Tempe History Society Lunch Talks

Name: Tempe History Society Lunch Talks
Start: 2025-04-09T11:30:00-07:00
Location: 809 E Southern Ave, Tempe, AZ, United States, Arizona 85282

Schedule

Wed, 09 Apr, 2025 at 11:30 am

UTC-07:00

Location

809 E Southern Ave, Tempe, AZ, United States, Arizona 85282 | Tempe, AZ

“The History of Okemah, Tempe’s African American Community”
By The Okemah Community Historical Foundation
Okemah was a once-vibrant African American community in southeast Phoenix, from Broadway Rd. to the Salt River bottom, and from 32nd St. to 48th St. Growth in Okemah began around 1910 but decline started in the early 1960s when the neighborhood was bisected by the I-10 freeway, and the area was zoned for industrial development, driving families away. By the mid-1990s, nearly all of Okemah’s residents were gone. Today, the Okemah Foundation provides historical perspectives of the people, community infrastructure, and lifestyle that folks enjoyed when Okemah was a place called home.