Allensworth 2012

Allen and Josephine Allensworth, founders of Black California town Allensworth.

 

Yesterday, the Bigger Than Your Block team was very honored to be part of the Juneteenth Celebration at Allensworth State Historic Park. Financial Education Speaker & Author Shay Olivarria gave a wonderful speech on building a solid financial foundation based on learning about personal finance, sharing information about personal finance, and learning to pass on wealth to future generations. During the speech participants laughed and really interacted with Shay. When she came off of the stage people kept coming up to the table to speak with her, congradulate her on a job well done, share why she was a different type of financial education speaker, and find out what the Rule of 72 is! Kids took part in the financial education cross word puzzles and word search puzzles for prizes. Adults took home copies of the referral sheet that could net them $250 for referring an organization to Bigger Than Your Block. It was a wonderful day.

Allensworth is sometimes called The Town That Wouldn’t Die because of the tenacity of the people that settled there. The drummers mentioned that Black history is a living thing. We have to remember our history, and contribute to it for the next generations. I’m Black & I Travel says, the Allensworth family created a Black town in central California

.. Allensworth turned his eyes west. He wanted to create a town where black families could own their own homes, their own land, run their own farms and control their own destinies ..

It’s up to us to keep Allensworth alive. For those of you that haven’t been to Allensworth yet, we thought we’d share a few photos to motivate you to come up and celebrate next year.

There were tons of vendors, BBQ, ice cream, and people! Buses of folks kept coming up. It was good to see kids running around and folks hanging out under the trees.

 

The plaque reads:Elizabeth Dougherty, a wealthy Oakland business woman, purchased the property and financed the construction of the hotel in 1910. The hotel was her investment in Allensworth, but she did not live here….”

 

Mary Jane Bickers arrived in Allensworth in 1909 and opened the town’s first business, a general store.

 

If you’d like to read a bit more about Allensworth visit VirtualTourist.com. See you next year!

 

Allensworth Juneteenth Celebration

Col. Allensworth created the town of Allensworth, CA. It was a town founded in 1908, with the idea that African Americans could own property, learn, thrive, and live the American Dream. Every year they have several events to celebrate and commemorate this town.

Saturday, June 9th from 10am to 4pm Shay Olivarria of Bigger Than Your Block will attending the Allensworth celebration of Juneteenth in Allensworth, CA. She’s pleased to be presenting a lecture on financial education among Blacks.  The town was founded by Col. Allensworth because he believed that Blacks needed to be financially independent. He envisioned a town with it’s own school, businesses, and a college. The water turned brackish and people left, but the park has been turned into a state park.

Click the photo to visit the park’s page.

Of course it’s a celebration of enslaved Africans finally being made aware that freedom had come, but it’s also a celebration of our survival. As we remember how far we’ve come, it’s important to plan for the future. Working towards owning businesses, increasing our networth, and passing on our wealth to our children has got to become paramount.

The day will include entertainment for all, food, and of course some great speakers. Shay Olivarria will sell copies of her three books on site or buy them beforehand and have her sign them at the event. Either way, come on out and help celebrate the beauty of Black folks in America June 9th in Allensworth, Ca.

Book Shay Olivarria to speak at your event.

Shay Olivarria is the most dynamic financial education speaker working today. She speaks at high schools, colleges, and companies across the country. She has written three books on personal finance, including Amazon Best Seller “Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook”. Shay has been quoted on Bankrate.com, FoxBusiness.com, and The Credit Union Times, among others. To schedule Shay to speak at your event visit www.BiggerThanYourBlock.com.