Editing Enid, Oklahoma (section)

==Demographics==
[[File:A woman walks across the street during sunset in downtown Enid, Oklahoma.jpg|thumb|A masonic temple turned brewing company in downtown Enid, Oklahoma.]]
[[File:Enid sign.jpg|thumb|left|Sign welcoming visitors to Enid]]
{{US Census population
|1900= 3444
|1910= 13799
|1920= 16576
|1930= 26399
|1940= 28081
|1950= 36071
|1960= 38859
|1970= 44986
|1980= 50363
|1990= 45417
|2000= 47045
|2010= 49379
|2020= 51308
|footnote=<ref name=EN006 /><ref>Intensive Level Historical/Architectural Survey of Enid's Downtown, Susan Roth and Associates, 1994, p. 72.</ref><ref>"Population Trends", ''[http://www.ohfa.org/HDT/MarketStudy/Enid.pdf Enid Market Analysis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903223706/http://www.ohfa.org/HDT/MarketStudy/Enid.pdf |date=September 3, 2010 }}'', Prepared by University of Oklahoma Center for Business and Economic Development, Prepared for Oklahoma Housing and Finance Agency, 2002, p. 8.</ref><ref name=Census2010>[http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn33.html Oklahoma 2010 Custom Tables] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219012252/http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn33.html|date=February 19, 2011 }}, U.S. Census Bureau, February 15, 2011</ref>
}}

As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]],  51,308 people resided in the city in 19,428 households.<ref name="USCensus2020Enid">{{cite web |title=Quick Facts Enid Oklahoma |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/enidcityoklahoma |website=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=13 January 2023}}</ref> The [[population density]] was 693.9 per square mile. The [[Race (U.S. Census)|racial makeup]] of the city was 75.9% White, 15.3% Hispanic or Latino Americans, 2.6% African American, 2.6% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 4.8% Pacific Islander, and 8.2% from two or more races.<ref name="USCensus2020Enid" />

The population consists of 25.2% children under the age of 18, 7.0% under the age of 5, and 14.8% 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 with 60.5% being owner occupied housing.<ref name="USCensus2020Enid" /> 49.4% of people in Enid identify as female, 8.3% were foreign born, 13.2% had some form of disability, and 3,365 were veterans.<ref name="USCensus2020Enid" />

===Political affiliation===
Enid has been predominantly a Republican stronghold since its days as part of Oklahoma Territory, owing to the influence of settlers from neighboring Kansas.<ref name=Gaddie>Gaddie, Ronald Keith, "[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/R/RE030.html Republican Party] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903125824/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/R/RE030.html |date=2011-09-03 }}", ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society.</ref><ref name=Kenbrown>Brown, Kenny L.,[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/O/OK085.html Oklahoma Territory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114122835/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/O/OK085.html |date=2011-11-14 }}", ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society.</ref> Enid was named one of the top 10 most conservative cities in America in 2021 with over 60% of voters registering as Republicans.<ref name="mostconservative">{{cite news |last1=Arqam |first1=Muhammad |title=10 Most Conservative Major Cities in the United States |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-most-conservative-major-cities-124829877.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFYjz01dHMlQcBEXb9OQ8B2FjTbFZau5Sd5T04eWf3yKadFO1LENu_s0qv3vEq8Lpg-RQ0QoLbGJcYbsm1EFpY_yENMJi5UQy_wfAoeiRRmOxOcPVHsqjcu7_3RYAWaMpF_1RFmr7-tVyA53Y-U3SiALvvicQ6rV-r_2kDWrXelB |access-date=13 January 2023 |agency=Yahoo |date=21 April 2021}}</ref><ref name="garfieldrepublican">{{cite news |last1=McKendrick |first1=Kelci |title=Voter stats show Garfield County strongly Republican |url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/voter-stats-show-garfield-county-strongly-republican/article_471985e6-577b-11eb-bdb7-f7b631432d0e.html |access-date=13 January 2023 |agency=Enid News & Eagle |date=19 January 2021}}</ref> Several politicians have called Enid home, including Oklahoma Territory's last governor [[Frank Frantz]]; U.S. Representative [[Page Belcher]]; US Congressman and former Enid mayor, [[Milton C. Garber]]; Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor [[Todd Lamb (politician)|Todd Lamb]]; U.S. Representative [[George H. Wilson]]; and [[James Yancy Callahan]], the only non-Republican territorial congressional delegate. In 2023 Enid elected a former organizer for [[Identity Evropa]] who was at the 2017 Charlottesville [[Unite the Right rally]] to its city commission, who was recalled and defeated in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.enidnews.com/opinion/letter-white-supremacy-is-a-non-starter/article_cdd5ba88-a6fb-11ed-bc87-43d259dc5850.html|title=LETTER: White supremacy is a non-starter|website=Enidnews.com|date=7 February 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/mason-blevins-win-enid-elections-ward-2-to-have-runoff/article_c2f5f904-ace4-11ed-9285-3750ec8786a6.html|title=Mason, Blevins win Enid elections; Ward 2 to have runoff|first=Kelci McKendrick &#124; Enid News &|last=Eagle|website=Enidnews.com|date=14 February 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.enidnews.com/opinion/viewpoint-entering-a-political-race-makes-a-candidates-past-fair-game-for-scrutiny/article_507427ce-974b-11ed-b41f-9bc54f24c40a.html|title=VIEWPOINT: Entering a political race makes a candidate's past fair game for scrutiny|first=Stephen|last=Jones|website=Enidnews.com|date=19 January 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/city-candidate-accused-of-white-nationalist-ties/article_bf10f03e-8ec9-11ed-8adb-7f95a65657d8.html|title=City candidate accused of white nationalist ties|first=Kelci McKendrick &#124; Enid News &|last=Eagle|website=Enidnews.com|date=7 January 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/identity-evropas-oklahoma-coordinator-judson-blevins/|title=Identity Evropa's Oklahoma Coordinator: Judson Blevins|first=Jared|last=Holt|date=March 29, 2019|website=Right Wing Watch}}</ref>

