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44-567: The vernacular term "North North Side" fell out of favor in Omaha in the 1970s when the Urban League of Nebraska insisted the media and politicians stop using it, as it was a synonym for white misconceptions of Black people in Omaha. Today, it is not used within the city anymore. Instead, several smaller areas within the old boundaries are identified as neighborhoods including the Long School neighborhood,

88-511: A dismissal from the team. After running the story, the paper was threatened with being shut down. The school advisor received support from media outlets on the local and national level. This support stopped the paper from being shut down. The staff of Central's student newspaper , were awarded the Student Press Review's Edmund J. Sullivan Award in 2002 after they wrote a series of articles exposing several controversial topics throughout

132-469: Is The Register . In 1986 Quill and Scroll officially declared The Register the oldest continuously published newspaper west of the Mississippi. After running a controversial story in 2001, the staff and the paper were rebuked by the administration. The story reported on a football player continuing to play, despite two assault charges. The charges, as stated in the school's handbook, should have led to

176-466: Is a fully accredited public high school located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska , United States. It is one of many public high schools located in Omaha. As of the 2015–16 academic year, Omaha Central had an enrollment of 2,552 students. The current building, located in Downtown Omaha , was designed by John Latenser, Sr. and was built between 1900 and 1912. It is the oldest active high school building in

220-565: The College World Series , and as the new home for Creighton's baseball program. The Storm Chasers opened their own new stadium in the southern suburb of Papillion in 2011. Currently the neighborhood has a population of 37,727 and is roughly 65% African-American. The City of Omaha has recognized many buildings and homes on the Near North Side as landmarks. Several have been recognized as nationally significant as well and listed on

264-639: The National League for the Protection of Colored Women (founded in 1905), and was renamed the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes. Haynes served as the organization's first Executive Director. In 1918, Eugene K. Jones took the leadership of the organization. Under his direction, the League significantly expanded its multifaceted campaign to crack the barriers to black employment, spurred first by

308-604: The National Register of Historic Places . 41°16′37″N 95°56′30″W  /  41.27694°N 95.94167°W  / 41.27694; -95.94167 Urban League The National Urban League ( NUL ), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes , is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Americans and against racial discrimination in

352-970: The Second Empire style. In 1900, a new building was begun that encircled the second school, which was dismantled by 1912. Kindergarten through eighth grade were moved to the neighboring Central Elementary School. A gym was added to Central in 1930, and this building is still in use today. The Eagles compete in Class A, the largest classification in Nebraska according to the Nebraska School Activities Association . Throughout its history, Omaha Central has won numerous state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in collegiate athletics. The football and soccer teams compete at Seeman Stadium located on campus. The boys' and girls' basketball games and volleyball matches are played at

396-522: The Trans-Mississippi Exposition occurred just north of the area in 1898, Kountze Park was developed to serve the area's widely varied racial and ethnic populations. Omaha's Jewish community was founded by eastern European immigrants in the Near North Side neighborhood. Two Jewish synagogues provided social and cultural activities. Other families were secular and Socialist, as were renowned author Tillie Olsen 's parents. Olsen worked in

440-658: The " Black Cabinet ". In 1941, Lester Granger was appointed Executive Secretary and led the NUL's effort to support the March on Washington proposed by A. Philip Randolph , Bayard Rustin and A. J. Muste to protest racial discrimination in defense work and the military. A week before the March was scheduled to take place, President Roosevelt issued an executive order creating the Fair Employment Practices Committee . In

484-557: The 1960s, it was an indication of changing tastes in music and the influence of television, but also of decline. Wallace Thurman , widely considered one of the great writers of the Harlem Renaissance , grew up in the Near North Side, along with jazz saxophonist Preston Love , political leader George Wells Parker and military hero Alfonza W. Davis . Malcolm X 's father Earl Little was a pastor in Near North Omaha when Malcolm

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528-621: The African American community. Many African Americans moved to Omaha from 1910 to 1950 as part of the Great Migration . St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church and Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church were among the churches founded to serve the black community. The Easter Sunday tornado of 1913 destroyed much of the Near North Side's businesses and neighborhoods. The Idlewild Pool Hall at 2307 North 24th Street in

572-537: The Central High gymnasium. The baseball and softball teams compete at Boyd Stadium, a renovated park three miles northeast of the campus. In 2007, the Eagles became the only high school in Nebraska to have won championships in three main sports in the same calendar year. As a result, Central was ranked by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 10 high-school athletic programs in the country. The high school's newspaper

616-624: The Concord Square neighborhood and the Conestoga Place neighborhood. The 24th and Lake Historic District and the Nicholas Street Historic District are both within the former boundaries of the Near North Side, as well. Bordered by several historic neighborhoods, including Bemis Park , East Omaha , Kountze Park and Saratoga , the Near North Side is perhaps the oldest, and most significant, of each of these. The community

660-615: The Depression, the federal government built the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects in Near North Omaha to improve housing for working families. In 1938 it was a significant improvement over where most had been living, as was a counterpart project in South Omaha. The first residents were Eastern European immigrant families. Hose Company #12, and later Hose Company #11, hired the first African-American firefighters to serve

