Allensworth, The All Black Town

I wrote my senior thesis in college on the town of Allensworth and Boley (another all-black town) and was excited when I discovered that we would have the opportunity during this march to stay on the site of the town, now a state park in Earlimart, CA.

In 1908, Col Allen Allensworth, founded the all-black utopian agricultural town of Allensworth. It was founded during the "nadir" or fall, as the high hopes of Reconstruction gave way to the realities of Jim Crow segregation. The Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 ruled that segregation was allowed so long as the facilities and institutions in question were "equal" in quality. In reality, of course, nothing was fair or just about segregation.

Enter Colonel Allensworth. The town of Allensworth was a refuge, a safe place for black families to come and raise their children, get an education and start businesses. The Colonel also wanted the town to be held up as a model for the rest of America. He wanted to show that blacks were capable of the same things as anyone else given a level-playing field.

At 9 AM, we began our 12.6 mile walk toward Allensworth.

When we arrived at Allensworth, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Los Angeles, Rev. Eric Lee, explained the history of Allensworth.

In 1968, 1,300 black AFSCME Memphis sanitation workers held a protest from Feb 12 to April 16 against unfair labor practices by the city. We decided to reenact the march today, during the 42-year anniversary, because history has shown what happens if we don't continue to actively fight for change. Complacency and short-term memory from the majority of Americans allowed the promise of civil rights after emancipation to remain unfulfilled for another 100 years.

And right now, Californians cannot sit and do nothing while our services are being cut because the wealthiest 1% of Californians refuse to pay their fair share!