February is a month of many different events. Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, and American Heart Month which raise awareness of heart health. There is another very significant one that we are highlighting in this article: Black History Month. Black History Month was created by Carter G. Woodson, who originally established the concept of “Negro History Week”, which eventually evolved into Black History Month in 1976. When most people think of Black History landmarks they think of places like the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C, where Martin Luther King delivered his legendary  “I Have A Dream Speech” or Beale Street, in Memphis Tennessee which served as a birthplace for blues music. You don’t always have to take a plane ride to experience black history. There are already many important landmarks that are right here in the great city of Houston, Texas.

For example, Freedman’s Town.  A freedman’s town is any municipality or community built by formerly enslaved people who were emancipated during and after the American Civil War. Though these did blossom all over the U.S., the most notable ones lie in Texas. The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves beginning January 1, 1863. However, it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas that the last slaves were freed. General Gordon Granger and his troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and read General Order No. 3, which informed all of the enslaved people that they were now free. After this date, which is now celebrated as Juneteenth, Freedmen’s Town was created along the Buffalo Bayou. In this town, newly freed slaves thrived constructing businesses, homes, schools, churches, etc. In 1870, the first two-story home in Black Houston was built in Freedmen’s Town by the Reverend Jack Yates, who served as the first pastor of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. Freedmen’s Town also produced many well-known Houstianian physicians, ministers, musicians, and changemakers. Emmet J. Scott, who was the secretary of the National Negro Business League in 1901, was born in Freedmen’s Town. He was the first person of color to serve as a reporter at the Houston Post. According to houstonfreedmenstown.org, “ By 1880, Freedmen’s Town was home to 95% of Black Houstonians, creating a black middle class. By the 1930s, it had produced over 400 Black-owned businesses. It’s also known as the “Mother Ward”.” Freedmen’s Town represents the pure resilience and ambition of the black community. Right after being abused and enslaved for a hundred years, they took their newfound freedom and broke down barriers that shaped the Houston we love and know today.

During Black History Month, it’s easy to remember figures like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and Harriet Tubman. Though they are very important Black figures, many out there aren’t always taught about in school, like Evelyn Johnson. Evelyn Johnson, born in Thibodaux, Louisiana in 1920, became a Houston music industry legend. At the age of six, Johnson moved to Fifth Ward, a district in Houston, with her mother and later graduated from Phyllis Wheatley High, the forerunner of Texas Southern University. In 1946 she became office manager of mogul Don Robey’s Bronze Peacock, one of the largest Black-owned nightclubs in the Southwest. Robey was also a key figure in Houston’s music industry, and Johnson became his partner in making the city integral to American Rhythm and Blues(R&B) music. In 1949, Johnson was tasked by Robey to research the workings of the recording industry which led to the birth of Peacock records. According to kutx.org, Their signings included legendary black R&B artists like Big Mama Thorthon and Little Richard who helped define the early rock-and-roll era in the 1950’s.  Johnson soon got her license to manage union-affiliated artists in 1950, and she founded the Buffalo Booking Agency, one of the few Black-owned booking agencies of the time. In 1952, Robey and Johnson also acquired the Memphis-based Duke label with artists Johnny Ace and Bobby Bland. Don Robey may have been the most seen in their work, but Evelyn Johnson was both the brain and the heart. She remained in charge of Robey’s businesses until 1973 when he sold his assets to ABC, and Johnson remained active in the Houston community until her passing in 2005.

There is tons of Black history in Houston, from landmarks, to unspoken figures, to the point where it would be impossible to list everything in one article. It is the job of us fellow Houstonians and fellow people to research the world and discover the great history that lies in the places we wake up in every day. That is why Black History Month is so crucial to America. It helps us highlight the contributions of Black Americans, so they won’t go unheard and unknown, which they have been many times. Though some organizations have recently decided to not acknowledge this important month, due to President Trump coming after DEI, we should continue to recognize Black History Month as the American people. The Black Student Union recently had a Black History Month pep rally at The Village High School, to educate those who don’t know about the contributions Black Americans. Remember, Black History Month should be recognized as a time to highlight Black history, because Black history is American history and should be taught every day, outside of the short 28 days of February.