The East End Addition, located near Interstate 40 and Wyoming Boulevard, was the first Black neighborhood in Albuquerque. It was built for Black families by Black people, and it was designated as a Historic Protection Overlay zone in 2023.
In 1938, Henry Outley, a Black homesteader, proposed a plan for 144 acres of land on behalf of the Fraternal Aid Society of Black Businessmen. At the time, acquiring a loan to build the housing project was impossible due to laws that discriminated against people of color, according to KRQE.
Outley sold and gave plots to African American families throughout his life. He later deeded the East End Addition to his adoptive daughter, Virginia Outley Ballou, who developed most of the plot, according to ABQ Public Library. Out of the 24 homes that were originally plotted, she managed to develop 22 homes along with contractor J.S. Jones. These houses were purchased by African American families in the 1950s and ‘60s.
Of the 22 homes developed by Outley Ballou, 10 remained in the East End Addition as of 2022. Today, it is situated between car dealerships and is home to Hayes Middle School, according to KRQE.
There are other places in Albuquerque where Black families have built communities, such as the Kirtland Addition and South Broadway neighborhoods, according to Cathryn McGill, founder and director of the New Mexico Black Leadership Council.
More recently, there is a larger Black population in Rio Rancho and Taylor Ranch, McGill wrote to the Daily Lobo. But specifically Black neighborhoods in New Mexico don’t exist anymore, she wrote.
“We don't define community by neighborhoods but by affinity groups — churches, alumni Greek letter organizations, other historically Black organizations like the Links, the Prince Hall Masons, the Order of the Eastern Stars, etc.,” McGill wrote.
The legacy of Black creative reclamation continues into the present, McGill added. One example of this is the reclamation of a night club near the South Valley.
The Elks Club was home to an African American night club during a time when most places discriminated on the basis of race, according to KOAT. The now-owner of Nexus Brewery, Ken Carson, reclaimed the building and created the Nexus Blue Smokehouse, McGill wrote.
“We must keep these memories alive and remember the people who made these spaces great. Historic preservation is quintessentially important,” McGill wrote.
Shin Thant Hlaing is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
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