Lunch Talk: 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.