Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Chicago's Home For The Aged And Infirm Colored People: A Paradigm For Examining Community Viability Among African-Americans In 20th Century Chicago, Susan C. Reed, Nancy Davis

Faculty Publications – College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

For decades. African Americans, faced with enortnoiis exclusion by the majority population, built hundreds of social institutions to provide basic services for their commutiities. The history of the Chicago's Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People illustrates changes in African American leadership in community institutions that coincided with shifting demographic patterns and the rise of the Civil Rights movement. Middle class leaders retnaitied committed to the home after migration accelerated and decreasing membership in women s social clubs diminished available resources. Implications for the historical role of the Black middle-class in sustaining comtnunity institutions are discussed.