Note from Audra: I visited the Lynwood Community Center last Saturday for a basketball game and was intrigued not only with the center but with the homes surrounding it. The bleachers in the gym are beautiful antique wood. I’d love to know more about the history of this place!
Ticket sales cut-off for dinner event is Friday, Jan. 15, at 3 p.m.
Brookhaven, GA, Jan. 13, 2015 – Join panel moderator Mark Winne of WSB TV, Olympic gold medalist Dr. Melvin Pender, DeKalb County Commissioner Kathie Gannon and other special guests as the city of Brookhaven honors the ‘Lynwood Integrators’ with a dinner on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 18, at 5 p.m. at Lynwood Community Center.
Tickets for the dinner are $10 and can be purchased at the community center located at 3360 Osborne Road, 404-637-0534. Tickets can be purchased up until Friday, Jan. 15, at 3 p.m.
The program is appropriate for all ages and families are encouraged to attend.
Lynwood Park was once home to segregated, all-black public schools Lynwood Park Elementary School and Lynwood Park High School. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation of public schools was illegal, but in many instances the schools were not integrated.
In 1968 a small group of students from the Lynwood schools bravely integrated the DeKalb County School System, entering previously all-white schools. The individuals became known as the ‘Lynwood Integrators’ and were participants in one of the most important civil rights advancements in our nation’s history.
The Lynwood schools were subsequently shut down and converted to the Lynwood Community Center, serving the residents of Lynwood and Brookhaven to this day.
The event will include a panel discussion by members of the ‘Lynwood Integrators,’ an introduction by District 1 Councilwoman Linley Jones, who represents the Lynwood area, and a presentation of a city proclamation by Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst.
“We welcome the public to come out and join us for this special event honoring Lynwood’s Integrators and the important role they played in DeKalb’s civil rights history,” Jones said.
