Saving Claflin: First African American school in Columbus hopes to get a new start
Columbus’s Claflin Elementary School, built in 1868, was the first school for African American children. Today, it needs help.
Claflin did more than just educate those who attended; for instance, Claflin also provided dental and optical care. The school was once a beautiful two-story building with a courtyard in the middle. The building has been closed for about forty-five years and since then, many unwelcome inhabitants have vandalized and destroyed much of the inside by defacing walls with graffiti, breaking windows, and leaving trash.
Claflin alumnus Richard Jessie provided information on the plan to restore the building, which is set to take place over the next five years. There is much work to be done, including cleaning, environmental testing, and getting more grants to fund the project. The Claflin team has already selected an international construction company from Japan to help with the reconstruction of the building.
The Claflin Restoration Project is dedicated to helping the community become better educated and lift people in the community out of poverty. Some programs and services Claflin hopes to provide are parenting classes, after school programs, GED classes, higher learning via a satellite campus, college prep testing, an autism development center, a small business incubator, and many other community outreach programs.
The mission is to turn the old elementary school into an adult, youth, and family community center. The Claflin Restoration project has also partnered with “Head Start,” a preschool program for impoverished children, and hopes to implement after school programs for children as well. They are currently developing partnerships to help with the creation and sustainability of these programs.
The Claflin Restoration Project is in need of volunteers. If you are interested in helping out the community and you would like to be a part of the change in Columbus, please contact the Claflin Restoration Project.