704-560: The League, he initiated programs such as "Street Academy", an alternative education system to prepare high school dropouts for college; and "New Thrust", an effort to help local black leaders identify and solve community problems. Young also pushed for federal aid to cities. Clarence M. Pendleton, Jr. , was, from 1975 to 1981, the head of the Urban League in San Diego, California . In 1981, U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan tapped Pendleton as

748-555: The National Urban League launched a weekly podcast, For the Movement , which discusses persistent policy, social and civil rights issues affecting communities of color. The State of Black America is an annual report published by the league. The presidents (or executive directors) of the National Urban League have been: Omaha Central High School Omaha Central High School , originally known as Omaha High School ,

792-471: The Near North Omaha business area. Construction of the North Omaha Freeway in the 1970s is regarded as having added to the decline of Near North Omaha. Research showed that the area experienced a 30 percent housing loss and major increase in crime following construction of the freeway, which broke up the neighborhood. Additional street planning efforts to disrupt the community are believed to include

836-601: The Near North Side. One of the two stations was located at 20th and Lake Streets. During the height of the Jazz Age , the Dreamland Ballroom was the highlight of what is widely regarded as Near North Omaha's golden years. It was the largest venue for performances by local and national musicians. From the 1920s through the early 1960s, the neighborhood's cultural scene was vibrant. When the Dreamland Ballroom closed in

880-675: The United States . It is the oldest and largest community-based organization of its kind in the nation. Its current president is Marc Morial . The Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negroes was founded in New York City on September 29, 1910, by Ruth Standish Baldwin and Dr. George Edmund Haynes , among others. It merged with the Committee for the Improvement of Industrial Conditions Among Negroes in New York (founded in New York in 1906) and

924-531: The areas of education, health care, housing, jobs, and justice—providing services to more than 3 million people nationwide. The organization also has a Washington Bureau that serves as its research, policy and advocacy arm on issues relating to Congress and the Administration. The National Urban League is an organizational member of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence , which advocates gun control . In 1989, it

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968-727: The bodies. The victims were then removed to the Webster Telephone Exchange Building at 2213 Lake Street. More than 50 people died at one intersection during the storm. One report identified this building as a central headquarters in recovering the community, as the many operators went to work despite the building missing all of its windows. In September 1919, after Red Summer , a mob of white ethnics, chiefly immigrants and immigrant descendants from South Omaha , lynched an African-American worker named Will Brown . The riot followed weeks of increasing tensions inflamed by local newspapers and vice boss Tom Dennsion. Brown's body

1012-487: The boom years of the 1920s, and then by the desperate years of the Great Depression . In 1920, the organization took its present name, the National Urban League. The mission of the Urban League movement, as stated by the National Urban League, is "to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights." When the organization expanded its facilities to conduct more research in 1920,

1056-465: The chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights , a position which he held until his sudden death in 1988. Pendleton sought to steer the commission in the conservative direction in line with Reagan's views on social and civil rights policies. In 1994, Hugh Price was appointed as president of the Urban League. In 2003, Marc Morial , former mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana ,

1100-584: The city. On November 10, 1859, Omaha Central High School began as Omaha High School in the Nebraska Territory capitol building. In 1869, after the territorial government was removed from Omaha, the capitol building was donated to the City of Omaha by the Nebraska state government for educational use only. In 1870, it was demolished. In 1872, it was replaced by a four-story building that hosted kindergarten through twelfth grades, designed by Gurdon P. Randall in

1144-462: The community's boundaries. After the riot, landlords and developers began using race-restrictive covenants . Properties for rent and sale were restricted on the basis of race, with the primary intent of keeping North Omaha "black" and the rest of the city "white". These agreements were held in place with redlining , a system of segregated insuring and lending reinforced by the federal government. These restrictions were ruled illegal in 1940. During

1188-651: The community's culture. Recently the Omaha Storm Chasers proposed building a $ 54 million stadium as part of a $ 170 million redevelopment near the Near North Side Omaha's Qwest Center and Creighton University . However, while the stadium plan went through, the Storm Chasers chose to pull out of the project, feeling that the capacity of 24,000 was too large for the team's needs. The new TD Ameritrade Park Omaha , opened in 2011, will now be used primarily for

1232-645: The community's historic legacy and the larger story of African Americans in the Great Plains has been interpreted by the Great Plains Black History Museum , started by activist Bertha Calloway . This followed her founding of the Negro History Society in 1962. Her nephew has run the museum since Calloway's sickness has caused her retirement. The bi-annual Native Omaha Days and the long-running Omaha Star newspaper continue to celebrate

1276-453: The construction of a large hotel blocking 16th Street and the conversion of North 24th Street to only one-way traffic. In 1976, Omaha Public Schools began court-ordered busing to achieve integration, which led many Near North Omaha students away from their community for the first time. This period of social activism was when another generation of leaders emerged, such as Ernie Chambers , Brenda Council and Rev. Ken Vavrina . Since 1975,

