Logan Fontenelle Housing Project
Encyclopedia
The Logan Fontenelle Housing Project was a historic public housing
site located from 20th to 24th Streets, and from Paul to Seward Streets in the historic Near North Side
neighborhood of Omaha
, Nebraska
, United States
. It was built in 1938 by the Public Works Administration
for housing working class families. With the loss of thousands of industrial jobs in the 1950s and '60s, the project became filled with families on welfare. As problems increased in the 1970s and 80s, Logan Fontenelle was referred to as "Little Vietnam" because of drug dealing and gang violence. After Logan Fontenelle residents won a 1991 civil rights
lawsuit brought against the Omaha Housing Authority
and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD tore down the projects in 1995 to replace them with new, lower density housing.
, an Omaha
chief. Built by the Public Works Administration
during the Great Depression
, Logan Fontenelle was originally built as no-cost or low-cost housing for working class families, chiefly of European descent, including Germans
, Italians and Czechs, many of them 20th century immigrants.. Many young people in Logan Fontenelle during this period regarded the projects as a haven as they were a considerable improvement over previous housing they had. After supporting limited public housing in Omaha in 1936, the city's business community became adamantly opposed to Logan Fontenelle by the time it was completed in 1938.
In 1947, the maximum income allowed for a family of four at Logan Fontenelle was $2,200 per year, and they would pay a maximum rent $34.50 per month. The family was asked to find other housing if they exceeded those limits. The projects were segregated through the 1950s, with restrictions against African Americans living there.
Later, when the projects were opened to African Americans, the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects were used together with race-restrictive covenant
s and redlining
to keep African Americans living in North Omaha. Community programs at Logan Fontenelle included the Kellom Girls Club, which moved there in 1973 after operating at Omaha's Hilltop-Pleasantview Public Homes since 1966.
Although the projects had originally been built as transition housing for working class people, a steep decline in jobs in Omaha during the 1950s and 1960s meant that many residents had to go on welfare. Tens of thousands of jobs were lost as railroads and the meatpacking industry restructured.
The projects became a concentration of poor families with few immediate options. The rate of crime and violence began to increase in the area.
in Memphis, Tennessee
.
In 1969 riots erupted after an Omaha police officer fatally shot teenager Vivian Strong near the Logan Fontenelle Project. Riots began after Walter Cropper, the judge at the preliminary hearing, found the shooter, Officer James Loder, not to be criminally liable for the shooting. A contemporary report stated, "Windows were broken and fires set in dozens of commercial buildings on and off Omaha’s 24th Street strip. The riot leapfrogged east to west, from 23rd to 24th, and south to north, from Clark to Lake."
lawsuit on behalf of the African-American residents of Logan Fontenelle alleged that Omaha's public housing discriminated against racial minorities. A class action suit was brought against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In Hawkins v. Cisneros, the US Supreme Court determined that the Omaha Housing Authority
and the City of Omaha had violated the U.S. Housing Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1968
as related to the development and administration of Omaha’s public housing, and violated the Fifth
and Fourteenth Amendment
s to the U.S. Constitution and other federal statutes, regulations and guidelines.
A 1994 settlement required that former residents displaced by HUD's planned closing of the Logan Fontenelle Housing Project would receive counseling and rent assistance, relocation assistance payments, an opportunity for additional assistance through Section 8 vouchers and certificates, and assistance to find housing in areas of Omaha with minority populations of less than 30 percent.
Today, the North Omaha Business Park, "a joint effort of the Omaha Chamber and the City of Omaha... [is] a 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) development" on the Logan Fontenelle site. In addition, the site has an assisted-living facility, a park, single-family houses similar to those found in suburbs, and an organized neighborhood association, Concord Square. Altogether the area's housing will attract a mix of incomes.
lived in Logan Fontenelle for a short period in the 1940s.
Cathy Hughes
, the founder and president of Radio One, grew up in Logan Fontenelle while her father was attending Creighton University
. He became the first African American to earn an accounting degree at Creighton.
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
site located from 20th to 24th Streets, and from Paul to Seward Streets in the historic Near North Side
Near North Side (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Near North Side of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's African-American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area...
neighborhood of Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was built in 1938 by the Public Works Administration
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...
for housing working class families. With the loss of thousands of industrial jobs in the 1950s and '60s, the project became filled with families on welfare. As problems increased in the 1970s and 80s, Logan Fontenelle was referred to as "Little Vietnam" because of drug dealing and gang violence. After Logan Fontenelle residents won a 1991 civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
lawsuit brought against the Omaha Housing Authority
Omaha Housing Authority
Omaha Housing Authority, or OHA, is the government agency responsible for providing public housing in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the parent organization of Housing in Omaha, Inc., a nonprofit housing developer for low-income housing.-About:...
and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD tore down the projects in 1995 to replace them with new, lower density housing.
History
The housing projects were named in honor of Logan FontenelleLogan Fontenelle
Logan Fontenelle , also known as Shon-ga-ska , was a trader of French and Omaha ancestry, who served for years as an interpreter to the US Indian agent at the Bellevue Agency in Nebraska...
