"Hometown Narratives: Strength, Knowledge, and Kinship in African American Communities"

Freedmen's Town, Houston, Texas, September 9, 2014

African American communities have historically organized themselves to face external threats, share vital information, and maintain strong interpersonal relationships.   These relationships bind the residents of these communities together, creating a sense of hometown among people sharing the same space and time.

Rev. Davis is posing outside the Aliquippa Social Club.

Dr. Shawna Nesbitt, who broke barriers as the first Black student to complete the three-year pre-med program at Gannon University and to enter Hahnemann School of Medicine, where she earned her M.D. in 1988.

"My mother and father kept reports of the race riots that were happening, really happening at the high school and middle school level. But every time they'd get the information or came across it, they're going out to the elementary school. And so several times they would come and pick us up from school because they were afraid that we were gonna get hurt."

Historic Prairie View campus

For renowned WPA artist, Jefferson Grigsby, who grew up in a predominantly Black town:

"I had no occasion to have any encounter racially because all of my activities were between my home and the school, and the university [Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College; Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas]. All the events--well, it was like a black town. And on weekends sometimes we would go to Houston [Texas] to a movie. The parents [Purry Dixon Grigsby and Jefferson Eugene Grigsby, Sr.] would put us in the movie while they went shopping. And I remember there was a town, used to think of the name of it, but Prairie View is on a ranch and there was a small town between the college and the railroad station, and this is where we would go to shop sometimes. And I remember vividly, my dad had an argument with a merchant. Merchant refused to call him mister, and he said--I forget how it went now, but my dad said, no, I--he called him doctor. He said, "No, I'm not a doctor." He called him reverend. He said, "I'm not a reverend." He called him anything but mister, and my dad wouldn't buy it, so there was that friction.

Did you hear any other comments or, or complaints or stories from your parents about maybe racial life outside of Prairie View, maybe in Houston or other cities? Did you hear them talking about race in your household?

No, I didn't, at least I don't remember, but I'm sure they did. But in Prairie View, we were insulated because we were on the campus and going off the campus, this little town was the only place where we had that kind of friction. Because in Houston, we'd go to a black theater and into a black section of town where we didn't have that. At least, I didn't encounter that kind of racism, although I knew it existed."

Michael Scott, Sr., a cable industry executive and president of the Chicago Board of Education, reflects on the sense of kinship he formed with those Southerners who migrated north. In his hometown, these people become his extended family. His account illustrates the strong bonds formed during this journey:

"They, not only did they come, but lots of people came. And they knew one another, and they communed together and they socialized together. And they would have picnics and, you know, there was, you know, lots of stories and things of that nature. And I remember going out with kites and flying them and meeting their children who had become lifelong friends of mine. My, my best friend in the world--well, no, I have several good friends. But all of them emanated from those relationships that my parents had. And so, I remember going to the hospital to get my sister [Beryl Scott]. So I had to be three years old at that point. And so, that's about the time that, that things really kick in for me."

Scott's memories emphasize the importance of communal activities and shared experiences in forging lasting relationships and a sense of belonging.

Shotgun houses

The Honorable Walter Bailey, Jr., a prominent attorney and civil rights advocate, provides a vivid depiction of his close-knit community in South Memphis:

"Describe the house you grew up in? Did you grow up in the same house the whole time?
No, no.
Okay.
The first home that I recall we grew up in when we were very small was a, was on Ford Place [Memphis, Tennessee] and a duplex, outdoor toilet facilities on the back porch, and we lived there for a number of years until my parents [Willella Jefferson Bailey and Walter Bailey, Sr.], the living room, front living room was their bedroom, and, of course, my brother and I slept in the same bed, which was the next room, and then, of course, there was the kitchen.
Okay. That's, that's, what you're describing is called a shotgun house, right?
Yeah.
Shotgun house, with three rooms and one, two, three in a room. So that's the first place you lived in?
That I recall. It's not the first place. I think we moved from one other site, but I don't recall exactly, where we were so small when we moved there on Ford. And, of course, we had a tin tub to bathe and kettle, water kettles to heat water. For refrigeration we used bought ice, iceboxes.My grandfather decided to build on a vacant lot that was about three, four doors up, and he built a beautiful, nice home. It too though was a shotgun, a duplex."

Bailey's narrative highlights the significance of physical proximity and shared spaces in fostering strong family ties and community support networks.

Dr. Al-Tony Gilmore, an esteemed education executive, shares how his rich oral history and the close-knit nature of his community played a pivotal role in shaping his passion for history and education. 

“When I grew up, I lived in a community where quite a few of the older men came from families where they remembered their ancestors who were slaves, and they talked about it quite a bit. So throughout my community, the older fellows who were unschooled but well-educated, it was almost like a ritual, that they would always tell you about what the world was like before. And I'm almost certain, I'm almost positive that that's what pushed me into history. “

Gilmore captures the sense of community that many African Americans still enjoy, 

“So when we have a reunion, almost everyone who grew up in that environment comes to the reunions. We have these reunions now; we've been having them since the mid 1950's. We have them every other year. I would say you can expect three to four to five hundred people to show up for the reunions. But it's, it's, it's more than just a bloodline. It's a line of community. And almost everyone at that reunion has one thing in common--they all grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina.”  

For many people in the African American communities, neighbors do become part of an extended family.

Citations:

The Honorable Walter Bailey, Jr. (The HistoryMakers A2010.089), interviewed by Larry Crowe, July 28, 2010, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 10, Walter Bailey, Jr. describes the home he grew up in in Memphis, Tennessee

Jefferson Eugene Grigsby (The HistoryMakers A2007.204), interviewed by Jacques Lesure, July 11, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 10, Jefferson Eugene Grigsby describes the community of Prairie View, Texas

Dr. Shawna Nesbitt (The HistoryMakers A2008.047), interviewed by Denise Gines, March 13, 2008, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 8, Shawna Nesbitt remembers the neighborhood where she grew up

Michael Scott, Sr. (The HistoryMakers A2004.021), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, March 12, 2004, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 8, Michael Scott remembers growing up in a tight-knit Chicago community

Al-Tony Gilmore (The HistoryMakers A2003.275), interviewed by Larry Crowe, November 21, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 3, Al-Tony Gilmore describes the community where he, his mother, and his mother's parents grew up