Macon Magazine

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2023 | maconmagazine.com 99 Tubman Museum Founder Richard Keil, former pastor at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Pleasant Hill, said he feels that Jones, a beloved member of his congregation, deserves to be honored more than he is currently. "Bobby grew up in Tindall Heights and always credited his second-grade teacher with strengthening him by demanding, through all his charisma and playfulness, a focused determination that you can, and you will," Keil said. "He could go into any meeting no matter how contentious and draw them together, get them to isolate their differences, talk and get past their anger, and he had a great sense of humor." As a site, First Congregational Church is a historical jewel. First Congregational was "denominationally similar to the Presbyterian church," explained community leader and former BTWCC board member Joan Walton. The church has roots in Macon stretching back to April 1868. It originated as a companion institution next to Lewis High School, which, after an act of arson, was rebuilt as Ballard Normal School on Pine Street at the present-day site of Atrium Navicent Health's Emergency Room and Doctors Building. These post-slavery, Reconstruction Era- spawned facilities, operated by the US Freedman's Bureau and American Missionary Association, utilized doctoral-level white instructors to cultivate the academic success of Black students like Lucy Laney, Wallace Rayfield, and William Scarborough. Then, in 1916, First Congregational was forced out from downtown and relocated to Pleasant Hill. Its edifice was erected at Jefferson and Monroe Street in 1918, with its Black congregation having raised over $5,000 in a day to pay for the work. The church remained in the building until 1991, but was vacant until the Booker T. Washington Foundation purchased it in the mid-1990s to turn into the Bobby Jones Performing Arts Center. The building has been closed for the last few years, but just as the Booker T. Washington Center has been reopened by community actors, there is opportunity for the Bobby Jones Center, too. Organizational development consultant Tonja Khabir recently purchased The Bobby Jones Performing Arts Center to renovate it once again. She is determined to halt the erasure and underappreciation of Black history by reviving and finishing the original mission of Walton, to restore it "back to like it had become before they began renovating it as the Bobby Jones Center, overgrown with vines and abandoned." "It's even worse now," Mrs. Walton said, "so the physical plant of this building will be greatly enhanced by a new restoration." Khabir has already spent several years scaling obstacles related to building strategy, gathering community support, acquiring the property, and creating a viable means of financial sustainability. Khabir, an alumna of HBCU and American Missionary Association school Fisk University, is deeply motivated to save the legacy of the First Congregational Church and the Bobby Jones Center. Now that Khabir has purchased the property, it has been taken off the Historic Macon Fading Five list, clearing the way for The Green House to come on. "This is a great opportunity to revive that conversation, build upon the reality with action of how valuable our history is," Khabir reflected. "I was on a Juneteenth Black History tour with my Two Hands International youth program when I learned about the rich history of this institution. I was further moved learning of Fisk's connection here, and I've decided to do all I can to succeed with this. But the work is far from complete, Khabir continued: "We just have to make it work from a community and a business standpoint. The development plan is currently under revision. But as of now, we are looking to create a collaborative workspace focusing on social impact upstairs and residential living (studios) downstairs. And yes, over the next 18 months, that plan could be modified. We hope to use state and federal historic tax credits to support the development. We've got a long way to go in this work, but to preserve our heritage, it's worth it." Are you interested in supporting The Green House or any of the other properties on Historic Macon Foundation's Fading Five? Visit historicmacon.org to learn more and get involved. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: TONJA KHABIR SPEAKS AT BOBBY JONES CENTER, DAKOTA AND DEMEI MOORE STAND IN FRONT OF THE GREEN HOUSE

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