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Thu, 09.26.1991

The Lena O. Smith House is Preserved

3905 5th Avenue So.

*On this date in 1991, the Lena Olive Smith House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.   

This house in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States was owned by Lena O. Smith, was a prominent Black civil rights attorney. She graduated from William Mitchell College of Law (then the Northwestern College of Law) graduated in 1921. Afterward, she opened her own law firm and became the first Black attorney in Minneapolis.

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 (NAACP) from 1935 through 1939.

The house listed on the National Register of Historic Places is #91001472 and designated as a local landmark in recognition to the African American community in Minneapolis.   

Reference:

Minneapolis.MN.gov

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