===Religious affiliation===
[[File:A business in downtown Enid decorated for the winter holiday season.jpg|thumb|left|A business in downtown Enid decorated for the winter holiday season]]

Of the people in Enid, 61.9% claim affiliation with a religious congregation;{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} 9.4% are Catholic, 39.2% are Protestant, 1.1% are Latter Day Saints and 12.2% are another Christian denomination.<ref name=BEST /> By 1987, there were 90 churches of 27 different denominations of Christianity.<ref name=BEST>{{cite web|url=https://www.bestplaces.net/city/Enid-Oklahoma.aspx |title=Best Places to Live in Enid, Oklahoma |publisher=Bestplaces.net |access-date=2011-03-24}}</ref><ref name=Electionboard>"Enid", ''Directory of Oklahoma'' Oklahoma State Election Board, 1987</ref> Downtown Enid boasted the world's largest fresh cut Christmas tree in 2021 and 2022, which was placed downtown in time for the annual Enid Lights Up the Plains festival.<ref name="Christmastree">{{cite news |last1=Godfrey |first1=Mike |title=Video: Visiting the largest Christmas tree on earth |url=https://www.ksl.com/article/50544395/video-visiting-the-largest-christmas-tree-on-earth |access-date=13 January 2023 |publisher=KSL |date=23 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="denver7">{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Jessie |title=A small town makes Christmas tree history while also spreading joy |url=https://www.denver7.com/news/national/a-small-town-makes-christmas-tree-history-while-also-spreading-joy |access-date=13 January 2023 |agency=Denver7 |date=19 December 2022}}</ref>

Enid's [[Phillips University]], although formally affiliated with the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|Disciples of Christ]], was a product of religious collaboration between followers of the Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian Church, and Judaism.<ref name=Rockwell26 /> Although Phillips University has closed, Enid still has a number of private Christian schools, including St. Paul's Lutheran School, Oklahoma Bible Academy, St. Joseph Catholic School, and Emmannuel Christian School.<ref name="religious education">{{cite news |last1=McKendrick |first1=Kelci |title=Local faith-based private schools provide education to students, options for parents |url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/local-faith-based-private-schools-provide-education-to-students-options-for-parents/article_8a7114b2-ea5b-11eb-8476-c3f7995dea99.html |access-date=13 January 2023 |agency=Enid News & Eagle |date=28 July 2021}}</ref>

