Preserving Black History in Iowa City

"In 2016, the City of Iowa City applied for and received an African American Civil Rights Grant from the National Park Service for a two-part project. The first was to nominate two buildings in Iowa City associated with African American housing equity during the Civil Rights Era to the National Register of Historic Places. The second was to create educational signage for these two buildings, as well as provide print and digital media educational materials. The two buildings are the Iowa Federation Home, located at 942 Iowa Avenue, and Tate Arms, located at 914 S. Dubuque Street.

Both houses are being recognized because they provided off-campus dormitory-style housing for African American students during a time when the University of Iowa barred them from living on campus and housing was difficult for Black students to find due to racial discrimination."