Broadway Park: Renewing Ann Arbor's Public Riverfront

The Old Fourth Ward and Lower Town became centers of the African American community in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries since these parts of Ann Arbor did not restrict property ownership. They were integrated working class neighborhoods, though most African Americans tended to live near the train station on Depot Street, on Fourth and Fifth Avenues, Beakes Street, Fuller Street, Wall Street, Maiden Lane and Broadway.

Map of Fourth Ward in 1931.
(Click to enlarge.)

Map of Lower Town in 1931.
(Click to enlarge.)

Many of the residents found work throughout Ann Arbor as laborers, porters, or housekeepers. This census table identifies the occupations of the residents of Wall Street in Lower Town in 1900.

Ann Arbor was an important stop on the Underground Railroad. In the 1840's, African Americans began arriving in Ann Arbor. Many who were able to escape slavery passed through Ann Arbor on the Underground Railroad route to Canada. Others, who were fortunately freed, rode the railroad to Ann Arbor to find work. Upon settling in Ann Arbor, they began to create a strong community consisting of work, education, churches, clubs and civil rights organizations.

The Bethel A. M. E. Church on North Fourth Avenue was constructed in 1857.

Churches and a Community Center

The church was the spiritual and civic anchor of a community: Two churches were built in the Old Fourth Ward.

The Second Baptist Church, first built at Elizabeth and High Streets in 1865, and then moved to 216 Beakes Street.

The Dunbar Community Center was a strong neighborhood institution whose mission evolved through the years to address the changing needs of the community. In 1923, Reverend R.M. Gilbert of the Second Baptist Church created the Dunbar Center as place to sleep for African American men who came to Ann Arbor to work, but had no home.

The Dunbar Community Center

Later, the Dunbar Center began to focus on children, to help them stay in school and to provide education for those who had to leave school to work. Clubs were developed for young people and adults, and space in the Center was provided for meetings of various organizations. The Center moved in 1938, and again in 1960.

The second Dunbar Center, 1938

The third Dunbar Center, 1960

Storytime at the Dunbar Center, 1942

The Civil Rights Movement

In Ann Arbor, the Civil Rights movement was connected with the Bethel AME and the Second Baptist Churches. Rev. John A. Woods of Bethel AME was on the Board of Directors of the local NAACP chapter. He and the congregation supported youth efforts to end discrimination in Ann Arbor public schools.

The pastor of the Second Baptist Church was involved in several organizations that advocated for civil rights.

Civil Rights letter

The African American Community in Ann Arbor

Churches and a Community Center

The Civil Rights Movement