(PHOTOS) Plans for site of DeKalb’s first Black public school include museum, amphitheater
Former Bruce Street School student Allene Smith Harper attends the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. “I’m just so excited for this day because I have so many memories here,” Harper said. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Lithonia, GA — The Arabia Mountain Heritage Alliance wants to revitalize the site of the Bruce Street School, the first Black public school in DeKalb County.
The site, now mostly ruins, is at 2449 Bruce Street in Lithonia.
The Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance hosted a fundraising gala at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Feb. 17.
Jeff Dingler, Communications Manager at the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area said the Bruce Street School was built in 1938 as part of a grassroots community effort.
“The school before that was called the Yellow River School, and it was burned down by the Klan, so the community came together, many of these folks worked in the quarry at Arabia Mountain, and they would bring home rocks from the quarry at the end of the day,” Dingler said. “They built this really, beautiful, architecturally unique structure, the Bruce Street School.”
According to the Alliance, the school closed in 1955 when the state Legislature, trying to avoid desegregation mandated by Brown vs. Board of Education, built “equalization schools” around the state. The students at that school were relocated across the street to the “new” Bruce Street School which is still there today and houses a police precinct. A fire damaged the old school building and it crumbled from neglect, the Alliance says.
But the site has a promising future.
“In a couple of years when the school is finished it will be transformed into an outdoor museum with an amphitheater,” Dingler said. “We’re hoping for a food forest and memory garden, things like that, so once again the community can utilize the space, have outdoor classrooms there, and just learn about the history of the Bruce Street School as well as Black education in the deep South.”
To find out more about the Bruce Street School and the Arabia Mountain National Heritage visit the website at: arabiaalliance.org
Julia Dobbs (left) and Alberta Shumake attend the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. ”I was born and raised here in Lithonia went to the old and the new Bruce Street (School) and it was great. I enjoyed participating in the drill team and athletics,” Dobbs said. Shumake also attended both the old and new Bruce Street School and said she enjoyed the “dynamic” teachers and the hot meals. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Rep. Doreen Carter (D-Dist. 93) attends the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Anaya Miller reads “I am Bruce Street” during the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Revonda Cosby, Executive Director for the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance, and other attendees join in a prayer during the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Mistress of Ceremonies Millicent St. Claire moves with the music of southern soul artist Joe Gable (in white) and his ensemble during the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Attendees react to the program during the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Attendees react to the live music during the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Photographs, memorabilia, and artifacts were on display during the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Lifelong Lithonia residents Van Hawk, Lillie Bailey, and Rose Shumake look at artifacts on display during the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Attendees dance to live music during the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Attendees including Vinnie Harris (right) dance to the music of southern soul artist Joe Gable during the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.
In 2022 the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance and community partners and stakeholders unveiled a new interpretive sign that shares the history of the school and the Bruce Street community in Lithonia. Photo by Dean Hesse.
The Bruce Street School in Lithonia was the first Black public school in DeKalb County and likely one of the oldest in the state according to the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance, which hosted a fundraising gala on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, to raise money to be used in the revitalization of the school. Photo by Dean Hesse.
The Bruce Street School in Lithonia was the first Black public school in DeKalb County. It was built in 1938 by quarry workers with local granite. The granite walls still stand. On Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance hosted a fundraising gala to raise money to be used in the revitalization of the school. Photo by Dean Hesse.
The Bruce Street School in Lithonia was the first Black public school in DeKalb County. It was built in 1938 by quarry workers with local granite. The granite walls still stand. On Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance hosted a fundraising gala to raise money to be used in the revitalization of the school. Photo by Dean Hesse.
The Bruce Street School in Lithonia was built in 1938 by quarry workers with local granite. It was the first Black public school in DeKalb County. The granite walls still stand. On Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance hosted a fundraising gala to raise money to be used in the revitalization of the school. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Tiny Foster & Dem Saints, including from left Queen, Tiny Foster, and Montez Caldwell perform during the Bruce Street School fundraising gala hosted by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance at the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.
The Bruce Street School in Lithonia was the first Black public school in DeKalb County. It was built in 1938 by quarry workers with local granite. The granite walls still stand. On Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance hosted a fundraising gala to raise money to be used in the revitalization of the school. Photo by Dean Hesse.
The ruins of the Bruce Street School, the first Black public school in DeKalb County, sit next to the East DeKalb Senior Center in Lithonia. The school was built in 1938 by quarry workers with local granite. The granite walls still stand. On Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance hosted a fundraising gala to raise money to be used in the revitalization of the school. Photo by Dean Hesse.
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