Freedom House (Roxbury, Massachusetts)

Freedom House is a nonprofit community-based organization in Roxbury, Massachusetts (a neighborhood of Boston). Freedom House is located in an area sometimes referred to as Grove Hall that lies along Blue Hill Ave. at the border between the Roxbury and Dorchester neighborhoods of Boston. Although it was historically identified with Roxbury, Freedom House currently refers to itself as being located either in Dorchester or in Grove Hall.

The mission of Freedom House is to promote economic self-sufficiency and social justice for residents in historically underserved neighborhoods through targeted educational development, increased civic and political engagement and progressive cultural advocacy.

Freedom House was founded in 1949 as a center of civil rights and advocacy for Boston's African American community. The founders were the social workers (and married couple) Otto P. Snowden and Muriel S. Snowden. The initial goal of Freedom House was to centralize community activism in the fight for neighborhood improvement, good schools, and harmony among racial, ethnic, and religious groups in Roxbury (a neighborhood of Boston), Massachusetts. Criticized in the 1960s by black militants for taking a "self-help" approach to racial equality, Freedom House re-examined its mission, and went on to play an increasingly critical role in the struggle for civil rights in Boston, especially during the period of desegregation of Boston's public schools.

Freedom House's original location was at 151 Humboldt Street in Roxbury. In 1952, It moved to 14 Crawford Street on the Grove Hall section of Roxbury. On the night of January 31, 1960, a fire destroyed the Crawford Street facility. A rebuilding campaign ensued, and Boston Mayor John F. Collins was the first to "buy a brick" to help in this effort. The rebuilt facility opened on 1961 and remains the current home of the organization.

In 1984, Muriel and Otto Snowden retired as co-directors. A number of directors have served since then; the Executive Director is currently the Snowden's daughter, Gail Snowden.

In 1996, Freedom House considered merging with other community organizations, although in the end it decided not to do so.

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