Remember Sand Town and other Black settlements along Canadian River? Share your memories
Oklahomans who have memories about Sand Town or other Black communities along the North Canadian River are being encouraged to share their stories during Black History Month.
On Tuesdays and Saturdays through February, the Oklahoma City Black Alumni Coalition, in partnership with the University of Oklahoma Institute of Quality Communities, hopes to preserve oral histories of people with ties to communities like South Town, West Town and Sand Town through "Black Settlements: Oral History Sessions." Most of the sessions will be at 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 23; and 3 to 7 p.m. Feb. 6, 20 and 27 at Ralph Ellison Library, 2000 NE 23. One of the Tuesday sessions will be at 3 p.m. Feb. 13 at Spiked Coffee, 1732 NE 23.
Shawntay Alexander, the coalition's executive director, said the goal of the project is to capture the memories of people who lived, worked or spent time in one of the historic communities, or perhaps they still live in or near the communities.
She said the effort to highlight the group of communities that sprung up along the river evolved from a program in which the river is an integral part. In 2022, the coalition launched the River Bowl Classic with Riversport OKC to bring together alumni from predominantly Black Oklahoma City schools for annual activities that culminate with a friendly rowing competition.
'These communities were not ancient history'
A Star Spencer High School graduate, Alexander, 36, said conversation among some coalition members began to turn to the history of the river and the Black community members who once lived on or near it due to several factors like segregation.
"We thought it would be really good to invite the community out to share their stories — just bringing some healthy attention to them," Alexander said. "These communities were not ancient history. These were people who owned homes and were displaced."
She said people are encouraged to bring to the sessions things like photographs and other memorabilia related to the historic communities.
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"We recognize that a lot of this is up to the people who belong there because it's their history. We just want to really honor them," Alexander said.
The sessions will be recorded thanks to a collaboration with the Metropolitan Library System. She said the library system provided training for some of the graduate students and steering committee members to help them prepare for the recordings and community outreach.
The Oklahoma City Black Alumni Coalition also is recruiting participants to take part in the 2024 River Bowl Classic. Alexander said rowing practice begins in April.
For information about the OKC Black Alumni Coalition, Black Settlements Oral History Sessions or the River Bowl Classic, go to http://bit.ly/OKCBlackSettlements or https://www.okcbac.com/.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Preserving history of Black communities along North Canadian River
