Virtually unknown outside of her adopted hometown of Cleveland, Jane Edna Harris Hunter was one of the most influential African-American social activists of the early to mid-twentieth century.
By now, Hunter was facing opposition and needed to prove herself to two groups. Some leading African Americans in the city objected to a segregated institution and called the PWA “thehotel for Black girls.” Hunter needed their support but also had to reach out to prominent white civic leaders, whom she needed for financial backing to expand her facilities.
The agency was growing quickly now, and by 1927, the PWA had become the single largest social services agency in Cleveland, and the largest residence for single African American women in the nation. It also served as a model for similar projects across the urban north. With newly-found financial support of white civic leaders, Jane Edna Hunter was able to build a nine-story home for the Phillis Wheatly Association. The building housed young black women and was home to the agency's education, job training and placement services, as well as served as a place for social activities.