African Americans in Oklahoma or Black Oklahomans are residents of the state of Oklahoma who are of African American ancestry. African Americans have a rich history in Oklahoma.[1][2] An estimated 7.8% of Oklahomans are Black.[3]
African-Americans first settled in Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears. While many of these people were enslaved Africans, around 500 chose to do so in order to escape slavery.[4]
Racism against Blacks has been common throughout the state's history, manifesting itself in scenarios such as the Tulsa race massacre, which targeted members of Tulsa's affluent African-American Greenwood District.[5]
History
Staff at the American Red Cross disaster relief headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after the Tulsa race massacre of June 1921
Black slaves came with their Native American slave owners across the Trail of Tears to their new territorial home in Oklahoma.[1]
All-black towns
Entirely black towns and neighborhoods were historically common in Oklahoma, and thirteen still exist.[6][7] This is a list of all remaining African American towns in Oklahoma:
