Steven Rogers

The beautiful AKAR Auditorium @ The Church is home to Donovan’s Garage.

AKAR represents the first two letters of Akilah and Ariel, the names of Rogers’ daughters. Both young women are alumni of King Lab and ETHS.

Rogers is an author, public speaker and former senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, his alma mater, and a teacher at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. His specialty is entrepreneurial finance and a course he developed, “Black Business Leaders and Entrepreneurship.” He lives in a home nearby.

Story of Bauer Place

On the site of the church parking lot, there used to be a road named Bauer Place. In 1927, several Black families lived in homes on Bauer Place. A white property developer wanted a section of land for a project. The homes of these Black families rested on the same section of land sought by the developer. The City of Evanston sided with the property developer. The families had to move out of the neighborhood.

The families, including two named Logan and Sutton, moved their homes from Bauer Place to the Fifth Ward, thus denying their descendants access to significant generational wealth. Homes in the Sixth Ward, which includes 2715 Hurd Ave., are worth much more than those in the Fifth Ward.

The Evanston phone books clearly identified each family with a C next to their names. The C stood for the word “colored.”

Entertainment space for Black artists

Several years ago the church put the property up for sale. When a potential deal with another buyer fell through, Rogers realized he had an opportunity to purchase the land and property and return it to Black ownership. He finalized the deal in 2022. Since then Rogers improved the building’s electrical and air conditioning systems. He has a list of ideas to improve the building’s décor and functionality.

Rogers offers the stage rent-free to Black artists of all genres, as long as they respect the building. The Fisk University Choir performed in October 2024. Donovan’s Garage performs on the stage monthly.