Blacks in southwest US

[Melvin Loh]

WI there was a larger black pop in the Southwestern states ? AFAIK, the black populations of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada are pretty much based around the urban areas such as Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque, Taos, Denver, Boulder and Vegas, and don't exceed 5% of the overall pop, while Utah has only about 0.7% pop being black, most of whom are in Salt Lake City or servng on US military installations around the state. Now WI the black pop in the SW was larger somehow, perhaps if say more blacks were drawn to the areas around Fort Huachuca, Arizona, whichwas the home of the Buffalo Soldiers for many yrs up to WWII ? How would the development of fairly large black communities along the lines of the all-black towns established in Kansas and Oklahoma have affected race relations with both whites and neighbouring Indians like the Navaho ?

Arizona Ranger and other guys from the area, could you comment ?

[Dave Howery]

their history would probably be as sad as the rest of the country, although it would be delayed somewhat... you first have to get some significant population in these areas before racial tensions start boiling up. Blacks went out west to the plain and mountain states along with the whites, but because there were so few people in general, racial tensions didn't rise up for quite some time. A little known fact about cowboys in the wild west days is that 1/3 of them were black and Mexican. Obviously, ranchers back in those days didn't have a problem with their races (it's amazing what economic necessity will do for race relations). It wasn't until these states got some fair sized cities and towns that you had the usual segregation and other abominable practices. Due to the scarcity of whites on the ground in the SW, I'd think that blacks would be working about everywhere there, since there would be so many of them, until the 50s or so, when large numbers of whites began moving to such areas as Phoenix... then you'd start having problems...

[Othniel]

Denver was only founded due to a silver rush. But an attraction to the Colorado area by black miners may be quite easy. John Henrys all over the south flittering out of the west. Maybe President Grant allows for Free slaves to be among the first to homestead, giving them vast tracts of land in Wyoming, Colorado, Monotana, Arizona, and New Mexico. Instead of heavy imigration of Europeans, whom would end up occuping the west, the free blacks could be given a better chance to get away from the oppressive south. As time goes on a 75 black-10 native-15 white % may be establized thanks to a heavy migration westward. Whilest much of what is just across the Missippi is kept like the OTL.