Enid has two Catholic congregations: St. Francis Xavier, founded in 1893, and St. Gregory, founded in 1971.<ref name=Stgregory>Barron, Robert, [http://enidnews.com/localnews/x530795770/A-lack-priests-in-Oklahoma-is-cited-for-shutting-down-St-Gregory-The-Great-Catholic-Church A lack of priests in Oklahoma is cited for shutting down St. Gregory The Great Catholic Church], ''Enid News & Eagle'', January 19, 2011</ref> St. Francis Xavier's Bishop Theophile Meerschaert was responsible for founding [[Enid Cemetery and Calvary Catholic Cemetery|Calvary Catholic Cemetery]] in 1898.<ref name=Enidcem>{{cite web|url=http://www.enidcemetery.org/CemHist.html|title=A Short, Concise History of Enid Cemetery|website=www.enidcemetery.org|access-date=August 14, 2011|archive-date=July 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726032051/http://www.enidcemetery.org/CemHist.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Enid is home to several Protestant churches. It has four Lutheran congregations: Immanuel, founded in 1899, Trinity, founded in 1901, St. Paul, founded in 1909, and Redeemer, founded in 1934.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lcms.org|title=The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod|website=The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod}}</ref>  Enid has several historically Black churches, including St. Stephen African Methodist Episcopal Church, First Missionary Baptist Church, and West Side Church of God in Christ (COGIC).<ref name="blackchurches" /> The Southern Heights Ministerial Alliance brings local Black clergy together.<ref name="blackchurches">{{cite news |last1=Neal |first1=James |title=Church is still the most segregated hour of the week |url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/church-is-still-the-most-segregated-hour-of-the-week/article_fcae424c-902e-11e7-a1c3-bf2b69a463cb.html |access-date=13 January 2023 |agency=Enid News & Eagle |date=2 September 2017}}</ref> Enid has two churches serving its Korean population, the Enid Korean Church of Grace<ref name="Koreanchurchofgrace">{{cite news |last1=Neal |first1=James |title=Enid High JROTC student wins scholarship to flight school |url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/local_news/enid-high-jrotc-student-wins-scholarship-to-flight-school/article_e1e0cc87-3a11-5d5c-8bbb-2665751c7495.html |access-date=13 January 2023 |agency=Enid News & Eagle |date=3 February 2020}}</ref> and Peace United Methodist.<ref name="koreanpeace">{{cite news |last1=Neal |first1=James |title=Churches find new strengths by joining congregations |url=https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/life/faith/2017/07/15/churches-find-new-strengths-joining-congregations/476254001/ |access-date=13 January 2023 |agency=Go San Angelo |date=15 July 2017}}</ref> Iglesia Cristiana El Shaddai, a Disciples of Christ congregation founded in 2001, serves the area Hispanic community.<ref name="faithways">{{cite news |last1=Hefton |first1=Billy |title=New congregations find a place to grow at University Place Christian Church |url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/progress/new-congregations-find-a-place-to-grow-at-university-place-christian-church/article_4e7c9816-b68c-11ec-9299-bf87e882f99b.html |access-date=13 January 2023 |agency=Enid News & Eagle |date=10 April 2022}}</ref> Enid Faith Ways Church is LGBTQ friendly.<ref name="faithways" /><ref name="UCCLGBTQ">{{cite news |last1=Neal |first1=James |title=New congregation creating open, affirming environment for LGBTQ community |url=https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/oklahoma/new-congregation-creating-open-affirming-environment-for-lgbtq-community/article_22b53431-158f-5250-ab8e-70510633dc9b.html |access-date=13 January 2023 |agency=Muskogee Phoenix |date=27 March 2018}}</ref>

Enid also has a small Bahá’í congregation that often meets in congregants' homes and serves some of Enid's Marshallese population.<ref name="Bahai">{{cite news |last1=Neal |first1=James |title='HEART OF THE FAITH' 2020 VISION: Principles of unity, equality and peace emphasized in local Bahá'í community |url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/progress/2020-vision-principles-of-unity-equality-and-peace-emphasized-in-local-bah-community/article_4d3469fc-7142-11ea-af0a-e38e4d7f7d31.html |access-date=13 January 2023 |agency=Enid News and Eagle |date=28 March 2020}}</ref>

Historically, between 1925 and 1930<ref name="ISJC">{{cite web |title=Enid, Oklahoma |url=https://www.isjl.org/oklahoma-enid-encyclopedia.html |website=Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities |access-date=13 January 2023}}</ref> Enid was home to a small Jewish congregation called Emanuel, which met at the Loewen Hotel,<ref name="Friedenwald">[[Herbert Friedenwald|Friedenwald, Herbert]], "Oklahoma", The American Jewish Year Book, Volume 12, American Jewish Committee, p. 273</ref> founded by Al Loewen, a local merchant who also served on the committee to create Phillips University.<ref name=Rockwell26>Rockwell, Stella, ed., Garfield County, Oklahoma, 1907–1982, Vol. I, Garfield Historical Society, Josten's Publishing Company, Topeka, Kansas. 1982. pp. 26–27</ref> Lacking a synagogue building members of the Jewish community have held services at Convention Hall<ref name="1923YK">{{cite news |title=M.M. Rabin will be speaker for service |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/907683894/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=19 September 1923}}</ref> and local Masonic Temples,<ref name="1916newyear">{{cite news |title=Jewish New Year service last night |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/581996906/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=28 September 1916}}</ref><ref name="1918newyear">{{cite news |title=Jewish new year being celebrated |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608390206/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=6 September 1918}}</ref> or by traveling to synagogues in other cities.<ref name="1921newyear">{{cite news |title=Jewish New Years begins this evening |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608534494/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily News |date=2 October 1921}}</ref> The [[Enid Cemetery and Calvary Catholic Cemetery|Enid Cemetery]] also has a Jewish section where many of early Enid's Jewish merchants are interred,<ref name=Enidcem2>[https://www.garfieldokgen.org/ceme-enid.htm Garfield County Genealogists - Enid, Oklahoma] (accessed August 4, 2013)</ref> including the founders of Kaufman's Style Shop, Herzberg's Department Store, Newman Mercantile,<ref name=Mendel>Evergates, Theodore (ed.) and Constable, Giles, (ed.), "William Mendel Newman (1902–1977)", ''[http://www.medievalacademy.org/Digital_Editions/Newman_0097/Newman_0097.htm The Cartulary and Charters of Notre-Dame of Homblieres] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928044657/http://www.medievalacademy.org/Digital_Editions/Newman_0097/Newman_0097.htm |date=2011-09-28 }}'', by William Mendel Newman, Medieval Academy Books, No. 97, 1990</ref> and Meibergen and Godschalk, Enid's first clothing store.<ref name=Gcgen>[https://garfieldokgen.org/Photos24.htm Enid's first clothing store, established in 1893], Photograph Album, Garfield County Genealogists</ref> During the Oklahoma territorial era, Enid elected Jewish resident Joseph Meibergen in 1897 as mayor.<ref name="ISJC" /> Enid was home to the Northwest Oklahoma chapter of the B'nai B'rith founded in 1926,<ref name="BBNO">{{cite news |title=Northwest Oklahoma B'nai Brith is organized here Saturday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/900493043/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=13 December 1926}}</ref><ref name="Levenson">{{cite news |last1=Levenson |first1=Joseph |title=The Story of Oklahoma Jewry |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/603109023/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Southwest Jewish Chronicle |date=1 September 1953}}</ref> the Enid Jewish Women's Council met in the 1930s and 1940s,<ref name="USO">{{cite news |title=Jewish women are USO hostesses |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/898038403/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Morning News |date=13 May 1945}}</ref><ref name="Jewishwomen">{{cite news |title=Jewish Women's Council Meet |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/900501192/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=3 November 1932}}</ref> and the Enid Jewish Chautauqua held programs as early as 1910.<ref name="SocietyJC">{{cite news |last1=McKenzie |first1=Birdie |title=In Society |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/660027864/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=5 January 1910}}</ref>

