“To be Black, to be Texan, I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I thank God for both."

In the beginning I wanted to write about Texas. I’ve always wanted to write about my home. Known throughout the world as the home of cowboys, 10 gallon hats and the Alamo, I know Texas to be much more: awe-inspiring landscapes; diverse and delicious foods: rich in culture and pride; and beautiful people from all walks of life. I set out to start a blog dedicated to illuminating all to the wider Texan experience, the Texas I know and love. As time went on, I found myself just as motivated to write about my other love: Melanin; Brothers and Sisters; my Niggas; African-Americans, Black People. To be Black, to be Texan, I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. I thank God for both.

I’m not the first black man in Texas. Mustafa Azemmouri is widely considered to be the first person of African descent to step foot on this land but neither he nor I was the last. This land is home to Queen Beys and Congresswomen, Heavyweight Champions and Inventors, Pilots and Composers and innumerable more. Each one of these has their own story, their own struggles and triumphs, their own perspectives. It’s the goal of this site to share these stories, not just the ones from our rich and great history both those ones happening among us in the present.

That’s what The Black Texan is: All things Black, All things Texan. It isn’t any one person or persons, it’s not just a specific place in or of the lone star state. The Black Texan is a site dedicated to sharing, chronicling, and uplifting, and the Black experience in Texas; all of it. From the Ensemble in Houston, to Dallas’ Smokey John’s, from Six Square in Austin to the people all over the state fighting against racism and working towards equality, The Black Texan will be there.