Historically-Black college targeted by vandals, community leaders say
Historically-Black college targeted by vandals, community leaders say
Former students and teachers of the historically-Black Morris Brown College are looking for answers following a string of vandalism incidents on the campus.
ATLANTA - Former students and teachers of the historically-Black Morris Brown College are looking for answers following a string of vandalism incidents on the campus.
The latest target was an iconic clock tower that sits atop Fountain Hall, Archbishop John H. Lewis III, president of the Historic Vine City Civic Association said. He said vandals broke into the building, climbed all the way to the top, and somehow tore down the clock that faces Downtown Atlanta this past weekend. Other buildings have been torched and trashed in recent years, he said.
“It was malicious, it was criminal,” Archbishop Lewis said. “It had to be somebody who had the skills and who knew that the instruments to be able to dismantle it the way they did. Just for one person or one to go up there and dismantle a clock like that, come on.”
About a dozen community members with deep ties to the college held a candlelight vigil in front of the damaged building Sunday night.
The incident comes as the financially-troubled college has been in the process of earning back its accreditation. Fountain Hall is also undergoing renovations.
Julian Smith, Jr.’s mother and father both attended the school. He said its significance to Black people runs deep.
“It was built in 1881. It is a national landmark,” Smith Jr. said. “Dr. Martin Luther King lived in this area. His mother graduated from Morris Brown college. And so continuing with that legacy is dear to us.
The acts of vandalism won’t deter the school’s revitalization efforts, volunteer instructor Henry Porter said.
“Destroying the head of a clock, throwing stuff, not going to stop me,” Porter told Fox 5. “I’m going to do all I can to make sure that Morris Brown survives. Morris Brown is not a building. Morris Brown is people.”
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