Enid is the home of two Masonic Lodges, the Enid Lodge #80 and the Garfield Lodge #501. The Enid Lodge has many Jewish members.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://enidnews.com/localnews/x546171964/Local-Masonic-locldge-opened-year-after-Cherokee-Strip-run/print |title=Local Masonic lodge opened year after Cherokee Strip run » The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK |publisher=Enidnews.com |date=2009-12-13 |access-date=2011-03-24}}</ref>

===Marshallese population===
In 2014 Enid was the city with the fourth largest [[Marshallese people|Marshallese]] population in the United States.<ref name=Coppockminor>{{cite web|last=Coppock|first=Mike|url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/education/2014/09/28/enid-schools-work-with-a-different-minority-group-marshall-islanders/60795825007/|title=Enid schools work with a different minority group -- Marshall Islanders|newspaper=[[The Oklahoman]]|date=2014-09-28|accessdate=2022-09-18}}</ref>

A [[push factor]] from the Marshall Islands was [[nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll]].<ref name="Narratively">{{cite web |last1=Carpenter |first1=Zoë |title=The U.S. Tested 67 Nuclear Bombs in Their Country. Now They're Dying in Oklahoma. After military experiments devastated their homeland, Marshall Islands residents were permitted to immigrate to the U.S. They didn't know their American dream came with a catch. |url=https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-u-s-tested-67-nuclear-bombs-in-their-country-now-they-re-dying-in-oklahoma|date=2017-07-17 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> Missionaries from [[Phillips University]] visited the Marshall Islands,<ref name=Coppockminor/> and Marshallese students at Phillips were among the first settlers from the island country. There were also significant numbers who worked at food plants from Advance Foods, now [[Tyson Foods]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Neal|first=James|url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/marshallese-community-in-enid-traces-history-to-cold-war-testing/article_69aa6934-14c3-11e8-96e3-537c74e87e86.html|title=Marshallese community in Enid traces history to Cold War testing|newspaper=[[Enid News]]|date=2018-02-18|accessdate=2022-09-18}}</ref> There were others who worked at [[Walmart]]. The [[Compact of Free Association]] allowed Marshallese to begin moving to Enid sometime circa <!--2022 - 35 = 1987-->1987. In 2022 there were 2,800 Marshallese in Enid.<ref name=McElhaney>{{cite web|last=McElhaney|first=Bruce|url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/lifestyles/the-marshallese-way/article_bea000b6-0610-5677-a56d-8862b1ae083a.html|title='The Marshallese way'|newspaper=[[Enid News]]|date=2017-05-28|accessdate=2022-09-18}}</ref>

Initially Enid's Marshallese were younger. By the 21st century many elderly Marshallese came for medical care, and many of them died at younger ages than other elderly people due to health problems stemming from fallout from the nuclear tests and from poor diets;<ref name="Narratively"/> the nuclear tests made traditional Marshallese food inaccessible due to radiation, so U.S. junk food rations became a major element in the Marshallese diet. Additionally, since 1996, Marshallese citizens were unable to get health programs offered by the federal government due to the [[Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act]] changing relevant laws. The Oklahoma government has the ability to allow Marshallese citizens in its state borders to get access to these federal health programs, but it chooses not to do so.<ref>{{cite web|last=Craig|first=Sarah|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/12/25/671159555/a-policy-knot-leaves-oklahomans-from-marshall-islands-struggling-to-get-health-c|title=A Policy Knot Leaves Oklahomans From Marshall Islands Struggling To Get Health Care|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]|date=2018-12-25|accessdate=2022-09-18}}</ref>

It is common for Marshallese in Enid to frequently change residences. As many Marshallese have not obtained U.S. citizenship, they lack power in governance. Business ownership and management are not common among Marshallese in Enid.<ref name="Narratively"/>

