Anna Belle Weakly- 25th Street and Beyond: A Legacy of Black Leadership and Empowerment in Utah

 Anna Belle Weakley- 25th Street and Beyond: A Legacy of Black Leadership and Empowerment in Utah

Introduction Excerpt for Education Intern Elizabeth Hatch's phenomenal blogsite:

The years 1900-1939 are labeled by the Library of Congress as the “Segregation Era,” where African Americans in the United States saw the separation of White and Black races spread rapidly across the nation and racial oppression escalated. Black leaders such as W.E.B Du Bois founded the Niagara Movement in 1905, and in 1909 the group combined with white reformers to create the National Association of Colored People (NAACP) to champion equality for the Black community. From 1910-1920 large portions of the Black population began to move into industrial cities to fill the shortage of workers caused by World War I. This event called the “Great Migration” exposed more of the racial exclusion and segregation in the workplace, education, and neighborhoods. Within the Civil Rights movement, people began to leave behind the philosophy of accommodation and began to advocate for equality with a renewed enthusiasm that created the “New Negro Movement” in the 1920’s that “promoted a renewed sense of racial pride, cultural self-expression, economic independence, and progressive politics.”

The Civil Rights and New Negro Movement set the stage for individuals in the Black community to advocate for themselves and push back against racial discrimination. One of those leaders in Ogden, Utah was Anna Belle Weakly, nicknamed the “Queen of 25th Street.” Anna Belle is well known for her work empowering the Black community through her community involvement and civic leadership. In 1947 Anna Belle helped the Black community in Ogden with the Porters and Waiters Club, a space that provided entertainment, lodging, and dining options for the Black community on 25th Street. Racial segregation on 25th Street barred Black individuals from many businesses in Ogden, and Anna Belle created a space that was safe and welcoming for Black community members. While 25th Street and the Porters and Waiters club is an important part of Anna Belle’s lifetime of advocacy, her life went beyond 25th Street. Beginning in 1969, Anna Belle was an active community member of Ogden by advocating for education, volunteering at local charities, creating programs that ran in multiple states to help individuals overcome substance abuse such as alcoholism, and holding Utah State government positions on the Utah Black Advisory committee to the Utah Governor and as member of the National Counsel on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Anna Belle Weakly embodied the Civil Rights and New Negro Movements she grew up in during the 1920s as she became a successful business woman and prominent community leader by empowering the Black community around her. While she is known as the Queen of 25th Street, there is more to Anna Belle than a glitzy club owner. Throughout this exhibit you will learn how Anna Belle advocated for the Black community and built up the community around her, not just on 25th Street, but throughout Utah leaving behind a legacy focused on empowerment of the Black community and civic engagement.  

Linked below is Elizabeth Hatch's blog website where you can read more!

 Anna Belle Weakley- 25th Street and Beyond: A Legacy of Black Leadership and Empowerment in Utah