Today, AADM is coming out in full support of the effort to save the Historic West Broad Street Campus. We are formally asking the Clarke County School District to keep the campus fully intact as they develop their new early childhood center.

This week, the State of Georgia released a letter that officially recognizes the West Broad Campus as historic, significant, and eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. They also warned that, if demolition or construction proceeds in a reckless or rushed way, that the campus can lose its integrity and eligibility for the National Register. In that letter, the State of Georgia recognized that the West Broad site is significant due to the value of its Educational Value, “Black Ethnic Heritage”, and Architectural value. That value, according to Georgia, extends to the whole campus, including all buildings, the brick courtyard, and the covered breezeways.

The work we do at AADM is necessary because of the history of discrimination in Athens. It is also made possible by the strength and resiliency of the African American community. The West Broad Campus is critical to understanding both of those stories. This 130 year old campus tells the story of Jim Crow and Separate but Equal, but it also tells the story of the black educators and students that helped define the campus. Their legacy, strength, and history deserves to be preserved. 

Today, AADM calls on Athens, the Clarke County School District, and all of our supporters to work together to keep the Historic West Broad Campus in tact. We ask that the campus be repurposed without the kind of demolition or rushed design that would erase this story. One building isn’t enough. A rushed process isn’t enough. The students that attended the school, the students that will attend the early childhood center, and future students that attend the campus deserve more. Let’s make sure not to discriminate against the legacy and history present on this site. Let’s work together to Save West Broad!