African Americans had attended and participated in the
Tri-State Fair well into the 1870's. Following the
collapse of Reconstruction and the 1896 "separate but equal"
legalized segregation, Memphis blacks and whites
occupied two separate societies. In 1911, prominent
African-Americans founded, organized, and ran their own fair
called the "Negro Tri-State Fair". It was held at the
Fairgrounds a few days after the white fair closed. This
was an important event in the black community for decades.
When the white fair changed its name to the Mid-South Fair in
1928, the black fair became simply the Tri-State Fair until it
was discontinued in 1959. The Mid-South Fair was
integrated in 1962.
Source: historic-memphis.com