During and after World War I, thousands of African Americans migrated north, in search of jobs, homes and new opportunities. Segregation was still firmly in place, so many of the migrating African Americans could not get access to community and health services in their new homes, as those services were limited to white people. New groups and clubs and organizations formed to provide classes, activities, lodging, job placement and other services for black residents. Many of these were named after Phyllis Wheatley, the first published African American poet.

In 1920, two Twin Cities social service groups noted that there were no resources for the growing black population. The Phyllis Wheatley Settlement House opened in Minneapolis in 1924.