For thirty years, Hope worked to improve the lives of African-Americans in Atlanta, Georgia through her efforts as a social activist and community organizer.
Arriving in Atlanta in 1898, Hope worked with a group of women to provide services to African-American children in the West Fair neighborhood. These services included free day care centers, community centers and recreational facilities.
Seeing the great needs in many poor communities throughout Atlanta, Hope enlisted the help of Morehouse College students to interview community members concerning their needs. From these surveys, Hope realized that many African-Americans not only suffered from societal racism, but also a lack of medical and dental services, inadequate access to education and lived in unsanitary conditions. By 1908, Hope established the Neighborhood Union, an organization providing educational, employment, recreational and medical services to African-Americans throughout Atlanta. In addition, the Neighborhood Union worked to reduce crime in African-American communities in Atlanta and also spoke out against racism and Jim Crow laws.
Article source: http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/africanamericanwomen/p/Lugenia-Burns-Hope.htm
