In 1943, the Montgomery City Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs purchased this residence for its 25 adult clubs and 15 youth clubs.
The federation was associated with a series of groups all promoting positive citizenship on both race and gender fronts. They formed an invaluable gathering place for black women using the Community House. It functioned as a Girl Scouts headquarters, a popular teenage meeting place, an adult social and civic center, and beginning in December 1948, the city’s first library open to African-Americans.
The building also hosted meetings of the Women’s Political Council, which helped initiate the Montgomery Bus Boycott; a “Stork’s Nest” for needy mothers; a Head Start kindergarten; voter registration; youth leadership training; tutorial and counseling programs for at-risk youth; family reunions, receptions and weddings.Jackson Community House and Museum
409 So. Union St., Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 221-1973 (Sangernetta Gilbert Bush)
Link: jacksoncommunityhouse.org
Not open for public tours.
