Tracing the Past, Envisioning a Future: Mapping Neighborhood Transitions in Tenth Street, Dallas, Texas

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Between 1865-1930, dozens of Freedom Colonies were established near Dallas. Today, most have been physically erased from the city’s landscape due to redlining, gentrification, and destructive urban policies. The Tenth Street Freedman’s Town, located in Oak Cliff, about a mile south of downtown Dallas, is one of the few that persists. Founded by free African Americans in the 1880s, Tenth Street quickly grew into a thriving community anchored by schools, churches, businesses, and social organizations. In the late 1950s, however, the city decimated the community and its business district when it constructed a freeway through the heart of the community. Now, situated at the “Southern Gateway” to Dallas, descendants continue the struggle to preserve and sustain their community. The research presented here details a comprehensive historical mapping project that not only illuminates Tenth Street’s vibrant past but helps support efforts to combat erasure and envision a future.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• 2024 SHA Poster Submissions

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow