The Atlanta Regional Commission recently announced the winners of this year’s Developments of Excellence awards during the agency’s State of the Region Breakfast. The awards recognize the developments and places that are improving quality of life in the 10-county Atlanta region.
The top award, the 2017 Development of Excellence, went to Parsons Alley, a retail development and gathering space in Duluth that brought a carefully planned community vision to life.
ARC also presented its Great Places Award to the Atlanta University Center, whose Civil Rights legacy and steadfast commitment to community enhance the region’s character every day.
Great Place Award: Atlanta University Center
Atlanta University Center Consortium
Every year, ARC presents a Great Place award to a place in the region that enhances metro Atlanta’s character. The winner of this year’s Great Place award is the Atlanta University Center, the world’s oldest and largest cluster of African-American private colleges. The AUC Consortium includes Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and Morehouse School of Medicine.
Morris Brown College and the Interdenominational Theological Center also share the campus and are significant in its rich legacy. That legacy dates back to the late 1800s when Morehouse, Spelman, Clark Atlanta, and Morris Brown were founded to educate newly freed enslaved individuals.
Many of the original buildings are still in use, and the campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The AUC was a wellspring for the Civil Rights movement, producing leaders like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, Lonnie King, Julian Bond, and Ruby Doris Smith. Other prominent alumni and faculty include W.E.B. DuBois, Pearl Cleage, Marian Wright-Edelman, and Spike Lee.
The schools of the Atlanta University Center are committed to helping the surrounding neighborhoods, engaging in more than 100,000 hours of community service each year.
For more on the awards breakfast, visit: ARC.
