Historic Black School In Gwinnett Will Be Preserved

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — Gwinnett County's school for black students during the segregation era will be preserved, not demolished, under a new agreement between the county and the city of Lawrenceville.

Hooper-Renwick School, in downtown Lawrenceville, will be saved and restored as part of a development that will include the new location of the local branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library, officials announced on Thursday.

The announcement comes after locals, including alumni of Hooper-Renwick, spoke out in favor of preserving it as the city and county eyed developing the area around it. As a result, Lawrenceville appointed a 12-member legacy preservation committee that provided insight and a framework on which to build a strategy for the space.

"Hooper-Renwick is a significant part of both the city and county’s history," said Mayor Judy Jordan Johnson. "Thanks to the leadership of Lawrenceville’s Hooper-Renwick Legacy Preservation Committee and city staff, we now have a deeper understanding of the profound impact this facility has had on the African-American community – its past, present and future."

Hooper-Renwick School was originally built in the 1940s and facilities there were expanded through 1968, when Gwinnett schools were desegregated. Gwinnett County Public Schools maintained classes there until it was purchased several years ago by the City of Lawrenceville, which was eyeing redevelopment downtown.

Details about how the school building will be used have not been nailed down, but the initial plans are for it to be used to host community meetings, educational programs and a museum devoted to black history in Gwinnett County.

Design and preservation work are planned to begin next year, with a goal of being finished by 2020 or 2021.

Officials called the development the first step in a multi-phase renewal project in downtown Lawrenceville.

"Today, we, the Hooper Renwick Preservation Committee, having met at the table of compromise in working to preserve the building’s original 12-room structure, are proud to declare before God Almighty that the demolition ball, once assigned to the dismantling of our beloved Hooper-Renwick High School, by its own destructive forces has been demolished," Theresa Bailey, chairwoman of the committee, said Thursday.

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Photo courtesy City of Lawrenceville