In 2014 there were 381 students in [[Enid Public Schools]] who were Marshallese in [[English language learner]] programs, and two of the elementary schools had at least 25% of their total students being Marshallese ELL students. The district, in 2017, had two liaisons meant for the Marshallese population.<ref name=Coppockminor/> In 2017, 200 of the students at [[Enid High School]] were Marshallese,<ref name=KeepingIslands>{{cite web|last=Keeping|first=Juliana|url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/columns/2017/10/15/from-the-islands-to-enid/60564194007/|title=From the islands to Enid|newspaper=[[The Oklahoman]]|date=2017-10-15|accessdate=2022-09-18}}</ref> and by 2014 the school had a student club where Marshallese students taught the overall student population about their culture. Longfellow Middle School also had such a club.<ref name=Coppockminor/>

The Marshallese United Church of Christ is in Enid.<ref name=McElhaney/>

===African-American population===
The neighborhoods of Southern Heights and East Park are historically Black neighborhoods in Enid.<ref name="SouthernHeights">{{cite web |last1=Myers |first1=Terri |title=Historic Resources Survey of Southern Heights East Park Project Area Enid Oklahoma |url=https://digitalprairie.ok.gov/digital/api/collection/stgovpub/id/3474/download |website=Oklahoma Digital Prairie |access-date=31 January 2024}}</ref> African-Americans have lived in Enid since the time of the September 1893 Land Run.<ref name="SouthernHeights" /> Members of the Black community soon founded two Baptist churches in 1893, Grayson Missionary Baptist Church, and the First Baptist Church.<ref name="SouthernHeights" /> St. Stephen's African Methodist Episcopal Church would follow in 1909.<ref name="SouthernHeights" /> In 1996 Enid's First Missionary Baptist Church burned down in a fire during a spate of hate crimes across the American South.<ref name="Churchburned">{{cite news |last1=McNutt |first1=Michael |title=Lawmen seek clues after Enid Church burns |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/454490013/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Daily Oklahoman |date=14 June 1996}}</ref> The community came together and rebuilt the church.<ref name="Rebuilding">{{cite news |last1=McNutt |first1=Michael |title=Enid Church to rebuild 1 block north |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/454695554/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Daily Oklahoman |date=8 August 1996}}</ref> The area near Government Springs Park became an area of Black settlement, coalescing beside these nearby institutions of community life.<ref name="SouthernHeights" /> Prominent citizens of the Black community in early Enid included attorney Devotion Banks, Reverend Louis Johnson, Doctor Ollie Penny, Reverend Moses Ireland, and Reverend William Humphrey.<ref name="SouthernHeights" /> Many Black citizens belonged to the Knights of Pythias fraternal organization.<ref name="SouthernHeights" />

[[File:Booker T Washington School Enid.jpg|thumb|The former Booker T. Washington School is now a community center in Enid.]]
Booker T. Washington school was founded in 1896 with a brick school house erected in 1901.<ref name="SouthernHeights" /> The school provided elementary through high school education for Black residents.<ref name="SouthernHeightsPart2">{{cite web |last1=Myers |first1=Terri |title=Historic Resources Survey of Southern Heights East Park Project Area Enid Oklahoma |url=https://www.okhistory.org/shpo/docs/SouthernHeights&EastParkPt2.pdf|access-date=31 January 2024}}</ref> Washington school was joined by Douglas elementary from 1918 to 1920 and George Washington Carver elementary in 1949.<ref name="SouthernHeightsPart2" /> Having previously denied access to Black university students,<ref name="1952nointegration">{{cite news |title=A little child shall lead them |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/872007296/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Black Dispatch |date=16 February 1952}}</ref> Phillips University changed its policies after the [[Brown v. Board of Education]] ruling.<ref name="1955undergraduates">{{cite news |title=Phillips opens doors to negro undergraduates |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/900518226/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Morning News |date=8 June 1955}}</ref><ref name="graduatestudents">{{cite news |title=Negro graduate students enroll at Phillips U |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/900519347/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Morning News |date=12 September 1954}}</ref><ref name="integratephillips">{{cite news |title=Phillips U opens doors to negroes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/872002720/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Black Dispatch |date=7 August 1954}}</ref> In 1947 despite having no Black classmates, students at Phillips formed a chapter of the NAACP.<ref name="NAACPPU">{{cite news |title=Students organize NAACP chapter |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/593533649/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Haymaker |date=11 February 1947}}</ref> The first instance of integration in Enid’s public school system occurred in June 1955 when two Black high school students, Leonard Harrison and Ralph Ballard, attended summer school at Emerson Junior High.<ref name="Emerson">{{cite news |title=History is made here today but fact is taken calmly |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/900534332/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=9 June 1955}}</ref> Enid High School accepted its first Black students in the fall semester of 1955.<ref name="EHSintegration">{{cite news |title=Integration viewed a success at Phillips and Enid High |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/908755410/ |access-date=2 February 2024 |agency=The Haymaker |date=23 September 1955}}</ref> Enid's public schools were not fully integrated until 1969 when Enid closed the elementary schools in the Southern Heights neighborhood and children were bussed to other schools.<ref name="schoolsclosed">{{cite news |title=Enid to push race mixing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/452336136/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |agency=The Daily Oklahoman |date=5 December 1968}}</ref><ref name="SouthernHeightsPart2" /> Citing economics and no foreign language education, the Enid School Board closed Booker T. Washington in 1960, and its 43 students were integrated into the wider school system.<ref name="BookerTcloses">{{cite news |title=Changes save Enid schools $35,000 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/902697994/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Morning News |date=9 October 1960}}</ref>  Despite strides forward in integrating local educational institutions, local restaurants and drug store lunch counters refused service to Black citizens.<ref name="sitins4">{{cite news |title=No service given |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/902090425/ |access-date=3 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=26 August 1958}}</ref> In 1958 the Black community organized sit-ins<ref name="sitins5">{{cite news |title=Enid restaurant owners fighting serving negroes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/603976026/ |access-date=3 February 2024 |agency=The Ponca City News |date=28 August 1958}}</ref> and held meetings between the Enid Negro Chamber of Commerce and the Enid Restauranteurs Association,<ref name="sitins1">{{cite news |title=Negroes break up conference by merchants |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/902090589/ |access-date=3 February 2024 |agency=Enid Daily Eagle |date=28 August 1958}}</ref><ref name="sitins2">{{cite news |title=Enid Restaurant Operators to Make New Try to Work Out Policy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/902136440/ |access-date=3 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Morning News |date=29 August 1958}}</ref> but the effort failed.<ref name="sitins3">{{cite news |title=McLaurin cases famous in state integration history |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/602660966/ |access-date=3 February 2024 |agency=The Oklahoma Daily |date=12 May 1961}}</ref> The restaurant owners used laws against loitering as grounds to notify police.<ref name="loitering1">{{cite news |title=Enid cafe owners meet to prevent negroes loitering |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/596054085/ |access-date=3 February 2024 |agency=Okemah News Leader |date=28 August 1958}}</ref> Another sit-in occurred in May 1963<ref name="sitin6">{{cite news |title=Enid Sit-in Fails |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/902698835/ |access-date=3 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Morning News |date=17 May 1963}}</ref> prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act which integrated restaurants nationwide.<ref name="CRA">{{cite news |title=Court action may set big precedent |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/744113830/ |access-date=3 February 2024 |agency=Durant Weekly News and Bryan County Democrat |date=24 July 1964}}</ref>

