The Tate Arms rooming house and Iowa Federation Home Dormitory are two significant historical locations gaining attention for their part in the Civil Rights Movement.
By Kayli Reese
In today’s society, the heavy topic of racism still persists, and Iowa City is no stranger to the fight against exclusion and bias.
Two Iowa City properties, the Tate Arms rooming house and Iowa Federation Home Dormitory, have gained attention from the National Park Service. The organization gave Iowa City a grant of $16,000 for being an important part of the Civil Rights Movement and African-American culture.
Robert Miklo, an Iowa City senior planner, said the National Park Service requested applicants nationally for the grant. He said 169 applicants applied for the grant, and 39 received awards.
Richard Carlson, architectural historian with the Iowa Office of the State Archeologist, said Miklo knew of his work and study on African-American history in the area and asked him to cowrite the grant application.
Both housing areas, he said, were brought to life after African-American students asked for housing while attending the University of Iowa.
“They took matters into their own hands,” Carlson said.
Miklo said the UI had admitted African-American students fairly early on in history compared with other universities, but there was no housing for students of any race. Shortly after, he said, the university started building dormitories such as Currier Hall for white students only.
The African-American student population grew, he said, and a lack of housing started to become an issue. Students stayed in private homes; some women stayed with professors or worked as maids, but the number of students was becoming too large for these housing options to be realistic, Miklo said.
A group of female African-American students approached the Iowa Federation of Colored Women’s Club, a statewide organization working for the advancement of African American families, requesting that the federation help the students secure housing. The federation approached the UI to secure a separate dorm, he said. The university declined the request, he said, only offering words of support. Due to the continuous work of the federation and the African American communities, the Iowa Federation Home Dormitory was later created for African-American female UI students; the Tate Arms rooming house followed a similar path for African-American male students.
“They were meant to provide safe and quality housing,” Miklo said.
With the grant, Miklo said Iowa City is hoping to prepare a National Register nomination for both properties to show their importance in history.
“They’re an excellent representation of civil-rights advancement,” Miklo said.
In addition to a nomination, he continued, the grant will be used to further research the properties to create a booklet of information to spread awareness, as well as creating plaques to place in front of both homes, which are now privately owned.
Ginalie Swaim, the head of the Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission, said the two properties exemplify how Iowa City helps us better understand history.
“These two houses were critically important to black UI students who needed housing before the dorms were integrated,” she said. “Today, they are important reminders to us that a community must continue to work hard to be inclusive and open its doors to all people.”
In a previous version of this article, The Daily Iowan incorrectly implied that the University of Iowa’s actions led to creation of the Iowa Federation Home Directory. The Iowa Federation of Colored Women’s Club was a gathering of African American Women’s Clubs from across Iowa who worked for the advancement of African American families, and they approached the UI about the creation of a dormitory for African American students. The UI declined to do so, but offered words of support. The DI regrets this error.
