Lena O. Smith House

Infobox_nrhp | name =Lena O. Smith House
nrhp_type =

---

caption =
location= Minneapolis, Minnesota
lat_degrees = 44
lat_minutes = 55
lat_seconds = 55
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 93
long_minutes = 16
long_seconds = 5
long_direction = W
locmapin = Minnesota
area =
architect= Unknown
architecture= Classical Revival
added = September 26, 1991
governing_body = Private
refnum=91001472cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

The Lena O. Smith House is a house in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its owner, Lena O. Smith, was a prominent civil rights attorney. She was born in 1885 in Lawrence, Kansas and moved with her family to Minneapolis in 1906. She enrolled in Northwestern College of Law, which later merged into William Mitchell College of Law. When she graduated in 1921, she opened her own law firm and became the first African-American attorney in Minneapolis.cite web|url=http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=1106|title=African American Registry|accessdate=2008-06-25] In her practice, she fought for issues such as equal protection under the law, equal access to housing, and the right to join labor unions. As an activist, she was a founder of the Minneapolis Urban League, and the first woman president of the Minneapolis chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1935 through 1939. Her house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a local landmark in recognition to the African-American community in Minneapolis.cite web|url=http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/hpc/landmarks/5th_Ave_S_3905_Lena_Smith_House.asp|title=Lena Olive Smith House|publisher=Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission|accessdate=2008-06-25]

References