President Franklin Roosevelt traveled to Columbus in 1940 to dedicate the city’s first public housing project.
He hailed Poindexter Village as an early example of his New Deal promise of low-income housing. The segregated development went on to become a thriving residential hub for the city’s black population.
Fifty years later, Poindexter Village sat abandoned, unkempt and ready for demolition. After a six-year campaign, a slice of this vital piece of local African-American history has been preserved to house the city’s first Black history museum.
Its preservation is part of a larger effort to save the stories and legacy of African-Americans here and across the U.S. but challenges remain.
Coming up, preserving the stories of African-Americans in Ohio and beyond.
Guests:
- Shelbi Toone, Project Manager of Poindexter Village Museum and Cultural Center
- Vedet Coleman-Robinson, Executive Director of the Association of African-American Museums
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