Historic West Baltimore building at center of Civil Rights Movement getting a revival
BALTIMORE -- How do you tell a story?
It's a question Dr. Alvin Hathaway, the president of the Beloved Community Services Corporation, asked when it comes to sharing history in West Baltimore.
"You tell a story by restoring a building in a community that had been underinvested," Hathaway said.
For many years, Juanita Jackson Mitchell's law office sat on the corner of Druid Hill Avenue, the 1200 block. Dr. Hathaway says the street carries historical importance standing at the center of the Civil Rights Movement. Mitchell was the first Black woman to practice law in Maryland.
"It is the block where in which you will find Union Baptist Church," he said.
The church dates back to 1852. Union Baptist served as a staging ground for many civil rights meetings.
"You had the NAACP's office in that block," Dr. Hathaway said.
He calls Mitchell's law office the anchor building.
Significance behind Mitchell's law office
"This was the place where Thurgood Marshall met with Juanita Jackson Mitchell to begin the planning and the work on the second Brown v. Board [of Education] decision," Hathaway said.
He grew up in this community. Hathaway recalls walking this street at a young age and seeing Juanita Jackson Mitchell's work plastered in the windows.
"Seeing the picture of Samuel Davis Jr. handing her a check for $5,000," he said. "I saw persons like Jackie Robinson, pictures of them. So, it really was our initial social media place."
Hathaway also remembers how Mitchell encouraged young people to get involved in their community.
Years later with his organization, Beloved Community Services Corporation, he acquired the property following negotiations with the Mitchell family and the city. Now, he's set on a mission to revive in a $2.5 million project.
Plan for restoration
"It experienced severe deterioration, much of the interior is really gone," Hathaway said. "All of the windows are going to be restored all of the woodwork that you see."
Hathaway said it will look nearly the same as it did in the 1950s but the appearance of the building is only half the effort. He said he wants to rebuild the activism and resources that once lived there.
"Her legacy was that she was providing legal services to persons who really couldn't afford it there right in the community," he said.
Resources at the building
To do that, Dr. Hathaway brought along the Rebuild, Overcome and Rise Center, also known as ROAR, which will be the anchor tenant.
"We're going to have things hanging in the windows similar to what she hung in the window back during her time of practicing there that had inspiring messages," said Lydia Watts, the executive director of the ROAR Center.
The ROAR Center aims to fill the gap in services for victims of violent crimes.
"The array of services that we offer at ROAR is legal services, case management, nurse care management and therapy," Watts said.
The center was launched in 2019, managed by the University of Maryland Carey School of Law where Mitchell graduated and became the first Black woman to attend the law school. Watts said it's an honor to stand on Mitchell's shoulders in the community where she lived and worked.
"We underestimate the power of people just walking past and seeing the signage," she said.
Watts hopes having a location in Upton will develop strong relationships with residents, giving them the chance to better hear their needs and understand how this center can best serve them.
"We really hope having a physical location...they'll feel inspired to come inside and hopefully learn that we're a trusting resource for them," Watts said.
As for construction, Dr. Hathaway said that process is just getting started. The hope is to open the renovated building in 9 months.
Hathaway said he wants to give the Upton community what he experienced as a child.
"People can say this is a place that welcomes us but it's also a place that will be of service to us," he said.