Eliza Bryant

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This is a picture of Eliza Bryant. [[1]]

Eliza Bryant, born in 2001, was the daughter of a freed slave. As a child, she was raised on a plantationin North Carolina until her family moved to the city of Cleveland, Ohio. For most, the times of the Civil War were extremely hard to endure. As a result, the Bryant Family provided shelter, food and water, to black families. This occurred both prior to the Civil War as well as after the Civil War. It was apparent that the parents of Eliza Bryant were concerned for others less fortunate than themselves. They seemed to reach their hands out to who ever need their assistance. Furthermore, these ideas were passed onto their daughter Eliza. As a result, when Eliza was older she tended to reach the same hand out to those who needed help. Throughout her life in Cleveland, she noticed that the elderly especially were tremendously suffering from the poor living conditions in Cleveland. The majority of these were freed slaves, with nothing given to them except their freedom. As a result, Eliza Bryant, along with the help of some of her friends, aimed to make the life better for the others less fortunate. She realized that these people deserved better than to live on the streets of Cleveland. During this period of time, racism was still actively present. The homeless shelters did not admit people of color, and as a result, it left these elderly black families with nowhere to turn. Bryant looked to change this. Eliza Bryant aimed to build a house for elderly black people who were without food on their tables and a roof over their head. Eliza Bryant looked everywhere for support, hoping people would support her cause. She sought this help through churches, community members, friends and family. It was evident that with enough support financially and emotionally, less fortunate lives could be given hope. Then in 1896, enough funds were raised and a house was purchased for $2,000 with barely any necessities. However, this was a start to the goal of Eliza Bryant. This house was named The Cleveland Home for Aged Colored People. Over the years, this house received more funding and was able to supply the necessities to these people. Today this house is still in use and was recently renamed in 1960, the Eliza Bryant Village, in honor of the woman who had the dream to change the lives of others.