Feb 19: Community Forum Meeting on “Pioneers of Community Development”
Better
Homes of South Bend (BHSB) was the first African-American-owned
nonprofit organization nationwide. In the early 1950s, discriminatory
housing practices were prevalent in South Bend, as in cities all across
the country. Institutionalized racism promoted unfair
housing practices in which African-American families were limited to
buying homes on the west side of town. In 1953, BHSB was founded by a
consortium of 26 African-American couples who were victimized by
realtors “red lining” neighborhoods to keep nonwhites out. The
organization purchased 22 city lots on the 1700 and 1800 blocks of North
Elmer St. and sold the lots to young African-American couples. These
families were the pioneers of the northwest side of South Bend and soon
many young, middle class African Americans built their homes and started
their families in and around this now historic two-block stretch.
Today,
almost sixty years later, many of the original families still live in
their family homes. Unfortunately, the homes of many of those who moved
on are unoccupied and have fallen to decay. This once-proud neighborhood
is now victim to the crime and blight that comes with vacant and
abandoned homes. At the February meeting of the Community Forum, Leroy
Cobb, one of the original members of "Better Homes of South Bend," will
join us in a discussion of how we can learn from their experiences and
apply these lessons to the challenges of today's South Bend.
existence of vacant and abandoned housing is an urgent concern for our
entire community and has been for some time. In February of 2012, it
was announced that UND Professor Jim Kelly and Mayor Pete Buttigieg
would co-chair a task force to develop a strategy for addressing the
problem. We are awaiting their report. In the meanwhile, we invite
your continued involvement in proposing a solution that will improve,
and not remove, our neighborhoods.