Category: Black organizations

Categories
20th century 21st century 24th and Lake Architects architecture Black spaces and places business civic infrastructure culture Great Plains Black History Museum historic preservation Lake Street Listed on National Register of Historic Places Near North Side Organizations Social services

A History of the Webster Telephone Exchange Building

Original North Side YMCA, 2213 Lake Street, North Omaha, Nebraska
The Webster Telephone Exchange Building at 2213 Lake Street was the home of the Urban North Side YMCA from 1945 to 1951, later becoming the Great Plains Black History Museum.

Some buildings are constructed, serve a purpose and then are demolished. Others seem to live several lifetimes by acting as a base for several enterprises and a hub for the community during different crises. Despite looking like its falling apart right now, one Lake Street building is such an institution, serving as an icon of change, sustainability and transformation in the community. This is is a history of the Webster Telephone Exchange Building.

Categories
19th century 20th century biography Black leader Black organizations racism

A Biography of Nathaniel Hunter

Nathaniel Hunter (1878-1942), North Omaha, Nebraska

This is a biography of a longtime African American leader in North Omaha’s history, Nathaniel Hunter.

Categories
20th century Black organizations Black people culture economics historic preservation houses Lost history Segregation Social services

A History of the Oak View Home for Negro Boys

This is a history of the only foster home for African American youth Omaha history, open from the 1940s into the 1950s.

Categories
20th century 21st century 24th and Lake Black leader Black organizations culture historic preservation history History of Nebraska Lake Street Listed on National Register of Historic Places Near North Side

A Biography of Bertha Calloway

This headline, "A dream comes true for Bertha Calloway," come from the Omaha World-Herald on June 7, 1981.

This is a biography of historian and North Omaha leader Bertha Calloway (1925-2017). She was a Civil Rights activist, museum founder, historian, author, student, educator, speaker, promoter, playwright, journalist, administrator, mentor, wife and mother.

Categories
20th century 21st century architecture Black businesses Black organizations Demolished buildings Demolished buildings Drug store Lost history Near North Side North 24th Street shopping Social halls

A History of 1324 North 24th Street

In the course of a century, a lot of things can change in a neighborhood. The Near North Side of Omaha has had a lot of changes, with some buildings transitioning from vital to demolished with reckless abandon. This is a history of the building once located at 1324 North 24th Street. The neighborhoods between […]

Categories
20th century 21st century biography Black businesses Black organizations Black people History of Nebraska Near North Side poverty racism religion Social services society

A Biography of Rodney S. Wead

Rodney Wead and Johnny Rogers in 1971.
This is a 1971 image of Rodney S. Wead (right) presenting an award to Johnny Rogers.

This is a biography of North Omaha community leader Rodney S. Wead (b. 1935).

Categories
20th century Activism Black organizations Black people economics government historic preservation Long School Lost history Near North Side Organizations poverty racism Social services

A History of the Lake-Charles Community Organization

Lake-Charles Community Organization parade float, North Omaha, Nebraska
This is a 1967 parade float for the Lake-Charles Community Organization. Kids on the float are wearing large masks and they're in front of the original Fair Deal Cafe at 2118 N. 24th Street.

This is a history of a short-lived neighborhood association with a long shadow over the history of the Near North Side neighborhood.