Lena O. Smith House

The Lena O. Smith House is a house in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Its owner, Lena O. Smith, was a prominent civil rights attorney. She was born in 1885 in Lawrence, Kansas and moved with her family to Minneapolis in 1906. She enrolled at William Mitchell College of Law (then the Northwestern College of Law) and graduated in 1921. Afterward, she opened her own law firm and became the first African-American attorney in Minneapolis.[2] In her practice, she fought for issues such as equal protection under the law, equal access to housing, and the right to join labor unions. As an activist, she was a founder of the Minneapolis Urban League, and the first woman president of the Minneapolis chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1935 through 1939. Her house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a local landmark in recognition to the African-American community in Minneapolis.[3]

Lena O. Smith House
The Lena O. Smith House from the west-southwest
Lena O. Smith House is located in Minnesota
Lena O. Smith House
Lena O. Smith House is located in the United States
Lena O. Smith House
Location3905 5th Avenue South,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Coordinates44°55′55.6″N 93°16′6.9″W
AreaLess than one acre
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No.91001472 [1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 26, 1991

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. "Lena O. Smith". African American Registry. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
  3. "Lena Olive Smith House". Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

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