The Beginning
Keaton Township has a proud history and rich legacy. It is located in Arkansas County, Arkansas and includes the small farming communities of Almyra, Casscoe, Immanuel, and Lookout. Keaton Township, formerly Polk Township was created between 1870-1880. Listed on the 1860 census a record of 560 slaves residing here. After the Civil War, newly emancipated slaves begin sharecropping with their former slave owners. Their faith and strength allowed them to carve out their own destiny. These families formed strong bonds of unity and community. They managed to purchase land, establish churches, schools and general stores while challenged with racial discrimination. At its peak over 200 families lived and flourished in Keaton Township.
The Great Migration
The Great Migration was the mass movement of about five million southern blacks to the north and west between 1915 and 1960. During the initial wave the majority of migrants moved to major northern cities such as Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New York, New York. By World War II the migrants continued to move North but many of them headed west to Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, California, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington.
Keaton Township was part of this epic movement.As the rural sharecroppers lives became increasing harder and difficult to sustain a family, many made the decision to pack up and move north for better jobs.
Often it would be one family member going up first to establish work and secure a place to stay then sending for others. This pattern played out in every family in Keaton Township. This migration set in motion dynamic changes within the family unit. As a result the nuclear family shifted. Once where multiple generations lived in close proximity , now grandchildren were being raised either by grandparents or other family members. It was not uncommon for the parents to be hundreds of miles from their children only seeing them a few times each year.
Many high school graduates would leave upon graduation to either attend college or find employment up north. In additional to migrating for job opportunities, blacks also moved north in order to escape the oppressive conditions of the south. Some of the main social factors for migration included lynching, an unfair legal system, inequality in education, and denial of suffrage.
The great migration, one of the largest internal migrations in the history of the United States, changed forever the urban North, the rural South, African America and in many respects, the entire nation.
This trend continued in KT well into the 70’s. Slowly the community decreased from approximately 200 families at its peak to less than 50 families. As of April 2015, the population of Keaton Township is 1097: 86.6% caucasion-american and 13.5% african-american.
http://www.blackpast.org/aah/great-migration-1915-1960