, an Omaha
Omaha (tribe)
The Omaha are a federally recognized Native American nation which lives on the Omaha Reservation in northeastern Nebraska and western Iowa, United States...
chief. Built by the Public Works Administration
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Logan Fontenelle was originally built as no-cost or low-cost housing for working class families, chiefly of European descent, including Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, Italians and Czechs, many of them 20th century immigrants.. Many young people in Logan Fontenelle during this period regarded the projects as a haven as they were a considerable improvement over previous housing they had. After supporting limited public housing in Omaha in 1936, the city's business community became adamantly opposed to Logan Fontenelle by the time it was completed in 1938.
In 1947, the maximum income allowed for a family of four at Logan Fontenelle was $2,200 per year, and they would pay a maximum rent $34.50 per month. The family was asked to find other housing if they exceeded those limits. The projects were segregated through the 1950s, with restrictions against African Americans living there.
Later, when the projects were opened to African Americans, the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects were used together with race-restrictive covenant
Restrictive covenant
A restrictive covenant is a type of real covenant, a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something. Such restrictions frequently "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property...
s and redlining
Redlining
Redlining is the practice of denying, or increasing the cost of services such as banking, insurance, access to jobs, access to health care, or even supermarkets to residents in certain, often racially determined, areas. The term "redlining" was coined in the late 1960s by John McKnight, a...
to keep African Americans living in North Omaha. Community programs at Logan Fontenelle included the Kellom Girls Club, which moved there in 1973 after operating at Omaha's Hilltop-Pleasantview Public Homes since 1966.
Although the projects had originally been built as transition housing for working class people, a steep decline in jobs in Omaha during the 1950s and 1960s meant that many residents had to go on welfare. Tens of thousands of jobs were lost as railroads and the meatpacking industry restructured.
The projects became a concentration of poor families with few immediate options. The rate of crime and violence began to increase in the area.
Riot
In the 1960s there were riots in the Near North Side, related to problems of poverty and unemployment since the decline of the railroads, restructuring of the meatpacking industry, and deindustrialization in Omaha. Loss of tens of thousands of jobs since the 1950s had decreased investment in housing in Omaha, and services declined for a while, resulting in deteriorating conditions in structures already old. African Americans left in the community felt trapped. Riots in 1966 and 1968 were associated with civil rights protests and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
.
In 1969 riots erupted after an Omaha police officer fatally shot teenager Vivian Strong near the Logan Fontenelle Project. Riots began after Walter Cropper, the judge at the preliminary hearing, found the shooter, Officer James Loder, not to be criminally liable for the shooting. A contemporary report stated, "Windows were broken and fires set in dozens of commercial buildings on and off Omaha’s 24th Street strip. The riot leapfrogged east to west, from 23rd to 24th, and south to north, from Clark to Lake."
Lawsuit
In 1990 a civil rightsCivil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
lawsuit on behalf of the African-American residents of Logan Fontenelle alleged that Omaha's public housing discriminated against racial minorities. A class action suit was brought against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In Hawkins v. Cisneros, the US Supreme Court determined that the Omaha Housing Authority
Omaha Housing Authority
Omaha Housing Authority, or OHA, is the government agency responsible for providing public housing in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the parent organization of Housing in Omaha, Inc., a nonprofit housing developer for low-income housing.-About:...
and the City of Omaha had violated the U.S. Housing Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1968
Civil Rights Act of 1968
On April 11, 1968 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 is commonly known as the Fair Housing Act, or as CRA '68, and was meant as a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964...
as related to the development and administration of Omaha’s public housing, and violated the Fifth
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
and Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
s to the U.S. Constitution and other federal statutes, regulations and guidelines.
A 1994 settlement required that former residents displaced by HUD's planned closing of the Logan Fontenelle Housing Project would receive counseling and rent assistance, relocation assistance payments, an opportunity for additional assistance through Section 8 vouchers and certificates, and assistance to find housing in areas of Omaha with minority populations of less than 30 percent.
Demolition and redevelopment
The Omaha Housing Authority began demolishing Logan Fontenelle in 1991 and 1992. The demolition was completed in 1995. Omaha's Family Housing Advisory Services was involved in helping 785 of the Logan Fontenelle residents find other homes across the city.Today, the North Omaha Business Park, "a joint effort of the Omaha Chamber and the City of Omaha... [is] a 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) development" on the Logan Fontenelle site. In addition, the site has an assisted-living facility, a park, single-family houses similar to those found in suburbs, and an organized neighborhood association, Concord Square. Altogether the area's housing will attract a mix of incomes.
Notable residents
Seminal rock and roll pioneer Wynonie HarrisWynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris , born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley...
lived in Logan Fontenelle for a short period in the 1940s.
Cathy Hughes
Cathy Hughes
Cathy Hughes, born Catherine Elizabeth Woods in Omaha, Nebraska on April 22, 1947, is an African-American entrepreneur, radio and television personality and business executive. Hughes founded the media company Radio One and later expanded into TV One, the company went public in 1998, making...
, the founder and president of Radio One, grew up in Logan Fontenelle while her father was attending Creighton University
Creighton University
Creighton University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The university is accredited by...
. He became the first African American to earn an accounting degree at Creighton.