Jackson Ward is a historically African-American district in Richmond, Virginia, with a long tradition of African-American businesses. It is less than a mile from the Virginia State Capitol, sitting west of Court End and north of Broad Street. It was listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 1978. “Jackson Ward” was originally the name of the area’s political district within the city, or ward, from 1871 to 1905. It has remained in use long after losing its original meaning.
History
After the American Civil War, previously free blacks formerly joined enslaved people and their descendants, created a thriving African-American business community, and became known as the “Black Wall Street of America.” Leaders included such influential people as John Mitchell, Jr., editor of the Richmond Planet, an African American newspaper.
Maggie L. Walker was the first woman to charter and serve as president of an American bank, all the more remarkable an accomplishment as she was both African-American and mobility-impaired. The Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site at her former Jackson Ward home is operated by the National Park Service. The house was designated a National Historic Site in 1978 and opened as a museum in 1985. Bed Bug Exterminator Richmond
Giles Beecher Jackson was the first African American to practice law before the Supreme Court of Virginia; he was active in the neighborhood and had a “Giles B. Jackson Day” on April 17th (starting in 2007) and a historic landmark in his honor at the intersection of North 2nd Street and East Clay Street.
Desegregation
Jackson Ward was central to the Civil Rights Movement in Richmond, VA. In 1940, the Virginia General Assembly created the Richmond Housing Authority, which could condemn property and issue bonds to construct housing. In 1941, 1956, and 1961, the city (which initially had no African-Americans on the city council) hired Harland Bartholomew & Associates to plan for redevelopment. The redevelopment plans targeted Jackson Ward and had the effect of severely disintegrating the historic community’s social structure, as well as clustered low-income persons in Jackson Ward and nearby Church Hill, and destroyed much of the pre-existing housing stock to construct freeways, broad urban boulevards, office buildings, the Richmond Coliseum, the Greater Richmond Convention Center and a smaller number of housing units controlled by the Richmond Housing Authority.
Revival
Toward the end of the 20th century, Richmond worked to revitalize Jackson Ward, including its pre-existing housing stock. The National Park Service assisted by restoring the Maggie L. Walker house and listing the neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and as a historic district in 1978. In the 1980s, historic tax credits by the federal government aided the restoration of dozens of houses on Leigh, Marshall, and Clay Streets.
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