Another historically Black neighborhood nicknamed "Two Street" existed between South Second Street and South Grand Avenue near the Rock Island railroad tracks.<ref name="Moore2" /><ref name="SouthernHeights" /> The area was considered a Red Light district with gambling halls, saloons, and brothels.<ref name="SouthernHeights" /> Despite statewide alcohol prohibition in Oklahoma, liquor sales were rampant across town.<ref name="jointlocations">{{cite news |title=Officials know the locations of joints |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/662626230/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Events |date=6 October 1921}}</ref><ref name="serpent">{{cite news |title=Chopping off the serpants tail |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/662629678/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Events |date=14 July 1921}}</ref> On July 31, 1917 Judge John C. Moore ordered that residents be evicted and the buildings condemned.<ref name="redlight">{{cite news |title=Enid redlight property may be condemned |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/63770844/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Wichita Eagle |date=18 August 1917}}</ref><ref name="Moore2">{{cite news |title=Police abolish Negro district |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/581612633/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Morning News |date=29 July 1917}}</ref><ref name="MooreJudgement1">{{cite news |title=Two Street Must Go |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/883013623/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=Tulsa Morning Times |date=31 July 1917}}</ref> Enid appointed its first Black policeman, Henry Backstrom, in the 1920s.<ref name="Backstrom1">{{cite news |title=The PD cleaning up |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608554284/ |access-date=31 January 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=17 May 1921}}</ref> Mr. Backstrom had previously served as principal of the Washington school for 11 years.<ref name="Backstromprincipal">{{cite news |title=Mr. Backstrom Resigns |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608398431/ |access-date=31 January 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily News |date=28 March 1920}}</ref> Backstrom was acquitted after killing Fred Williams, a Black resident of Two Street, in the line of duty.<ref name="Backstrom2">{{cite news |title=Acquits Backstrom after six minutes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608197263/ |access-date=31 January 2024 |publisher=The Enid Daily News |date=29 September 1921}}</ref> He continued to serve for six years before studying at Langston University, and returning to the education field.<ref name="Backstrom3">{{cite news |title=Enid man realizes ambition at age of 64 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/872040901/ |access-date=31 January 2024 |agency=The Black Dispatch |date=28 June 1928}}</ref>  Former Deputy Sheriff Lon Crosslin<ref name="Curley">{{cite news |title=Curley Myers shot by Lon Crosslin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608553113/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle|date=12 December 1918}}</ref> was injured during a gunfight while attempting to prevent a jewelry store robbery.<ref name="Klansmen1" /> Crosslin killed the two Black suspects, but the Klan justified collective punishment of the residents in retaliation for Crosslin's injury,<ref name="maskedmen" /> issuing orders for residents of the Two Street district to leave Garfield County.<ref name="Garfieldcountyklan">{{cite news |title=Racial situation improving |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/657315314/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=Harlow's Weekly |date=4 November 1921}}</ref> Local police refused to protect Black residents and ordered them to obey the Klan.<ref name="Klansmen1" /> On October 26, 1921 a portion of Enid's Black population was driven out by the Klan.<ref name="Cleanstreet">{{cite news |title=Two Street is clean |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608546917/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=28 October 1921}}</ref> An estimated 1,000 members of the Klan held a car parade at midnight,<ref name="maskedmen">{{cite news |title=Masked men parade in Enid |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/171786693/ |access-date=2 February 2024 |agency=The Daily Ardmoreite |date=27 October 1921}}</ref> and nearly two dozen Black citizens left town.<ref name="Klansmen1">{{cite news |title=Klansmen pay Two Street night visit |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608546864/ |access-date=31 January 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=27 October 1921}}</ref> Local Reverend A.G. Smith,<ref name="AGSmith">{{cite news |title=Gives second lecture |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608550670/ |access-date=2 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=20 December 1921}}</ref> Mayor William H. Ryan,<ref name="Klansmen1" /><ref name="TheNationVol113">{{cite book |last1=Richards |first1=J. H. |title=The Nation, Volume 113, Library of American civilization |date=1921 |page=758 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HRs4AQAAMAAJ&q=William+H.+Ryan+mayor+enid+klan |access-date=1 February 2024}}</ref> former Deputy Sheriff Lon Crosslin,<ref name="Crosslin">{{cite news |title=Wounded officer says Two Street cleanup was good job |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608537244/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily News |date=28 October 1921}}</ref> and the ''Enid Daily Eagle'' editorial staff praised the action.<ref name="EditorialPage">{{cite news |title=Editorial: the Ku Klux Klan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608550813/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=22 December 1921}}</ref> The mayor routinely received death threats for his public support of the action.<ref name="Enidmayorklan">{{cite news |title=Enid mayor threatened |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/883148665/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Tulsa World |date=31 March 1922}}</ref> Some Black residents resisted, returning to town only to met by threats from the Klan.<ref name="OBanion1">{{cite news |title=Walt O Banion given penalty for returning |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608541604/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily News |date=9 December 1921}}</ref> By 1922 at least ten former residents of the neighborhood had moved to the neighborhood by Government Springs Park.<ref name="Dillon2street">{{cite news |title=Charge Dillon with robbery |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608560809/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily News |date=17 May 1922}}</ref> The Klan held additional parades through downtown Enid in 1922<ref name="largestcrowdever">{{cite news |title=Largest crowd ever in Enid gathers to see Klan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/606484181/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Duncan Banner |date=26 February 1922}}</ref><ref name="parade1922">{{cite news |title=Klan parade draws crowd of thousands |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608561005/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=26 February 1922}}</ref> and 1924.<ref name="parade1924">{{cite news |title=Klan to parade in Enid tonight |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/907740932/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=5 May 1924}}</ref> At least two Black men were tarred and feathered in separate incidents by the Klan in Enid in the 1920s, including Ed Warner and Walter O'Banion.<ref name="Tarredandfeathered">{{cite news |title=Policemen head mob that tars negro |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/662651847/ |access-date=31 January 2024 |agency=The Enid Events |date=15 December 1921}}</ref> There were additional reports of Klan activity in Enid in 1979 and 1985.<ref name="sapulpa1979">{{cite news |title=Human Rights Commission counteracts KKK actions |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/662201186/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |agency=Sapulpa Daily Herald |date=24 October 1979}}</ref><ref name="naacpvsklan">{{cite news |last1=McNutt |first1=Michael |title=Enid group protests klan costume |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/451983496/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |agency=The Daily Oklahoman |date=10 November 1985}}</ref> On September 21, 1979 an 18 year old Black Enid High School student and football player named Mitchell Lee Sanford was hung from a tree.<ref name="OklahomanSanford2">{{cite news |title=Enid boy found hanged |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/455341903/ |access-date=24 April 2024 |agency=The Daily Oklahoman |date=22 September 1979}}</ref><ref name="OklahomanSanford">{{cite news |last1=Hutchison |first1=Mark |title=Black Sect Leader visited Enid stirred tension source says |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1990/11/10/black-sect-leader-visited-enid-stirred-tension-source-says/62546393007/ |access-date=24 April 2024 |agency=The Daily Oklahoman |date=10 November 1990}}</ref> While local police ruled it a suicide, the FBI investigated it as a hate crime due to a recent resurgence in local Klan activity.<ref name="SapulpaSanford">{{cite news |title=FBI investigates Enid teen's death |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/662210389/ |access-date=24 April 2024 |agency=Sapulpa Daily Herald |date=30 October 1979}}</ref>

