Throughout history, by taking one step at a time, Black people have fashioned a legacy of perseverance. Francis “Frank” Baylor personified that legacy in 1899 when he walked 2,000 miles from Georgia to New Mexico. Searching for a less racially terrorized location where Black people could live, Baylor walked until reaching an area that would become Blackdom, New Mexico’s first Black settlement.
The city was named “Blackdom” to reflect its residents desire to live in a Black kingdom. They dreamed of a town where Black people could grow and prosper. They yearned for a city they would control and call their own. Over a span of 30 years, citizens of Blackdom erected a host of buildings, institutions, and businesses that included a church, school, hotel, blacksmith shop, and post office. Black citizens were recruited from around the country to help build and expand a township that reportedly grew to more than 700 residents.
Click here to learn more about the work of Frank Baylor, a bold and relentless Brother who—by planting one foot firmly in front of the other—powerfully exemplified what is possible when Black people “walk their talk.”