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This article covers the history and current situation of the African American ethnic group in Davenport, Iowa.

Geography and demographics

The Davenport, IA Metropolitan area straddles the Mississippi River and a state line in a quintet of cities called the Quad Cities.

Iowa has one of the lowest percentages of African American population in the U.S., but it butts up against Illinois, which has one of the highest. The Quad-Cities, with Davenport as its largest member, has in recent years had the largest metropolitan-area African American population in Iowa, outstripping Des Moines, the state's largest city, and the IA-NE Council Bluffs-Omaha area.

The city has often flirted and occasionally exceeded the 100,000 mark in population which makes it, easily, one of the largest cities in Iowa. Its 2008 U.S. Census estimated population is 99,514. Of that number, 9.2 percent - or 9,200 citizens are African American. For comparison, the average African American population in Iowa cities is 2.1 percent. (5)

History

Both states benefited greatly from the Great Black Migration - a time roughly coincident with the Jazz Age - during which millions of African Americans left the South for the North.

According to John D. Baskerville of the University Northern Iowa: "The years between 1910 and 1920 marked the beginning of a major shift of the African-American population within the United States. The nation's African-American population shifted away from underdeveloped rural areas in the South to industrial centers in the cities, particularly in the North and the West.

"It has been estimated that nearly 500,000 to a million African American men, women and children 'left the South before, during, and shortly after the first World War, settling in urban areas such as New York, Chicago, Detroit and other areas in the North and Midwest. For example, Chicago's African American population increased from 44,000 to 110,000 during this period. (Franklin and Moss 1994) Because of this mass movement of the African-American population, this phenomenon has been commonly refer to as the "Great Black Migration.""

These masses were looking for better futures for themselves and their families. The more industrialized and arguably less racist North offered jobs in factories that would pay living wages and allow higher standards of living.

Davenport, a German town located in a river valley with some of the most fertile soil in the world, was the largest of the five cities whose citizens were making a collective living with manufacturing related to farming. Farm equipment or parts manufacturers such J.I. Case, John Deere, Caterpillar, Alcoa and others were some of the biggest employers in the area.

It was particularly attractive because its factory work paid nearly as well as that of Detroit and Chicago factories, but the Davenport area offered a less urban environment -- reminiscent of the South. It was less crowded, full of lush green space and, like Detroit and Chicago, its industry was clamoring to find workers to meet product demands.

Southern states weren't the only tributaries. Small Northern towns like Quincy, IL and Hannibal, MO also provided Davenport a steady stream of families and individuals looking to better their positions in life.

But, in the late 1970s, when the manufacturing sector began to slow down and shed jobs, African Americans -- the last hired -- were the first to feel pain. A sustained economic downturn led to rough financial seas for most African Americans in Davenport. For example, in the 1980s, The Strip, a thriving collective of black businesses located along the 600 - 900 blocks of Harrison Street, was torn down. A Montessori school was erected in its place.

Gone were the headquarters of Buckner Hauling, owned by Louis Buckner, one of the area's first African American-owned garbage collection businesses, and a dozen other small businesses. Gone also were the "Green Apartments," an apartment complex on Eighth Street in which future Super Bowl star Roger Craig's family lived.

African American Notables from Davenport, Iowa or Quad Cities Area

• Roger Craig, Three-time Super Bowl Champion
• Michael Nunn, Middleweight Boxing Champ
• Jamie Williams, Professional Football Player
• Jesse Johnson, Guitarist for rock group The Time
• Acie Earl, Professional Basketball Player
• Ricky Davis, Professional Basketball Player
• Antwon Echols, Super Middleweight Boxing Champ
• Jim Hester, Professional Football Player
• Brad D. Hopkins, Professional Football Player
• Jae Bryson, Author, Media Owner

Schools & Neighborhoods

In the 1960s and 1970s, because the African American population was segregated in certain neighborhoods, "mostly below the hill," certain schools increased their black populations dramatically. Among these were Lincoln Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, JB Young Jr. High School, Sudlow Junior High School and Central High School.

Harrison and Brady streets proved to be East-West racial dividing lines, while Locust Street served as the North-South divider. Few families lived far from this grid. Schools that were north of Locust, such as Williams or Wood Junior High Schools were almost exclusively white and more affluent. A pocket of African Americans was concentrated on the east side of Davenport -- in neighborhoods like Cork Hill -- while another was located on the west side near Marquette Street in the shadow of the majestic Jefferson Elementary School building.

Within the school system during the 60s and 70s, the administrators had apparently instituted a policy whereby students who came from Mississipi were automatically held back a grade. Because of this policy and its resultant age differences, many of those elementary school children were more developed and often physically larger than the transplants from Midwestern states or the native Davenporters.

Civil Rights Battles and Local African American Firsts

• 1942 - First Civil Rights discrimination lawsuit won by Charles Toney & Family against proprietors of ice cream parlor (4)

• 1943 - Interracial dancing ban dropped at Melody Mill high school hangout (4)

• 1960 (circa) - Lafayette J. Twyner, Dentist and first African American elected to the Davenport School Board

• 1970 - Soul Kitchen opens, first restaurant owned and operated by an African American woman - Claudine Jackson.

• 1971 James Smith becomes city's first African American principal at Lincoln Elementary

• 1976 - Bill Cribbs selected as first city Affirmative Action Director (3)

• 2001 - Jamie Howard elected as first African American alderman.

Community Gathering Places

• Soul Kitchen - Harrison Street (Defunct)

• Joe's Barbershop - Harrison Street

• Dempsey's - Marquette Avenue

• Jewell's Pool Hall - Harrison Street (Defunct)

• California Club - Harrison Street (Defunct)

• Cork Hill Park

• The Brick House - Ripley Street (Defunct)

• DeShay's - Harrison Street (Defunct)

• Wilma's - Harrison Street

• Ragan's Market - Harrison Street (Defunct)

• Eighth Street Flea Market - Harrison Street (Defunct)

Religion

Bethel AME Church is a major church for African American Protestants in the area.

References

3. http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/01/16/news/local/doc478d90d2c99f3237379698.txt

4. http://www.qconline.com/progress99/3civlea1.shtml

5. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/19/1919000.html

• African American history
• Davenport, Iowa