title
A resolution urging the Mayor of the Metropolitan Government to pursue all options to ensure the preservation of the Morris Memorial Building, including using the building to house a museum dedicated to African American and Civil Rights history.
body
WHEREAS, the Morris Memorial Building was opened in 1926 as the home of the National Baptist Convention, an African American Christian denomination; and
WHEREAS, prominent Black-owned architectural firm McKissack & McKissack designed and constructed the Morris Memorial Building, which was named for Reverend E. C. Morris, a former slave who attended the Nashville Normal and Theological Seminary and went on to become National Baptist Convention USA Inc.'s first president; and
WHEREAS, the building was home to Baptist Sunday School Publishing Board, McKissack & McKissack, Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company, and Atlanta Insurance Company's Nashville location; and
WHEREAS, the Morris Memorial Building created a national model for Black excellence and self-determination by fostering a vibrant hub for enterprise and creativity in the city's urban core; and
WHEREAS, the building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since January 2, 1985, for its importance in architecture and Black history; and
WHEREAS, significantly, the location on which the Morris Memorial Building was erected was historically the site of the Commercial Hotel and the home of Nashville's largest slave-trading firm Dabbs & Porter, an atrocious part of Nashville's history; and
WHEREAS, the Morris Memorial Building is the only remaining building that was originally associated with the cluster of African-American businesses in the core of downtown Nashville; and
WHEREAS, this site is an important reminder of the evils of slavery in Nashville's history which was then transformed into a shining example of Black excellence, both in architecture and in business; and
WHEREAS, the Morris Memorial Building is now und...
Click here for full text