Historic West Woodlawn
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Place of Pioneers
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A Wonderful Walkable Village
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Historic West Woodlawn ~ Place of Pioneers ~ A Wonderful Walkable Village ~
Carl Augustus Hansberry (April 30, 1895 – March 17, 1946) was an American real estate broker and political activist who was the plaintiff in the 1940 Supreme Court decision Hansberry v. Lee. He was also the father of playwright Lorraine Hansberry and the great-grandfather of actress Taye Hansberry.
Life and career
Carl Augustus Hansberry was born on April 30, 1895,[1] in Gloster, Amite County, Mississippi.[2][3] He was a son of Elden Hayes Hansberry and Pauline (Bailey) Hansberry.[4] He and his older brother, William Leo Hansberry, were raised by their stepfather, Elijah Washington.[5] As a young man, Hansberry moved to Chicago, as part of the Great Migration.[6][7]
Terrance Miller Growing up as a child, well, one of the things I like to do is share my experience when Martin Luther King was assassinated. And just imagine a young kid walking down 63rd Street in the midst of the riots that were taking place and seeing National Guards standing on a corner with machine guns. That was so real for me as a little kid. And then fast forward, hearing the stories about Woodland and living through the gang era. I think I was blessed and fortunate. I was never recruited or accosted by any of the gang members to join. So I feel like I had this shield installation around me that protected me, but I still was in the midst of it. I mean, I was surrounded by it. And I would hear stories and see a lot of activities taking place in Woodland as a young kid, not quite understanding it, but knew that there was something wrong with the picture. To see 63rd Street after the riots being torn down, the residents in the community, a lot of the homeowners leaving and seeing a lot of the vacant buildings, and then, I guess, the era of the climate of drugs and gangs in the community.
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Well, I guess if I start from the beginning, it would be my grandparents. In 1948, my grandparents were looking to buy property in Woodland, and they searched all over the city for a bank that would give them a mortgage. And the only bank that they found was Illinois Federal Savings Bank, which is a black-owned and operated bank. And so they gave my grandmother a mortgage. So that began my, I guess you can say, my history here because they've been here, my family, for over 78 years.
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