| Black history is our collective history, and we take time during the month of February to honor and uplift those that have made that history. In 1908 Col. Allen Allensworth found the township of Allensworth, CA. Allensworth is the first town founded and governed by Black people in the state of California. In 1974, the State of California purchased the site and it is now a state park. The town was founded on the ideals of perseverance and self-determination at a time when America was still healing from the scars of the Civil War and the end of Reconstruction. As more focus is paid to increasing homeownership opportunities for all, especially Black people, let us remember those that strove to achieve the cornerstone of the American Dream. Allensworth is in Tulare County, near Bakersfield, and is open per its website. If you would like to visit this historic site you can find more information here. |
