Urban African American Community Development in the Progressive Era

Abstract

This article describes community development efforts in urban African American communities in the Progressive era. It features the work of Ida B. Wells-Barnett, who mobilized people to protest for equal rights and justice, and Lugenia Burns Hope, whose Neighborhood Union was a model of organization for social support and policy change. Other efforts for ''social betterment'' and ''social protest'' are described. African American community activism was distinguished by its emphases on community building--encompassing physical, human, and social capital--and on securing justice for black citizens. The article concludes with implications for modern day community organization/development theory and practice.