Community fights YMCA's plan to demolish historic building

ATLANTA — A community is fighting to save a building that they say is significant to Atlanta’s black history.

The YMCA plans to tear down Jordan Hall, which currently sits on the Morris Brown College campus, in order to build its new headquarters.

The building was originally one of the first schools for African-Americans in the area.

Civil rights leaders and activists showed up Tuesday to voice their concerns about the plan.

They said the building should not be torn down, especially without the community’s input.

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“There has to be a line drawn in the sand for these big-money organizations like the YMCA that come under the guise of doing great service in our communities (and) come to really take land and destroy it,” Derrick Boazman said.

Activists said that two historically black churches were recently demolished to make way for Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

They said that tearing down Jordan Hall is another step towards wiping out the history of the area.

YMCA administrators told Channel 2's Sophia Choi that structurally, the current building will not work with their plans, but they do want to honor the history of the building.

Cox Media Group