An deserted faculty constructing in Maryland is being refashioned right into a film studio.
The previous Fairmont Heights Excessive College, which was Prince George’s County’s first publicly funded highschool constructed for Black college students throughout segregation, closed in 2017 and sits fenced off to maintain vandals out.
The Fairmont Heights Excessive College Alumni Affiliation has fought to protect the constructing that opened in 1950 and its historical past.
“We simply thought, ‘OK, is the constructing going to be torn down? Is it going to be burned down?’” affiliation President Joan Crowder mentioned. “The vandalism, all of that.”
The alumni affiliation, with some members now of their 70s, is decided to reserve it.
“Once you make use of excellence, consideration, ardour coupled with exuberance, these are the outcomes that you simply get,” Crowder mentioned.
On the time, it was one in all solely two colleges within the county the place Black college students might rise to the twelfth grade and graduate, in keeping with the alumni affiliation. It offered a nurturing atmosphere the place youngsters realized to excel in teachers and sports activities.
“Loads of college students rode on faculty buses previous the entrance door of 4 or 5 different white excessive colleges simply to come back to Fairmont,” mentioned Fred Smith of the alumni affiliation.
The Prince George’s County Council just lately took a step towards securing the college’s future by declaring it “surplus property,” turning it over to the Redevelopment Authority. That units the stage for it to be became a film studio and academic heart that may present alternatives for younger folks within the county.
“We took the baton and we ran with it as a result of we noticed our beloved Fairmont Heights simply sitting there, simply deteriorating. And it’s a lot greater than that,” alumni affiliation Treasurer Denise Haskins mentioned. “So, we pledged to convey it again to its glory.
Along with a studio to draw filmmaking, it’ll have classroom house, places of work for the affiliation and a museum.
The county has been working with Tressa Azarel Smallwood, cofounder of MegaMind Media. She’s a former instructor from Prince George’s County.
“She’s really a Prince George’s County homegrown expertise who has created this wonderful firm that does 12-to-15 movies a 12 months with a few of the greatest studios within the nation,” Council member-elect Shayla Adams-Stafford mentioned.
State Sen. Malcolm Augustine, D-District 47, helped safe $5 million in state funding for redevelopment.
“I’ve all the time felt prefer it actually has an unbelievable potential,” he mentioned. “I felt additionally that the historical past of the college and the people who went there’s so sturdy, so vibrant, that we needed to give you a approach to keep that.”
The alumni affiliation is getting ready for the college’s seventy fifth anniversary and hopes to see Fairmont Heights’ doorways open as soon as once more someday quickly.
“It should be a joyous day,” Haskins mentioned. “We’re going to have an amazing celebration when it does occur.”
“It has taken loads, however we’re nonetheless up for the duty,” Crowder mentioned. “We knew what we have been going into after we first began this journey and we’re going to see it ‘til the tip.”
