With more than 3.9 million, Texas is home to more Black residents than any other state. Yes, Texas is the second-most populous state in the U.S., but California has the most multiracial Black residents and New York has the most Hispanic Black residents. The Lone Star State is home to the most non-Hispanic, single-race Black residents.
The single biggest reason? Slavery. But there's nuance to the answer too.
In fact, Deborah Liles, the W.K. Gordon Chair of Texas History at Tarleton State University, says for a brief period after the Civil War, Black Texans had real opportunities -- particularly on cattle drives.
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"When they first start going up the trail, they get paid the same wages as white cowboys do," she said. "This is not generally something that we will see. Right? And so, that ability to actually make a living and grow a stock that will add to their wealth is something that is not necessarily thought about as an opportunity for freed Black people after the war."
Liles said by the late 1870s, opportunities weren't as prevalent as they once were -- a trend that continued through the civil rights movement.
But Amber Sims, the executive director of the nonprofit Young Leaders, Strong City, said she saw a shift after the protests of 2020.
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"There are innovative ways in which our community has come together to show pride, to show love in which we have contributed to Texas, to make it what it is today," she said. "And that makes me really hopeful because that makes me know that the young people that I work with, that the work that I do, can change Texas in a way that includes me, that continues to make me proud."
Listen to this full episode of Texas Wants to Know in the Audacy app or wherever you listen to podcasts.
