West Fort Worth’s Como neighborhood celebrates “one community, one love” ahead of July 4th

Pat Spence’s roots run deep in Como, the historically black neighborhood in west Fort Worth. She moved here from California in 1982 and raised her children in the neighborhood. Now her grandchildren go to school in Como.

“We all come together as a family. Whenever someone is in need, we help each other,” Spence said.

Located west of Arlington Heights, the community of about 8,000 residents has a rich history and traditions that hold the community together.

One of the newest traditions, Comofest, took place on July 3 at Lake Como Park and was filled with food trucks, vendors, live music and bouncy castles.

Three years after Comofest began, visitors walked through the park with plates full of funnel cakes, colorful snow cones and matching T-shirts that read “Comofest, one community, one love!”

Church choir songs filled the air as children ran around with their friends and residents met their old classmates and exchanged greetings and hugs.

The event also featured heightened security, including Fort Worth police on site after a shooting in 2023, just hours after Comofest ended, left three people dead and eight others injured.

The event is meaningful to retailers because it gives them a chance to receive support from black shoppers and inspiration from black entrepreneurs, said Shajuana Middlebrooks, owner of Black Gifted and Amazing.

But it’s the relationships and familiar faces that festival-goers enjoy most.

Marcus Hudson, chair of the neighborhood group LEGACY, said his favorite thing about Comofest is seeing people and families running around and having fun. LEGACY has been hosting Comofest since 2021 in hopes of providing a safe environment for families to celebrate July 3, known as Como Day, the day Lake Como was founded in 1905.

Since 1950, the Como Day Parade has been an opportunity for the community to celebrate the Fourth of July, even though racial segregation prevented residents from participating in official city events, the tradition remained.

Many of the participants’ families settled in Como many years ago. The predominantly black neighborhood was founded as a place where residents could feel comfortable during racial segregation, Hudson said.

“Our bloodline founded the community and that is who we are,” Hudson said.

Today, 120 years later, Hudson can imagine his community continuing its traditional celebrations for decades to come.

Georgie London is a reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Reach her at [email protected].

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