Dorchester Academy
— Museum Of African American History —
In an effort to involve Liberty County African Americans in politics, the Dorchester Cooperative Center (DCC) began to help organizeAfrican American Voters. The DCC taught local African Americans the United States and Georgia constitutions, followed the activities of state and national representatives, charted how legislators voted on issues, interviewed candidates for office, and discussed issues and community goals. They also instructed citizens on how to mark ballotsand general behavior at the polls. In 1953, the DCC formed a branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1961, they gained national attention when the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), in cooperation with theAmerican Missionary Association (AMA), established " Leadership Training Programs and Citizenship Schools" at Dorchester Academy to train grass roots leaders from throughout the South. These leaders would go back to their communities to organize and train others. Some of the influential SCLC leaders who frequented the DCC were SCLC Educational Director Dorothy Cotton, supervisor of teacher training Septima Clark, and Citizenship Program Administrator Andrew Young.Notable civil rights leaders who attended DCC programs included Ralph Abernathy, Wyatt Walker, and Dr.Kartin Luther King Jr. King's biographer David L. Lewis contends that King planned his 1963 Birmingham campaign while staying at Dorchester Academy in Elizabeth B. Moore Hall. Although DCC membership has steadily declined, the organization now known as the Dorchester Improvement Association (DIA), still exists and continues to educate and support AfricanAmericans in Liberty County.HM Number | HM5OT |
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Tags | |
Placed By | City of Flemington |
Marker Condition | No reports yet |
Date Added | Thursday, October 9th, 2014 at 1:55pm PDT -07:00 |
UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 17R E 455926 N 3518472 |
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Decimal Degrees | 31.80100000, -81.46560000 |
Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 31° 48.06', W 81° 27.936' |
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 31° 48' 3.60" N, 81° 27' 56.16" W |
Driving Directions | Google Maps |
Area Code(s) | 912 |
Closest Postal Address | At or near 8701-8899 Hwy 84, Midway GA 31320, US |
Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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