Empire, Wyoming wasn’t always just a few tombstones left at the edge of a prairie. At one time it was a thriving Black community. Our people were so successful that it drove white terrorists to madness!
Well-educated and affluent Black pioneers, sick of the racism they experienced in the South, decided to take advantage of free land as America expanded westward. They looked forward to life in a hard-working, difficult, but peaceful all-Black settlement. But the lifestyle they sought was not to be.
White settlers, intimidated by Black people minding their lucrative businesses, attending excellent schools, and worshipping in beautiful churches, refused to leave our people be. The racists consistently attacked and harassed Empire’s citizens.
After a prominent Black man from Empire was lynched by the local police, who accused him of vandalizing the door of a local bank, many of the residents began to disperse. Within two decades, only four residents were left in Empire. Their graves are the only evidence the once-thriving town ever existed.
As has frequently happened in history, Empire was destroyed by white terrorists. However, the founders of the community teach us that we must ALWAYS seek to create, support – and DEFEND safe Black spaces. The risk is always worth the reward of uplifting our people.