In the late 1950s, the Progress Village community was established to provide affordable housing for members of Hillsborough County, Florida's African American population. Developed as a "model community" that would offset major displacements caused by redevelopment in predominantly black neighborhoods, Progress Village grew under the leadership of such prominent, local leaders as C. Blythe Andrews, Cody Fowler, James Hargrett, Sr., and Perry Harvey, Sr., who -- along with others - comprised the original Board of Trustees for Progress Village, Inc. More than fifty years later, Progress Village still stands as a viable example of public enterprise and cooperative neighborhood development.