The city of Mound Bayou, Miss., is a historic all-Black town founded in 1887 by formerly enslaved Black people who created a thriving haven for thousands of Black Americans during the Jim Crow era.
By 1900, the town in the central Mississippi Delta had developed from its modest beginnings, a "bustling community of Black-owned businesses and prosperous farmers."
Early Black townships like this once were economic, political and social sanctuaries where African American families and businesses could thrive.
It is the oldest United States all-black town founded by formerly enslaved people. The town was intended to be a self-sufficient, independent, all-black town from the beginning.
Mound Bayou was named after a large Indian mound that stood at the convergence of two bayous, draining the area. However, the location was chosen because of the Louisville, New Orleans, and Texas Line railroads that ran through its center (The AP 08/20/23)
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