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A crowd of people dressed up pose for a photo outside a drab building, standing on the floor or the balcony above.
Hull House, a notable settlement house in Chicago. (Photo: UIC)

Settlement houses are developed as a means of supporting those who are living in poverty.

1880s

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Hull House, a notable settlement house in Chicago. (Photo: UIC)

Settlement houses are designed as living spaces with social action and social support for those living in poverty and new immigrants. Settlement houses are often lifted as examples of "progressive U.S. values." Most settlement houses exclude Black and Native residents, in keeping with the pattern of legal and cultural segregation.

However, there are some exceptions, like the Hull-House in Chicago, Illinois that features prominent Black cultural icons as guest speakers, including W.E.B. Du Bois. They also hire one of the first Black physicians, Dr. Harriet Alleyne Rice, who works under the branch of the Chicago Bureau of Charities. There is also the African-American Women’s Club formed at Hull-House in 1925, which was first called “The Colored Mothers’ Club,” and later the “Community Club.”