Alfreda Ferrell, 89, granddaughter of African American journalist and civil right activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett, smiles as volunteers gather to begin renovations on her home in the Historic Westside of Las Vegas Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
Monday, Dec. 11, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Alfreda Ferrell and her daughter, Janean Ferrell, have been living in the same Las Vegas home for about three decades.
But time has taken its toll on the quaint house, where Janean Ferrell takes care of her mother full-time, resulting in code violations and other issues so unaffordable for the family that last year they were on the brink of losing it.
That’s why, seated outside her home and surrounded by a slew of volunteers ready to renovate and rejuvenate the Ferrell home using $25,000 in grant money, Alfreda Ferrell found herself at a rare loss for words.
“I am speechless,” the 89-year-old said, smiling.
The money dedicated to rehabilitating the home of Alfreda Ferrell and Janean Ferrell — the granddaughter and great-granddaughter, respectively, of pioneering journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett — is part of a $160,000 grant from Wells Fargo. The remaining $135,000 will go toward constructing affordable, single-family homes on Las Vegas’ Historic Westside.
While addressing a crowd of community members outside her house during an event Dec. 4, Janean Ferrell compared the outpouring of support for her and her mother to what Wells, a trailblazing advocate for women and African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, sought to establish through “women’s clubs,” or suffrage organizations.
“What she wanted was community like this,” Janean Ferrell said. “That’s what those clubs were for and everything. And so this is part of the realization of her dreams, as well — that communities can come together and help each other out.”
The Ferrell project has already involved bringing the electrical power of the house up to code and cleaning the yard — courtesy of the City of Las Vegas, according to a news release — and it will be renovated inside and out by both Wells Fargo volunteers and the Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada (NHSSN), the recipient of the Wells Fargo grant.
The renovation formally kicked off with landscaping, to make the house “beautiful,” said NHSSN Chief Operating Officer Kathy Freeman. Then, the project will move inside to make the home “safe and habitable” for the Ferrells, and particularly accessible for Alfreda Ferrell, who uses a wheelchair. During that time, both women will stay at a paid-for apartment.
“We know that Las Vegas, even though it’s a new city, has history,” Freeman said. “And sometimes that history isn’t told — like most people probably don’t know that a descendant of Ida B. Wells lives in the Historic Westside. … Las Vegas has history. And not only do we need to preserve that history, we need to make sure that we are taking care of that history and the people who promote that history.”
It’s a comfort that, despite the partisanship and political chaos of the present, lives can still be improved and even transformed by communities coming together, added Quentin Savwoir, president of the Las Vegas NAACP — the national organization co-founded by Wells.
“While we’re bickering nationally, people’s lives are at stake locally,” he told the Sun at the event last week. “So we’re going to transform Miss Alfreda’s life and her daughter’s life and her family moving forward, by coming together and having some intentionality. I just find it to be beautiful — the power of the human spirit.”
And according to Alfreda Ferrell, that level of community only happens in Las Vegas.
She’s lived in Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and many other cities over the course of her almost 90 years, Alfred Ferrell told members of the community, and none of those places could do what Las Vegas makes a point of doing for others.
“When Las Vegas decides they want to do something, they put aside everything, and find out, ‘Who can do this?’ ” she said. “ ‘How can we get it done? And then they do it. … And that’s what Las Vegas is. You come together and do something that nobody else can do.”
The renovation of her home is also important because it will show others that “this is how you treat seniors,” and help them stay in their homes, Alfreda Ferrell told the Sun.
At the event outside her home Dec. 4, during which time volunteers were already taking up shovels and getting to work on the landscaping, she thanked everyone there and expressed her appreciation for their help.
“I can sit back and I don’t have to do anything,” Alfreda Ferrell joked.
Though there’s the obvious legacy of activism in their family because of Wells, Janean Ferrell emphasized that her mother was also an outspoken member of the community, and contributed until “she couldn’t anymore.”
The help that her and Alfreda Ferrell have received from the community is wonderful, Janean Ferrell said, and will ultimately help them keep their family home and pass it down for generations.
“This is, at times, very overwhelming,” she said. “And because of, obviously, our natures, sometimes it’s hard for us to reach out and say we need help. And so anybody else out there who needs help — reach out. There’s community here.”
katieann.mccarver@gmg vegas.com / 702-990-8926 / @_katieann13_