Enid's chapter of the NAACP was founded in 1941 by local educator Lewis J. Umstead who served as its president until 1952.<ref name="umstead1952">{{cite news |title=Umstead steps down |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/900931133/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=6 March 1952}}</ref><ref name="Arcadia">{{cite book |last1=Mcintyre |first1=Glen |title=Enid: 1893-1945 |date=2012 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=9780738577470 |page=90 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvHjlI2GoAgC&q=enid,+ok+naacp+ulmstead |access-date=1 February 2024}}</ref><ref name="NAACPfounder">{{cite news |last1=Jeanne |first1=Kat |title=Heritage Center collection provides look at Black history in Enid |url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/heritage-center-collection-provides-look-at-black-history-in-enid/article_faa64682-969d-11ec-bcf8-831a455809db.html |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=Enid News & Eagle |date=26 February 2022}}</ref> The group organized a freedom rally in 1963.<ref name="freedomrallyenid">{{cite news |title=Enid NAACP slates rally |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/872996118/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |agency=The Enid Daily Eagle |date=26 September 1963}}</ref> The NAACP has held multiple Oklahoma state conventions in Enid.<ref name="naacpconvention">{{cite news |title=Riot prevention is claimed by NAACP official |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/888790812/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |agency=Tulsa World |date=12 November 1967}}</ref><ref name="naacp1944">{{cite news |title=Unprecedented attendance to feature at Enid NAACP session |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/871924668/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |agency=The Black Dispatch |date=23 September 1944}}</ref><ref name="NAACP1958">{{cite news |title=NAACP plans Enid parley |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/886986539/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |agency=Tulsa World |date=26 September 1958}}</ref>
Enid has named streets for notable Black citizens, including opera singer Leona Mitchell in 1981<ref name="Mitchellstreet">{{cite news |last1=Krebs |first1=Albin |title=Notes on People; Father Gets a Street Named After His Daughter |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/21/nyregion/notes-on-people-father-gets-a-street-named-after-his-daughter.html |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The New York Times |date=21 August 1981}}</ref> and professional athlete Lydell Carr in 2023.<ref name="Streetnaming">{{cite news |last1=Huloubar |first1=Tanner |title=Commissioners approve naming of Johnson to Lydell Carr Drive |url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/commissioners-approve-naming-of-johnson-to-lydell-carr-drive/article_dee5faa4-88eb-11ee-893d-1b08f0374bca.html |access-date=31 January 2024 |agency=Enid News & Eagle |date=21 November 2023}}</ref> In 1990 Enid named its municipal building for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and in 1991 a monument bearing a quote from his "I have a dream" speech was erected on the property.<ref name="MLKmonument">{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Jessica |title=Renaming of city complex memorable |url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/local_news/renaming-of-city-complex-memorable/article_aa97ad05-6480-5fd6-9b3a-77560d82f24d.html |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=Enid News & Eagle |date=4 February 2018}}</ref><ref name="MLKcomplex">{{cite news |last1=McNutt |first1=Michael |title=Enid Names Office Complex for King |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1990/04/18/enid-names-office-complex-for-king/62568343007/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Daily Oklahoman |date=18 April 1990}}</ref> An annual march is held in Enid honoring Dr. King.<ref name="MLKmonument" /> In 2020 residents of Enid participated in protests for Black Lives Matter.<ref name="BLMEnid">{{cite news |last1=Ewald |first1=Alexander |title=Black Lives Matter protests continued peacefully Sunday in Enid |url=https://www.enidnews.com/news/updated-black-lives-matter-protests-continued-peacefully-sunday-in-enid/article_0baf9798-a911-11ea-ae1f-4b5adf98fad0.html |access-date=1 February 2024 |agency=The Enid News & Eagle |date=9 June 2020}}</ref>

