Its far from over. Just one year ago, in May 2023, the township of Allensworth found itself combatting damns, big agricultural interests and the railroad – again.
Allensworth was the first black township in California. The town was founded by Colonel Allen Allensworth, who was born a slave in Kentucky. To give folks a measure of this remarkable man, I quote from the township’s historical records…
“In 1863 Allensworth enlisted in the US Navy, where he earned his first pay as a free man and rose from the rank of first class seaman to first class petty officer in a very short time. He was soon promoted to Captain's steward and clerk, and served on the gunboats Queen City and Tawah for two years. He was honorably discharged on April 4, 1865, after which time he worked in the commissary of the Mount City Navy Yard.”
“In 1886, when he was 44, Allensworth gained support by both southern and northern politicians for appointment as a chaplain in the US Army; his appointment was confirmed by the Senate, as necessary at the time, and approved by the president. He was one of the few black chaplains in the US Army and was assigned to the 24th Infantry Regiment, known as the Buffalo Soldiers.”
“After the army, Allensworth and his family settled in Los Angeles. He was inspired by the idea of establishing a self-sufficient, all-black California community where African Americans could live free of the racial discrimination that pervaded post-Reconstruction America. His dream was to build a community where black people might live and create "sentiment favorable to intellectual and industrial liberty." Colonel Allensworth had a friendship with Booker T. Washington and was inspired by the Tuskegee Institute and development in its neighboring town. Allensworth hoped to develop the "Tuskegee of the West".
For those who want to know more about Colonel Allensworth and his remarkable accomplishments… https://www.friendsofallensworth.org/pages/about-colonel-allensworth
May 2023 Allensworth Combats Floodwaters, Big Ag and Railroad…. https://fresnoalliance.com/allensworth-combats-floodwaters-big-ag-and-railroad/
Again, these are current events, not history. You can read about Black Okies in this region in a Medium article titled, California’s Plantation Culture. I included videos of interviews with Black Okies who are still living in the region. For anyone who has trouble “believing” anything Mr. Kass wrote here, or thinks racism is unique to southern states, I suggest you open the videos and take a look for yourself.
https://medium.com/@meraffey/californias-plantation-culture-f2fc5696aad5
