Contract Selling Diagrams

Some diagrams outlining the exploitative contract selling process that occurred.  A preview of the upcoming exhibit, opening at the Homan Square Community Center next Thursday at 5pm.

Chicago Tonight - August 7, 2014

Mr. Ross is featured on Chicago Tonight discussing the CBL's history in Chicago.

More CBL Homes Today!

(All photographs by John Wolf.)

I spent another afternoon recently going around part of the neighborhood to photograph CBL homes and talk to residents.  There were some vacant lots, but the majority of the homes were beautiful and well-maintained.  One woman that I spoke with was certain that her landlady was involved in the CBL, so she was going to talk to her bout all of this and respond back to us.  Another man I spoke with was a teenager during the time of the CBL, and he recalled his block being lined with sheriffs evicting some of his neighbors.  There are still many more CBL homes to photograph and document, and many residents to reach out to!  More to come...

CBL Addresses, Today!

Over the past several months of collecting information on the CBL, I have been compiling a roster of CBL members and addresses.  Many of the addresses we found are from a photograph in the 1972 Atlantic Monthly article, some names were listed in court documents, but not their addresses, and a few more were taken from various newspaper articles written about individual members of the CBL.  We don't know if any CBL members are still living in these homes.  We aren't even sure if many of these homes are still standing.

So this past Monday, I started going to these addresses to see what condition the buildings are in, and to ring some doorbells and talk to the residents to find out if any CBL members are still living or if their families are still living in the same homes that were bought on contract in the 50s and 60s.  I didn't really know what to expect.  It started out pretty discouraging;  4 of the first 5 addresses I went to are now vacant lots.  There was hope though.  I talked to the residents in the one house still there and explained the CBL to them.  They did not know anything about it, but the last name of the CBL resident for that address is the name of their landlady, so they were going to tell her about our interest and plans for an exhibit.

I made it to about 30 addresses that afternoon.  I came across a few more vacant lots and a few vacant, boarded up buildings, but many of them are still standing and have someone living there.  I talked to one man whose mother was in the CBL, another woman said her in-laws had bought their house on contract and were a part of the CBL but are now deceased, and a teenage boy who was going to relay the information to his 82-year-old grandmother.

Here are some photos of CBL homes that were owned with pride.  More to come...

(All photographs by John Wolf.)

Blacks and Jews #2

This is the second of three clips taken from the documentary Blacks and Jews.  This clip shows some of the protests and actions of the CBL.  Mr. Clyde Ross talks about his view of the sellers.  There is NBC news footage from 1969 explaining the terms faced by the contract buyers.

Blacks and Jews is a documentary that examines the relationships and conflicts between Black and Jewish activists.  For more information on the film, click here.

Photos from the Lawndale Conversations Series: the Contract Buyers League

The audience listens to Professor Satter.

Jack Macnamara and Clyde Ross tell of the accomplishments of the CBL.

Jack Macnamara, Clyde Ross, Beryl Satter, and Charles Leeks (L-R)

The discussion with Mr. Ross continues.

NLHCS, NHS, Jane Addams Hull House Museum, and JCUA would like to thank all those who attended.  We received great feedback in our post event survey.  It was a wonderful and enlightening evening for all.  Please feel free to post and share your experiences or any comments below.

Look for audio postings from this evening in the near future.

(photos by Gordon Walek)

Lawndale Conversations Series: The Contract Buyers League

Thursday, January 31, 2013, 6pm

A panel discussion with Beryl Satter, author of "Family Properties" and History professor at Rutgers University, Clyde Ross, North Lawndale resident and former CBL co-chairman, and Jack Macnamara, community actvist and CBL organizer, discussing the efforts and legacy of the Contract Buyers League, a collective of black Chicago homeowners which originated in North Lawndale in the 1960s to protest exploitative contract selling.

Jane Addams Hull House  Museum
800 S Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60607

Partners in this event include the North Lawndale Historical & Cultural Society, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, the Jane Addams Hull House Museum, and the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.

NHS of Chicago Recognizes Local Heroes for Strengthening Chicago's Neighborhoods

(L-R) Cornell D. Lurry, Vice President, Community Investment Relationship Representative, First Midwest Bank, Mary Morstadt, Vice President/CRA Manager, Mortgage Banking Standard Bank & Trust Company, Clyde Ross, 2012 North Lawndale Neighborhood Leadership Award Recipient, and Ed Jacob, Executive Director, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago

Nearly 300 partners, volunteers, city leaders, and residents attended Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago’s (NHS) Annual Meeting and Neighborhood Leadership Awards, “Promoting Our Neighborhood Treasures” on Tuesday, October 16^th at the Garfield Park Conservatory.  The event was hosted by NHS’ Community Banks Partnership.  Members of the partnership donated items to the silent auction and raffle, which raised over $3,300 to support NHS’ programs.

At the event, seven community leaders, including North Lawndale’s, Clyde Ross, were honored with the 2012 Neighborhood Leadership Award for their dedication, commitment and inspiration in their communities.  Mr. Ross has been an activist on behalf of the North Lawndale community since the 1960s, when he was one of the organizers of the Contract Buyer’s League, a movement that fought against predatory lending to African Americans – and attracted Martin Luther King, Jr. to the neighborhood. His activism spread as far as the South Side of Chicago, and resulted in settlements for many of his neighbors and fellow homeowners on the 3300 block of West Flournoy. Half a century later, Clyde is still fighting for his community, even as he nears his 90th birthday. He continues to have a keen interest in protecting his block, one of the best-maintained blocks in North Lawndale and is a potential nominee to be included on the National Register of Historic Places.

The event also celebrated NHS’ work in seven target neighborhoods in Chicago.  In the past year, NHS served over 5,800 clients, loaned over $22 million, created 104 new home owners and worked with over 3,000 home owners at risk of foreclosure in the Chicago area.

Established in 1975, NHS of Chicago is the city’s largest nonprofit community development organization committed to providing Chicago and Elgin residents affordable resources so they can buy, fix, and keep their homes. Since its creation, NHS has created more than 3,880 new homeowners.  NHS also works to stimulate community reinvestment through a partnership of residents, businesses, and government.  With the help of these partners, NHS has leveraged investment of more than $1.1 billion in Chicago’s neighborhoods.

NHS Chicago is also part of the NeighborWorks® America network, which includes 235 independent, community-based nonprofit organizations serving more than 4,500 communities nationwide.  For more information on NHS, call (773) 329-4010 or visit www.nhschicago.org.

The importance of the Contract Buyers League

The story of the Contract Buyers League has the power to promote the history of activism in Lawndale and the individuals who were instrumental in making change, raise awareness of recurrent housing issues by providing historical context, and empower individuals and the community in achieving stable homeownership and community development.