Landmark status sought for house rich in African American history

[Blue_Tires]

CHICAGO - It may look like an average three flat apartment building on Chicago's south side, in an area known as the "Black Belt." But this structure at 6140 S. Rhodes, is anything but average.

Carl Hansberry, a black real estate broker and political activist in the 30's and 40's, bought the property in 1937, when the law restricted blacks from buying in all white neighborhoods. This was known as a racial restrictive covenant.

"The building architecturally is ordinary but the event that brought the building in possession of Mr. Hansberry and his family was extraordinary and affected the whole nation, not just this neighborhood," said historian Timuel Black.

"We felt the urge, or I should say my parents felt the urge, to broaden the Black Belt," said Mamie Hansberry Mitchell, Carl's eldest daughter.

His youngest daughter is famous playwright and author Lorraine Hansberry. Her world renowned play, "A Raisin in the Sun" was inspired by the racial discrimination and torment her family went through when they dared to buy in an all white neighborhood. It was later made into a movie that stared Sidney Poitier.

"As soon as they found out we were there, they poured beige paint on our car and I remember looking at that and wondering about the people who did that," says Mitchell. "Of course I was angry, but it only made me more determined."

Hansberry and his family were forced out by the local courts. He challenged the ruling and ended up in the US Supreme Court. In the landmark case, Hansberry vs. Lee, the court ruled that whites cannot bar African Americans from white neighborhoods.

Mt Carmel High School Junior Ishmael Smith has been inspired by the Hansberry story.

"The Hansberry's went through so much the house is a symbol that anything is possible in America," he says.
http://www.wgntv.com/news/newsatnine/wgntv-hansberry-house-feb9,0,5921673.story