NAACP Founder Sites In Lawrence, Kansas

LPA has begun a $17,200 project to identify, research, survey and photograph the properties of the signers of the charter for the Lawrence branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1921. The data collected will be uploaded to the Kansas Historic Resources Inventory (KHRI), and provide enough information to qualify as an Initial Determination of eligibility (IDOE), an important first step that determines if a property is eligible for state and/or national historic register listing.

Led by LPA board member and KU Associate Professor in Architecture Amy Van de Riet, the project was awarded a $11,200 Historic Preservation Fund grant from the State Preservation Office in June. The LPA Board previously had voted to allocate a local match of $6,000 from internal funds.

Currently, there is little information on the KHRI database that relates to the history of the Lawrence NAACP chapter. The project team will create a document that will provide that historical context and establish registration requirements for similar properties that may be nominated in the future. When work finishes in 2025, LPA will have clear indications about which existing properties would be eligible for listing in local, state or national registers of historic places, and which property owners might be willing to work with us to complete those nominations.

Further outreach efforts alsowill be developed. Good things are ahead and more is to come.