Utopia Children's House (UCH) provided services such as pre-school, childcare, and classes in the Harlem neighborhood in New York City's borough of Manhattan. It was at 170 West 130th Street. Mrs. Albert S. Reed of the National Urban League and president of the Utopia Neighborhood Club was one of its organizers. It was organized in 1921 by women in Harlem.[1] In 1924 the building was purchased, in 1926 it was renovated, and it opened by 1928.John D. Rockefeller Jr. underwrote it during the Great Depression. Sewing classes were offered.[2] The meals provided by UCH were particularly essential during the Great Depression.[3]
Classes offered included soap making, woodworking, leather making, and art.[4] Jacob Lawrence studied under Charles Alston at Utopia Children's House.[5][6]
W. E. B. DuBois donated a prizes to its annual auction and a letter thanking him for his donations is extant.[7]
New York City Department of Education lists a school using the name.[9]
References edit
- ^ Nettles, Saundra Murray (2013). Necessary Spaces: Exploring the Richness of African American Childhood in the South. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc. p. 57. ISBN 9781623963330 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Opportunity". National Urban League. May 28, 1932 – via Google Books.
- ^ Greenberg, Cheryl (March 27, 1997). "Or Does It Explode?": Black Harlem in the Great Depression. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-535390-7 – via Google Books.
- ^ Dickinson, Stephanie E. (July 15, 2016). Jacob Lawrence: Painter. Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC. ISBN 9781502610713 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Life and Career of Jacob Lawrence | 1930". moma.jl.
- ^ Mattern, Joanne (January 1, 2005). Jacob Lawrence. ABDO. ISBN 9781616138677 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Letter from Utopia Children's House to W. E. B. Du Bois, February 8, 1935". credo.library.umass.edu.
- ^ "ALL-DAY CHILD CARE PLANNED AT CENTER; Harlem Utopia House Offers New Service as Aid for Working Mothers". The New York Times. January 31, 1944.
- ^ "School". web.