The Transformation of Oklahoma City’s African American Heritage in the Deep Deuce District

Oklahoma City’s Festival of the Arts 2019 is buzzing with a diversity of talented artists performing in the downtown area. The artists are dancers, singers, and musicians performing on multiple of stages and genres including Blues, Folk, Bluegrass, Pop, Rock, and Jazz. It is reminiscent of the Deep Deuce District’s heritage as a booming economic community for African American jazz artists and musicians in the 1940’s – 1950’s. The Deep Deuce District is located north of downtown Oklahoma City’s Entertainment District, Bricktown.

The Deep Deuce District has undergone a nearly 50-year transformation to become what it is today. Before the transformation, this district included homes, apartment buildings, dentists and doctors’ offices along with other African American owned businesses that supported the community.

The American Geographical Society identifies the construction as “new-build gentrification”. This process contributes to the displacement of lower income families and individuals. Gentrification has been known to take place in larger cities, but AGS’s study looks at the effects on the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. An American Geographical Society tweet reveals how neighborhoods changed because of gentrification and the saturation of low-income population.

On the surface, property and profit seem to line the streets of the Deep Deuce District, but for some, there is question about the acquired ownership of district. Bruce Fisher has worked as a retired curator for the Oklahoma Historical Society. He witnessed the effects of the urban renewal projects. “What the race riots did to Black Wall Street is the same as what urban renewal projects did to the Deep Deuce District,” Fisher said.

James Johnson’s grandparents lived and worked in the Deep Deuce District and developed neighborhoods for African American residents. Edwards Edition had the highest concentration of residents with 400 homes; there were approximately 700 homes built throughout the area. Johnson’s grandparents’ home and the Edwards Edition are listed on the National Historic Registry.

It is hard for some to talk about today’s success of the downtown Deep Deuce District without talking about the success of the district’s heritage and the families affected by the transformation.