1320-540: The early 2000s both of the projects were torn down and replaced with other public housing schemes, including developments with a mix of market-rate housing. In July 1966 the National Guard was called in from Fort Omaha to quell two days of rioting in North Omaha after local youth burnt down several area businesses along the 24th Street corridor. That same year A Time for Burning , a documentary featuring North Omaha,

1364-560: The expansion of activism in the civil rights movement, which provoked a change for the League. Young substantially expanded the League's fund-raising ability and made the League a full partner in the civil rights movement. In 1963, the League hosted the planning meetings of A. Philip Randolph , Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders for the August March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom . During Young's ten-year tenure at

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1408-408: The heart of the neighborhood was the scene of the greatest loss of life. The owner, C. W. Dillard, and 13 customers were killed as they tried to take shelter on the south side of the pool hall's basement. The victims were crushed by falling debris or overcome by smoke from fires begun when wood stoves used for heating overturned. The postcard image shows the slow process of removing the debris to recover

1452-493: The meatpacking plant as a young woman and became a labor organizer in the 1930s before being able to write full-time. Holy Family Catholic Church served successive congregations of German, Irish, Italian and Czech immigrants in the area. There was such a substantial community of Swedes in the area that a portion of the neighborhood was called "Little Stockholm." The bustling 24th Street corridor also served these communities, with mixed European immigrant communities mingling with

1496-521: The new Department of Research came under the charge of Lillian Anderson Turner Alexander , a rising civil rights activist recruited by Jones. Jones played a significant role in President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's administration, taking leave from the League to head the Department of Commerce unit for the study of "Negro problems", and serving as part of a group of African-American advisors known as

1540-464: The radio station was moved to Benson High School, and later to the old Tech High location, where it is still in operation. KIOS-FM (91.5 MHz) is a National Public Radio member station in Omaha, owned and operated by Omaha Public Schools. The Military Science program at Omaha Central High School predates the JROTC program. It began in the 1892–1893 school year. It became the most popular activity at

1584-485: The school day and special events on the weekends. The station was ordered discontinued by the Federal Communications Commission in 1928, as they devalued the purpose of school-affiliated radio stations and rescinded their licenses across the United States. Central also had, starting in 1969, a student-run radio station, KIOS-FM (91.5 MHz), which operated during the 1969–1973 school years. In 1973

1628-532: The school. After the administration again threatened the paper with closure, the students won reprieve through the support of professional journalists across the country. Central has had youth-led media for some years. Starting in 1923, it had a high school radio station for five years. First, KFCZ operated during the 1923–1924 school year. In 1925 the call letters changed to KOCH, and the Central High School Radio Club presented shows throughout

1672-558: The wake of World War II , Black veterans who fought racial hatred overseas returned to the United States determined to fight it at home, giving new energy to the Civil Rights Movement . As hundreds of thousands of new jobs opened up, shifting the economy from industrial manufacturing to a white-collar, service-oriented economy, the National Urban League turned its attention to placing HBCU graduates in professional positions. In 1961, Whitney Young became executive director amidst

1716-456: Was appointed the league's eighth President and Chief Executive Officer. He worked to reenergize the movement's diverse constituencies by building on the legacy of the organization and increasing the profile of the organization. Today, the National Urban League has 92 affiliates serving 300 communities, in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The National Urban League provides direct services in

1760-514: Was born there in 1926, but the family moved away when he was small. The mid-century loss of 10,000 industrial jobs from restructuring of railroads and the meat processing industry meant increasing poverty among people who stayed. The demographics of the housing projects changed along with conditions in the city. By the late 1960s, the Logan Fontenelle Projects were inhabited almost entirely by poor and low-income African Americans. By

1804-448: Was burned after his death. After the mob was done with Brown, they attacked police cars and blacks on the street. They were prevented from invading the Near North Side by soldiers called in from Fort Omaha . In addition, the military commander stationed troops in South Omaha to prevent any more mobs from forming. Throughout its history, students attended a variety of area schools, including Omaha High and Tech High , both just outside

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1848-481: Was filmed. Later it was nominated for an Oscar award for best documentary. In April 1968, the National Guard quelled North Omaha riots that erupted after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. In the summer of 1969, riots broke out after a white Omaha police officer fatally shot a 14-year-old girl named Vivian Strong in the back, in the Logan Fontenelle Projects. Three days of rioting effectively destroyed

1892-399: Was originally platted in 1855 as Scriptown and lots were awarded to Nebraska Territory legislators who voted for Nebraska statehood. Consequently, the area was developed quickly, and included a number of prominent homes. The area grew throughout the last half of the 1800s as Omaha's suburb, with the first streetcars running up and down its main thoroughfares of 24th and 30th Streets. After

1936-609: Was the beneficiary of all proceeds from the Stop the Violence Movement and their hip hop single, "Self Destruction". In May 2017, the National Urban League produced the State of Black America TV Town Hall, which aired on TV One in 2017 and 2018. The TV Town Hall elevated social issues related to African Americans through an interview style format with celebrity guests. The show was executive produced by Rhonda Spears Bell. In February 2018,

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