s go through the roll call of black Westerners who have made significant contributions. Ralph Ellison, whose Invisible Man is one of the best black novels of all time, was from Oklahoma. Gordon Parks, who took iconic photographs of the black experience, was born in Kansas. So, too, was Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize. And Nebraska deserves some black cred, too: Malcolm X was born in Omaha.
The black presence on the western frontier goes back at least to the 1800s. Remember the Buffalo Soldiers? After the Civil War, they were posted at frontier forts in Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Texas.
Not all black Westerners have the same story. In my case, my family rode two historic movements into the region.
In the 1830s, my maternal great-great-great grandparents, a horse trainer and his first wife, came West, with the Cherokee Indians. They arrived in Arkansas and Oklahoma, the latter then-called Indian Territory. He was a free black from North Carolina, and she was most likely born a slave to a white-Cherokee family in Georgia.
John Hope Franklin’s family, I learned from the obits, has a similar history. His ancestors came to Oklahoma from Tennessee and Mississippi with the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians, which, like the Cherokee, were slaveholding tribes.
Not long ago, I learned my ancestor who trained thoroughbred racehorses was one of the original investors in Fort Scott, Kansas when the town was planned during the Civil War. It is also where Gordon Parks later grew up. His semi-autobiographical novel and film, The Learning Tree, is about a black boy growing up on the plains of Kansas, and it stands as a prominent exception to the pattern of creative works placing the African-American experience in either the urban North or the South. On my father’s side, ancestors abandoned the South after the collapse of Reconstruction. They were “Exodusters,” farmers who landed in Kansas in the 1870s. One branch trekked from Tennessee, the other from Louisiana. Their roots stretch back into Mississippi, Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia.
I don’t think my ancestors on either side tossed their blackness off the wagon when they crossed into the wide, open spaces west of the Mississippi and north of the Mason-Dixon Line. On a basic level, you’d know it when my father waxes poetic about oxtails or admits that just hearing the words “mustard greens” makes his mouth water. Or when my mother harangues my sister about her menu for family gatherings: “If you have greens, you have got to have cornbread!”
Kenneth J. Cooper, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, is a freelance journalist based in Boston.
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My great great grandparents came to Oklahoma, which has more all Black towns than any other place in America and was once considered a state that was almost designated as Black. See this article: http://newsok.com/article/3210110/1204269519
Tulsa, Oklahoma was also the place of the first race riot in America. I am always amazed at the many people, mostly Black, who never knew there were Black people in Oklahoma.
I wish you would expand this piece to be twice as long, including more historical perspective and insight on the natural and forced migration of American black people to the western states, instead of stopping at interesting personal background. For example, I had never heard of Native Americans owning black slaves, and for me--and, possibly, many people--my view of the American West is framed by a brief historical survey in 8th grade and various movies, books, and TV shows. Relatedly, my primary exposure to black history and culture, while extensive, is pretty much limited to my life growing up in Memphis and our lengthy "Black History" studies which were hampered by the very lack of perspective you bemoan. I would love to learn more about this aspect of American history and culture.
And YES, there are black people here. Just to name a few past black Coloradans: Hattie McDaniel,Don Cheadle,and Pam Grier. I love living in Colorado though at times it can be challenging just like any other place. The black experience in Colorado is just like any other city-many poor, middle class, and rich black people. Growing up with stories from family members from the North/South or West. Experiencing racism. Experiencing a low key pace of life. As for me, I go hiking, snowboarding, clubbing, and Nuggets Games. We have the Blair-Caldwell African-American Research Library, Black American West Museum...We also had a large number of black people on the committee that hosted the Democratic National Convention last year. Both chambers of the State General Assemby are lead by Black representatives-the first time in U.S. history. So, the next time you meet a black person from Colorado don't be so surprised. We are here and we have, and continue to contribute a lot to our state.
Someone told me the term "cowboy" comes from black cowboys, and Bill Pickett was the first true rodeo star.
Hell, if it weren't for York, William Clark's slave on the Lewis & Clark expedition, busting his ass, there wouldn't have been much of an expedition for Sacagawea to save...
I have always felt that you could use most or all the old western movies as a guide . The stories about the cowboys , the travelings hardships and the town take/overs would be applicable to the people of color first . Because they had little or no protection , other than thier own. Take the word (cow ) - ( boy ) it mostly meant those black / brown young men of color . The white boys or men where the minority at first , after the war . It may have changed .The southern men flooded the western lands for work . But being a cowboy was the last job he wanted . All you have to do is read in between the lines ,when you watch and read those stories .
CarolinaGirl...all of my immediate family was actually born in the Midwest. We (mother, father, my brothers or me) were born in either Davenport, Iowa or South Sioux City, Nebraska and as you mentioned yes it does get some looks from people. Especially when I tell people that my Mom (who is 60 years old) was born in South Sioux City. Yes, I agree that black people are truly everywhere. We are in every city, state, province, territory, and country. Jack. White I also had a very similar experience like the female lawyer that you met while growing up in Iowa/Nebraska too. Actually, it was not until I moved to the Chicago area (in my early 20's) that I was able to be around other people (regardless of race) that I am was not related to by blood or intermarriage.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that Black Americans are all over North America, having met many from Canada. This article my have enlightened some to that fact, but the Black experience is very similar no matter where you grew up. We don’t have a Black Hawaiian in the White House as neither of Obama's parents were Hawaiian natives. I would guess Obama’s real training in Black American culture (at least that part that is not the same as white America), was taught by his interaction with his wife and other Black Americans like her.
This whole thing is an example of a pet peeve that I have of our people, strictly identifying with their locale. (That ole East Coast West Coast jive)
I never grew up in the south but I had relatives there that made it easy for me to re locate there. I'm not going to mention where as that would be hypocritical. The point is that no matter where I live I am aware of the obstacles and pit falls to look out for because they are the same everywhere. Our youth today are very location struck, many don’t look beyond what is going on in their own back yard and when they get a chance to re locate to better less crime ridden areas, they cannot cope and end up returning. So these kinds of articles tend to encourage this kind of mentality.
I don’t want to say "So what" you're from Oklahoma and South Dakota and so forth. I still remember the renderings of that entire Black town in that area wiped out with the help of the military all racially motivated. The laws and customs of different areas may be different but if you talk to the Black Folk of any area, you will soon see similarities that translate the same no matter where you are. The Soul food is the same, and the language is very similar, only differentiated by social class. This is an unused power that we have in this country Black Californians most likely had ancestors that came here from the shores of Savannah Ga. I'm told that most are relatively recent migrants from Texas. Chicagoans are from the Mississippi area including Memphis Tn. and Atlantans, now, are from New York and New Jersey.