Dempsey Travis (Finding Aid)

Dempsey Travis

1920 - 2009

Favorite Food: Turkey and Chicken

Favorite Time of Year: Autumn

Favorite Vacation Spot: Everywhere

Interview Length: 58 minutes

Interview Date(s): January 11, 2000

Interview Location(s): Travis Realty 840 E. 87th Street, Chicago, Illinois

Abstract

Dempsey Travis talks about growing up in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago and about his early experience as an entrepreneur. He then reflects on his personality and the ways he kept himself entertained as an only child. Travis then talks about when he first saw Duke Ellington perform and how the trips he took as a child with his mother influenced his interest in the arts. Dempsey Travis talks about his father's personality and details how his parents and family moved from the South to Chicago to find work. Travis then talks about the racial boundaries in his neighborhood and recalls his first encounter with race discrimination. Lastly, Travis talks about the Chicago Renaissance, which ran concurrently with New York's Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. He details the cultural activities that occurred but laments the lack of an historical account of that period. Dempsey Travis continues to talk about the Chicago Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s and details the prominent black-owned businesses of the day. Travis then talks about his music group and recalls how his ability to promote himself successfully earned him music gigs. He then talks about how he gave up a career as a professional musician to pursue a career in real estate and then details his first official sale in 1949. Lastly, Travis talks about his leadership activities in the local NAACP chapter, and his real estate activities during the 1960s and 1970s. Dempsey Travis talks about the importance of the Civil Rights Movement and recalls an encounter with racial discrimination while traveling in Tennessee with his wife. Travis then reflects on his hopes for the black community; however, he speaks about the self-destructive path it is taking. Lastly, he talks about the importance of having blacks in the business community and the personal accomplishments he's most proud of.

16 Stories (See Ordered Story Set)