Chicago Urban League Offices, 1918 - 1957

Category: Community

A first point of contact in Chicago for many black southerners and, beginning in the 1920s, a liaison to realtors and employers. As blacks began to join unions in larger numbers during the 1930s, the League shifted its emphasis to support organized labor and also began to address civil rights concerns like inadequate housing, restrictive covenants, and job ceilings. League offices moved to 4500 S. Michigan Avenue in 1957. The League then built a new headquarters next door at 4510 South Michigan Avenue, which opened in 1984.