Through the Eyes of History

Orange Mound was the first African American neighborhood in the United States to be built by African-Americans. It is bounded by Lamar/Kimball on the south, Southern on the north, Airways on the west, and Semmes on the east. The neighborhood has a population of approximately 14,800, of which 11,700 are of African-American heritage.

Orange Mound stands on the site of the former John Deadrick plantation. Between 1825 and 1830, Deadrick purchased 5,000 acres of land and built a house on what is now the east side of Airways, between Carnes and Spotswood.

In 1890, a developer named lzey Eugene Meachem purchased land from the Deadrick family and began developing a subdivision for African-Americans, selling lots for less than $100. The subdivision was named Orange Mound, for the mock orange shrubs that were planted in the side yard of the Deadrick home.

In its early days, Orange Mound was billed as "the largest concentration of blacks in the United States...", second only to Harlem in New York City. The neighborhood provided a refuge for African-
Americans moving to the city for the first time from rural areas. It was a vibrant community in which a mix of residences, businesses, churches, and cultural centers flourished.

In recent decades, Orange Mound has been the focus of a variety of revitalization efforts. One such effort, the Orange Mound Collaborative, was funded by a Ford Foundation grant and stresses "education through empowerment." The Orange Mound Collaborative's projects include an Early Childhood Institute, and an oral history project in which researchers conduct videotaped interviews with Orange Mound's older residents.

In 2003, Orange Mound was named one of 21 areas in Memphis that are the focus of the S.M.A.R.T. ("Servicing the Metropolitan Area through the Redevelopment of Targeted neighborhoods") Revitalization Plan.

In a 2004 editorial in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Robert Lipscomb, director of Memphis's Housing and Community Development division, wrote that much progress has been made in revitalizing Orange Mound, through a combination of code enforcement, tenant education programs, and neighborhood cleanup efforts.

A group called the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center helped neighborhood residents to create the Orange Mound Community Garden. Organizers of the garden project hoped the project would help beautiful the community, provide a source of nutritious food, teach leadership skills, and encourage self-reliance.

Orange Mound is Memphis's oldest and best-known African-American community, and we have never waivered in our belief that our community is a great place to live.

Original article Courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Mound,_Memphis