Tracing the Historical Black Town of Langston, Oklahoma
Photo credit: Struggle and Hope via Kari Barber on Pinterest
When Oklahoma is discussed, we rarely talk about the all-Black towns that were formed here so many years ago. These establishments were erected in Indian Territory when the former slaves of the Five Tribes (the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole nations) settled together for mutual protection and security. From 1865 to 1920, African-Americans established over 50 towns and settlements. To date, thirteen of them still stand. Most notably, Boley (everybody LOVES the Boley Rodeo), Taft, Tatums and Tullahassee (the oldest historical black town in Oklahoma). However, the one closest to my heart is the beautiful Langston, OK.
The all-Black town of Langston was established on April 22, 1890, by Charles Robbins, a White man who owned the land, and Edward P. McCabe (also known as E.P. Mcabe), a former state auditor from Kansas. McCabe saw an opportunity to enhance the standard of living for others of his race and is credited with founding the town. In fact, he named the town after John Mercer Langston, a Black educator and U.S. representative from Virginia who is also the great-uncle of the famous poet Langston Hughes, leader of the Harlem Renaissance. In October that same year, McCabe conceived the Langston City Herald, a newspaper, to promote African-American migration to Oklahoma and the fresh city of Langston.
Not long after its inception, Langston was flourishing. By 1892, the town boasted twenty-five retail businesses that included a bank, a school, barber shops, grocery stores, and a Roman Catholic mission established by Rev. Bishop Theophile Meerschaert and the Benedictine Sisters. Langston’s Black population multiplied considerably. According to Bruce Fisher, administrative programs officer at the Oklahoma History Center, Blacks possessed about 1.5 million acres of land in Oklahoma Territory by 1905.
Photo credit: Struggle and Hope via Kari Barber on Pinterest
At the time, Blacks were not permitted to attend any institution of higher learning. Langston’s Black citizens appeared before the Oklahoma Industrial School and College Commission to petition for a college in the town. The year 1897 saw the establishment of the public land-grant Colored Agricultural and Normal University, later known as Langston University, the only HBCU in the state of Oklahoma. The University proved a huge success and helped the town stay afloat during The Great Depression, which depopulated a majority of Oklahoma’s small towns, both White and Black. Inman E. Page, LU’s first president, grew the student body from a mere 40 to more than 600 in his 17 year tenure.
The formidable little town still stands proudly atop the hill in Logan County 131 years later. Its sense of community that attracted so many people looking to create a better future for themselves and their families is still felt today. The ever-growing Langston University (affectionately dubbed “The Hill”) has come a long way from its early days of simply offering education and agriculture curricula. With campuses in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the University offers a wealth of respected academic programs and services.
Notable Langston alumni include:
Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, a key figure in the Civil Rights movement and the first Black admitted to the University of Oklahoma’s law school;
Clara Luper, a leader of nonviolent protests at Oklahoma City drug store lunch counters and educator;
Dr. Ernest Holloway, who is the longest serving president in Langston’s history; and
Marques Haynes, one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
As a student at Langston, I was able to experience this town’s rich history and southern hospitality firsthand. When you set foot on the campus, it just feels familiar.
“The incredible people who were born and raised there will feed you and tell you stories about the summers at Langston Lake and how they’ve watched the University grow over the decades. ”
If you’ve had the HBCU experience, you know our homecomings are like no other. Langston University is no exception!
For more information on the town of Langston and other historically black towns in Oklahoma, watch the documentary Struggle & Hope by Kari Barber to hear voices of residents who still survive and thrive in these towns built on hope.