Dorchester Academy Boy's Dormitory

This Georgian Revival building, built in 1934 to replace an earlier structure destroyed by fire, was part of a school campus begun in 1871 by the American Missionary Association to serve the educational needs of black children of Liberty County and coastal Georgia. The school closed in 1940 after public education became available to black children. In 1948, with assistance from the local community, the American Missionary Association expanded the dormitory into a community center, and by 1961 it had become the focus for many Southern Christian Leadership Conference sponsored Citizen Education Workshops held here from 1962 to 1964, training over 1,000 teachers and leaders who in turn educated over 10,000 people in the basics of voter registration and non-violent social change. Dr. M.L. King, Jr. held a planning retreat here in 1962 to prepare for the 1963 Birmingham Campaign, one of the first major victories of the Civil Rights Movement.

Midway, Georgia · United States