City of St. Jude

Founded in the mid-1930s by a Catholic priest, the City of St. Jude encompassed a hospital, church and high school and championed health, education and social services regardless of race. In 1951, the hospital became the first in the Southeast to integrate. In 1965, the City of St. Jude welcomed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and 2,000 participants of the Selma-to-Montgomery March, allowing them to camp in its athletic fields. Today, most of the hospital has been converted into apartments for low-income families. Plans are underway to renovate the unused portion and turn it into an interpretive center and re-enactment site run by the National Park Service.