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SAVANNAH, Ga. () — Members of the community believe SCAD is negatively impacting growth across Savannah.
Early Sunday afternoon, community members came together to bring attention to what they say are ongoing issues SCAD has failed to recognize.
Resident Lindsey Grovenstein says the reason behind this comes from their treatment of African American communities.
“The SCAD museum is doing a special where they are conducting tours, like actual bus tours of the city where they’re claiming that they have a commitment and they’re preserving black history and they’re showing how they have shown their commitment, they’ve actually done the exact opposite,” Grovenstein said.
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Leaders such as Dr. Amir Jamal Toure, a professor at Savannah State University, said the college has continued to devalue black communities—forcing families out of their homes and businesses.
Toure said, “We see an apartment building now taken away from the elderly and the disabled. That we see communities that once hired people who have families there, no longer go in those communities. No longer the people that were a part of the foundation of Savannah. We are the foundation of Savannah, and we demand that the respect be accorded to those people, and we look out for the least and left out”.
SCAD was aware of the protests going on outside of its campus. The private college has a more than 40 year history of reinvestment in the black community and the history tour is a part of that. However, Dr. Toure says that is not enough. SCAD’S Vice President, Darnell Naylor-Johnson did release a statement and it says:
SCAD’s annual Black history tours tell important stories about Savannah’s Black history through art, poetry, film, and song. These tours are free and open to the public. This year our university is once again delighted to host current city leaders, former mayors, community members, local families, and visitors for these impactful and important historical tours. This annual initiative is another example of SCAD faculty and staff honoring our commitment to the preservation and celebration of Black history and the uplifting of diverse voices.
Darnell Naylor-Johnson, Vice President of SCAD
