---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Harvey Davis" <harveydavis@bellsouth.net> Date: Jul 24, 2017 5:21 AM Subject: [Sandtown] Preservation of Civil Rights and African American Historic Sites To: <sandtownmembersonly@googlegroups.com>, <sandtown@googlegroups.com> Cc: *From:* "Jay Scott" <jay@greenrockpartnership.com> *To:* "jay@greenrock-partners.com" <jay@greenrock-partners.com> *Subject:* *Preservation of Civil Rights and African American Historic Sites* Hello Friends, I am writing to you because you have expressed interest and concern for historic sites in Atlanta related to African-American and Civil Rights History, most of which are endangered and unprotected. I have created a mailing list from my email contacts, but as you see I included the list as blind copies. Because I am sending this email as a request, I don’t want you to feel obligated to participate. I have had discussions about organizing a more active vehicle to preserve these historic sites. The City of Atlanta has a list of Landmark Buildings/Sites that has many buildings around Atlanta, but very few on the WestSide. We must change this. Any preservation effort will require broad participation and support, so we will need all the help we can get. If you know others who might be interested in this effort. Please share this email freely. An immediate crisis is the E. A. Ware Elementary School, or Jordan Hall, on Martin Luther King, Jr Drive. The YMCA has purchased it and plans to demolish it, with the exception of a small part at the corner. Many of us have met with the YMCA, but from the very beginning they have been determined to tear it down – none of their plans ever explored preserving it, even though they already have 75% of their funds without even reaching out to their major donors. They are a multi-million dollar corporation and there is no reason to disrespect history this way. I have come to the conclusion that our mistake was trying to work with the YMCA and the City of Atlanta, because they obviously have no interest in preserving this history. But the funders may be different – they may be sensitive to the bad publicity this could bring. The Woodruff Family of Foundations has pledged $6 million to this project, but they have remained ‘below the radar’ thus far. I believe they may not want to be associated with the destruction African-American Historic Sites, since they have a reputation that is not in line with this. Perhaps if enough people write or call them, they will feel pressure to direct the YMCA to save the building. Accordingly, I am asking two things of you today: 1. Send an email to Russ Hardin, president of the Woodruff Foundation at hardin@woodruff.org to express your displeasure with him for supporting the YMCA in this effort. If you have access to their Trustees, that would also be a good approach. I have attached some information about the history of Jordan Hall if you’re not familiar with the history. I have included an example email below. If you use it verbatim, please write an introductory paragraph giving your support so he doesn’t think these are just form letters. 2. Let me know if you are interested in joining an organization that will work to protect the remaining African-American and Civil Rights historic sites in Atlanta. Many of you are very busy already and cannot commit to being an active member, but you may be interested in lending support (such as sending emails), which would be greatly appreciated. If you are not interested, I understand that as well. Either way, please respond. If you’re interested, I want to keep you on the list. If you are unable to participate, I don’t want to bother you with future communications. Just to make it clear why we need to do something, buildings that *are not on the Atlanta Landmark List *include the following: - Jordan Hall/E.A. Ware Elementary School – the oldest school in Atlanta built for African-American Children; the first ‘bricks and mortar’ public school for African-American children in the south - Gaines Hall – built four years after the civil war by African-Americans – the oldest non-residential building in Atlanta - Furber Cottage - Historic Paschal’s – also called “the black city hall” during the civil rights movement - George Towns Home - Grace Towns Hamilton Home – the first African-American woman elected to public office in Post-Reconstruction south - Butler Street YMCA - West Hunter Street Hospital - Ashby Theater The list of landmark buildings can be found at https://www.atlantaga.gov/ home/showdocument?id=16790 . This list does not include the plaza at Ponce de Leon and Highland (Plaza Theater) or Pullman Yards, which were recently designated (while Jordan Hall was ignored). It would also be helpful to contact Trustees of the Woodruff Foundation if you know them and how to reach them. I cannot overemphasize how time-critical this is. The YMCA has a demolition permit and may begin demolition any day. Our only hope is to convince the funders that it will make them look bad – especially since the YMCA did not even explore how to save the building. I have seen the site plan, and it is possible to save Jordan Hall and still construct the new office building they have designed on the site. *Please write immediately.* They could start demolition at any time. And thank you. My suggestion of an email is as follows: Mr. Hardin I have become aware that the Woodruff Foundations have made a $6 million donation to the YMCA so they can demolish an important part of African-American and Civil Rights history – Jordan Hall. This is oldest public school in Atlanta that was built for African-American children, and one of the oldest in the south – if not the oldest. It is especially important because it was built because the African-American community (led by A.D. Williams, Martin Luther King’s grandfather) used the power of the vote to demand that the Atlanta School Board invest in the black community – *this is the first time this ever happened in America*! It should be noted that the vote occurred in 1918 – 45 years before ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Selma where people were marching for the right to vote. Atlanta has a rich history of civil rights – far beyond the work of Dr. Martin Luther King. This history should be protected and a point of pride for the city. It would contribute to our city’s stature and become a new driver of tourism. Destruction of Jordan Hall, which is a contributing part of the Atlanta University Center National Historic District, will be a great loss and may lead to the destruction of other buildings as well. The Woodruff Foundation has a history of taking important stands, and we believe this is one worth taking. Mr. Woodruff had the foresight to bring the business community together to honor Dr. King for his Nobel Prize. This is an important step in recognizing the important people and their work that made Dr. King’s success possible. American History is incomplete without African-American History. In Atlanta we have a wealth of historic sites far greater than any other city in America. We have a responsibility to protect and preserve these sites and honor the brave people who worked so hard and sacrificed so much for us. We support the YMCA building their headquarters in Vine City, but not at the expense of such an important history. With your influence, you can direct them to redesign their site plan, or even relocate to another vacant site nearby. Once historic buildings are gone, they can never be replaced. Savannah and Charleston built entire economies on history – of course their histories are, in reality, about slavery since the beautiful buildings we see there were built by slaves. Atlanta is in the unique position to tell the stories of freedom and civil rights – we have important buildings from just after the civil war to the Voting Rights Act. Please help us celebrate this history and create an unrivaled opportunity to grow our tourism industry while honoring people who have to this point been largely ignored. Thank you for your interest. Jay Scott, PLA 404-909-7290 <(404)%20909-7290> Industrious @ Ponce City Market 675 Ponce de Leon Avenue, NE, Suite 8500 Atlanta, Georgia 30308 www.greenrock-partners.com -- Visit us on our website at http://www.sandtown.org or on our Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/SandtownCommunityAssociation You received this message because your email address is subscribed to the Sandtown Community Association Email Distribution. We will miss sharing with you, but you may unsubscribe at any time by sending an email to sandtown-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com If your email address changes, you may unsubscribe and then re-subscribe with your new email. or explore other options, by visiting this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sandtown?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sandtown Community Association" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sandtown+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. 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