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There is a large sum of Black history that goes unheard of unless you’re an African-American Studies professor or a history buff. Orange Mound is no exception to this rule. Orange Mound is the first Black community built solely by and for Black people in the U.S. located in the southeast part of Memphis, TN.

The neighborhood was built on the John George Deaderick Plantation. The neighborhood got its name from a local fruit called the mock orange that grew in the shrubs there. In 1890 Deaderick sold to a white real estate developer Izey Eugene Meacham. Meacham divided the 5,000 acres of land and created a segregated subdivision for Black people. Plots of land were created in narrow grids and sold for less than $100 dollars each. The neighborhood originally contained 982 shotgun houses.

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By the 70’s, Orange Mound had one of the highest concentration of Black people in the U.S. besides Harlem in New York City. However, in the 80’s and 90’s high crime and drug abuse appeared in the neighborhood that resulted in a high poverty rate for the area. Then in the early 200’s Orange Mound underwent a revitalization and organizations such as the Orange Mound Collaborative, S.M.A.R.T. (Servicing the Metropolitan Area through Redevelopment of Targeted Neighborhoods), the Orange Mound Community Garden, and the Melrose Center for Cultural Enrichment helped turn the neighborhood around.

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Sources:

“A Community Called Orange Mound”, WKNO Public Broadcasting; http://www.wkno.org/tvshows/orange_mound.html

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