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A resolution recognizing Scarritt Bennett Center's 100th year in Nashville.
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WHEREAS, originally established in Kansas City, Missouri, as Scarritt Bible and Training School for Women Missionaries in 1892, Scarritt College for Christian Workers trained young women missionaries, equipping them for global leadership in the church during a time when women were prohibited from other forms of leadership across most denominations; and
WHEREAS, in 1924, the school relocated to Nashville, and between 1924 and 1927, with funds raised by the Women's Missionary Societies of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and local donors, Scarritt Hall, Bennett Hall, Wightman Chapel, the historic Bell Tower, and Susie Gray Dining Hall were constructed; and
WHEREAS, the inspiring setting of the original campus, which expanded and grew over the subsequent decades, served as the context for a young and culturally diverse student body, who were educated in the cultures, languages, and traditions of those whom they would later serve overseas; and
WHEREAS, in 1952, Scarritt College became one of the first white, private colleges in the state of Tennessee to integrate, and in April of 1957, the College famously hosted Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who preached in Wightman Chapel; and
WHEREAS, the college eventually became co-ed, and in 1980 Scarritt College for Christian Workers became Scarritt Graduate College; and
WHEREAS, the College closed in 1988, after which the campus became home to Scarritt Bennett Center, a nonprofit, dedicated to continuing the legacy of the school through the work of women's empowerment, racial justice, spiritual enrichment, and transformative education; and
WHEREAS, on April 2 of this year, in recognition of 100 years in Nashville, Scarritt Bennett Center hosted Rev. Dr. Bernice King, speaking at Wightman Chapel 67 years after her father; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper that the Metropolitan Council recognize Scarritt Bennett Ce...
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