A History of Fort Worth in Black and White

Yesterday I attended Dr. Richard Selcer's launch for his new book, A History of Fort Worth in Black and White, at the Fort Worth Public Library. The 600 page volume fills an important place in the city's history that has largely gone unnoticed. During the book talk, Dr. Selcer discussed Martin Luther King's 1959 visit to Fort Worth; the success of businessman "Gooseneck Bill" McDonald; and the visits of a widely-known evangelist by the name of "Sin Killer" Griffin who in the early 1900s preached to both blacks and whites under the same tent.

Dr. Selcer also discussed the fact that whites that rode on "Blacks Only" streetcars were sometimes arrested for breaking Jim Crow laws. He then explained how segregation was gradually ended in public school at a rate of two grade levels at a time with high school not integrated until the late 1960s. While the book does an admirable job of covering 165 years of history, it must also be understood that it is, to my knowledge, the first book focused on Fort Worth's African-American community. There is still history to be written, and I hope that this book serves as a catalyst for future research.

I greatly appreciate Dr. Selcer giving us another extremely informational book to put on the shelf.

http://untpress.unt.edu/catalog/3660 

Here is the link to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article that includes a map of where MLK stayed while in Fort Worth.

http://www.wfaa.com/story/features/2015/01/18/memories-fading-mlks-fort-worth-visit-landmarks-remain/21967285/