Program

National Votes for Women Trail

Subject

People, Site

Location

102 Ollie St NW #30314, Atlanta, GA 30314, USA

Lat/Long

33.758038, -84.421624

Grant Recipient

National Collaborative for Women's History Sites

Activist and social reformer, Lugenia Burns Hope (1871-1947) helped to found the Neighborhood Union in 1908, a Black-led organization in the city of Atlanta, Georgia focused on civic and social reform, including the improvement of living conditions for the Black population of Atlanta.

According to her biographer Jacqueline Anne Rouse, Lugenia Burns Hope moved to the city of Atlanta in 1898 after her husband, John Hope, had been recruited to teach at Atlanta Baptist College, which was eventually renamed Morehouse College. Her husband would go on to become president of Morehouse College and later Atlanta University. Rouse notes that shortly after Hope arrived in Atlanta, she became a leading member of a group of Black women who would go on to establish the Neighborhood Union, along with the Atlanta branch of the Southeastern Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs. Through these organizations, Hope worked for civic and social improvements in Black communities.

Hope served as director of the Neighborhood Union for over 20 years. Focused on the improvement of conditions for Black people in Atlanta, Hope advocated for better schools and recreational space for Black children, including Washington Park in Atlanta. In addition to her community activism, Hope worked on a national level to promote women’s suffrage through the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs. Throughout her career, she advocated for voting rights and encouraged Black women and men to exercise their right to vote as a means to improve schools and communities.