Fannie Emanuel Apartments Dedication Plaque

Dr. Fannie Hagen Emanuel (July 31, 1871 – March 31, 1934) was an American medical doctor and civic leader active in Chicago over the early decades of the twentieth century. In 1908 she founded the Emanuel Settlement House in Chicago.

Biography

Fannie Hagan was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she graduated with high marks from Old Gains High School. She later moved to Chicago, Illinois, and married, on February 28, 1888, at Bethel Church, William Emanuel, proprietor of the Professor William Emanuel Scientific

Chiropody Podiatry () or podiatric medicine () is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and leg. A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), or a podiatrist, is a healthcare p ...

Company. Her husband was born in Macon, Georgia, on December 1, 1862, and had relocated to Chicago from New York in 1887. After they married, Emanuel assisted her husband by serving as the firm's treasurer. The Emanuel chiropody clinic remained opened in the

Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...

for over thirty-five years.Simms, James N. ''Simms' Blue Book and National Negro Business and Professional Directory,'' 1923, p. 107 In 1908 Emanuel attended classes in social sciences at the Graham Taylor School of Civics and Philanthropy, Chicago. Later that year she established the Emanuel House, a

settlement house The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...

on Armour Avenue in Chicago. In her

mission statement A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operation ...

Emanuel's stated goal was "to inspire higher ideals of manhood and womanhood, to purify the social condition, and to encourage thrift and neighborhood pride, and good citizenship." Emanuel House maintained a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

and offered cooking and sewing classes, boys' and girls' club, free dental clinic, employment bureau and domestic science class for adults. Though located in a predominantly black neighborhood known as the Black Belt, her settlement house was available to all races. The Emanuel Settlement House closed in 1912. Emanuel attended the Jenner Medical College of Medicine and, beginning in 1911, the Chicago Hospital College of Medicine (now

Chicago Medical School The Chicago Medical School (CMS) is a medical school located in North Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is one of the graduate schools of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS). It was founded in 1912 and obtained app ...

Rosalind Franklin University Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFU) is a private graduate school in North Chicago, Illinois. It has more than 2,000 students in five schools: Chicago Medical School, College of Health Professions, College of Pharmacy, Dr. W ...

) where she graduated with her medical degree in 1915, not long after becoming a grandmother. She eventually set up her private practice with offices in the Roosevelt State Bank Building at Grand Boulevard and 35th Street, Chicago. Emanuel served on the board of directors of the Phyllis Wheatley Club, an organization tasked with helping improve the lot of African-American women and was active with such organizations as the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells (full name: Ida Bell Wells-Barnett) (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for ...

Women's Club, Women’ Aid of Old Folks Home, Elizabeth Chapter,

Order of the Eastern Star The Order of the Eastern Star is a Freemasonry, Masonic List of fraternal auxiliaries and side degrees, appendant Masonic bodies, body open to both men and women. It was established in by lawyer and educator Rob Morris (Freemason), Rob Morris, ...

, Warden Temple, Order of Elks, Court of Calanthe and the

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

sorority. The Emanuels had four children, a daughter Juanita, and sons William, Floyd and McKinley. Into the 1920s the family maintained a summer residence in

Idlewild, Michigan Idlewild is an unincorporated community in Yates Township, located just east of Baldwin in southeast Lake County, a rural part of northwestern lower Michigan. During the first half of the 20th century, it was one of the few resorts in the co ...

. The Chicago Housing Authority's Fannie Emanuel Apartments, a 20-story affordable senior apartment complex in Chicago's

West Garfield Park West Garfield Park on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. It is directly west of Garfield Park. Neighborhood boundaries The boundaries of West Garfield Park are NORTH: W. Kinzie St. ...

neighborhood, are named in Dr. Emanuel's honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emanuel, Fannie 1871 births 1934 deaths American activists African-American activists Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science alumni People from Cincinnati People from Lake County, Michigan 20th-century African-American women