In 2023 Ward 1 elected City Commissioner Judson Blevins, a white nationalist organizer with Identity Evropa, who marched at the [[Unite the Right rally]].<ref name="NBCBlevins">{{cite news |last1=Zadrozny |first1=Brandy |title=A small city in Oklahoma elected a white nationalist. Will it be able to vote him out? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/oklahoma-recall-vote-judd-blevins-enid-city-council-rcna143041 |access-date=13 March 2024 |agency=NBC News |date=13 March 2024}}</ref> Local NAACP leader Lanita Norwood is a founding member of the Enid Social Justice Committee which has actively protested against Blevins,<ref name="PeoplesTribune">{{cite news |last1=Lang |first1=D. L. |title=Oklahoma Community Protests the Election of White Nationalist |url=https://peoplestribune.org/2023/08/oklahoma-community-protests-the-election-of-white-nationalist/ |access-date=14 March 2024 |agency=People’s Tribune |date=18 August 2023}}</ref> and initiated a recall election for April 2024.<ref name="HuffPo">{{cite news |last1=Mathias |first1=Christopher |title=He Didn't Deny Being A White Supremacist. Then He Was Elected To City Council. |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oklahoma-enid-councilman-judson-blevins-white-supremacist_n_65f09c63e4b02ad7de1a9376 |access-date=14 March 2024 |agency=Huffington Post |date=13 March 2024}}</ref> Blevins was defeated in the recall, replaced by Cheryl Patterson.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mathias |first1=Christopher |title=Judson Blevins, City Councilman With Neo-Nazi Ties, Loses Recall Election |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/judson-blevins-city-councilman-with-neo-nazi-ties-loses-recall-election/ar-BB1kYkD1 |access-date=3 April 2024 |work=www.msn.com |date=3 April 2024}}</ref>