In mid-20th century Greenwood, Johnson Street was the center of Saturday night life for African Americans during Jim Crow segregation, especially along the six blocks from the Illinois Central to Main Street. Shoppers, moviegoers, musicians, pool hustlers, and farm families packed the street to set aside the cares of the workweek, spending their money on movie tickets, clothing, household goods, prescriptions, shoe repairs, ice cream, and entertainment. Black citizens of Greenwood shopped at businesses such as M. Diamond, Kornfeld's, Stanley's, Union Drugs, and Wood Shoe Repair, and the neighborhood buzzed with commerce across the tracks from the quieter, more upscale stores of Carrollton Avenue. As evening fell on Saturdays, Johnson Street came alive with crowds at the Dixie Theatre, music, beer, dice games, and clubs filled with people enjoying a few hours of freedom and pleasure.