Deep Ellum Clues
The 1920s were a time of exuberant reinvention. Jazz pioneers in Harlem revolutionized music. Flappers unleashed new dances and hemlines. And speakeasies vibrated with all-night parties, defying the best efforts by prohibitionists to make everyone behave. Perhaps most notable for us in the 2020s, the world of a century ago was also recovering from a devastating pandemic, the Spanish Flu.
An unlikely epicenter of Texas’ vitality during the 1920s was Deep Ellum, the historic Dallas entertainment district that has been mythologized as an enclave of good times. But the true story is far richer and more complex than the myth. If there’s a central figure in the story of Deep Ellum’s rising, it’s enigmatic blues-man Blind Lemon Jefferson, whose success inspired other musicians to flock to the neighborhood. While few details are known about his life, I’ve set out to Deep Ellum in search of clues about his legacy.
Founded in 1873—some believe as a freedman’s town for the formerly enslaved—Deep Ellum had grown into a hub of commerce and entertainment for African Americans by the ’20s. It was known as Dallas’ “black downtown,” according to the book , by Alan Govenar and Jay Brakefield. Shunned by much of white commerce, African Americans, along with
