SCLC breaks ground on new $3 million headquarters

<p>Toward the end of his presidency at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Rev. Joseph Lowery bought a vacant lot on Auburn Avenue, in the hope that one day it would be the permanent home of the civil rights organization.</p><p>As the SCLC prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the group's new president broke ground Tuesday on a $3 million headquarters.</p><p>"One day, I figured we'd have a building here," said Lowery, who joined other dignitaries for the event. "Buying this land was part of my vision for the future."</p><p>Founded in 1957 by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others, the SCLC is expected to move into its headquarters in July, when the organization hosts its national convention in Atlanta and marks its 50-year milestone. SCLC President Charles Steele said he has dedicated himself to reviving King's vision.</p><p>"A lot of people doubted SCLC's significance, but I, the board of directors and the staff at SCLC never doubted our importance in the world," Steele said.</p><p>Many foot-soldiers of SCLC and others in the civil rights movement _ including U.S. Rep. John Lewis and the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth _ attended Tuesday's ceremony. Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who recently celebrated the return of King's collected papers to the city, offered her congratulations.</p><p>"In Atlanta, we find ways to do things that seem impossible," Franklin said.</p><p>State Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta, first came to the SCLC as a 15-year-old when he was led to the group by the late Rev. Hosea Williams. He began as a field organizer and went on to hold a series of jobs in the organization, which was originally located on Auburn Avenue _ the street where King was born, preached and is buried.</p><p>"We need to be on Auburn Avenue," Brooks said, adding that the SCLC chose to locate here originally because of the street's significance to King, the group's first president.</p><p>"Now that we're going to have a new headquarters here, it's kind of like being reborn. It's the rejuvenation of all that we've represented," he said.</p><p>The building will also be the first headquarters the SCLC has owned. The organization has previously leased space on Edgewood Avenue and is currently housed on West Peachtree Street in Midtown.</p><p>The SCLC headquarters on Auburn will occupy the second floor of the two-story, 12,500-square foot building. The ground floor will be leased to retail tenants.</p><p>Looking at the rendering of the new facility, national board member Rita Samuels marveled at how far the organization had come since she got her start as an intern in 1963.</p><p>"Dr. King would make us feel like what we did was the most important thing for SCLC's success," Samuels recalled. "To be here today ... is just absolutely amazing."</p><p>Steele and others who made remarks Tuesday frequently referenced the SCLC's rallying cry, "A new day, a new way." Lowery said the new headquarters will be a visible example of that motto.</p><p>"I'm very proud of what has happened," he said. "When Martin had a dream, it wasn't the last dream."</p><p>_____</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cdc9b0)</p>

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