Morris Brown Almost Abandoned?

Brief History of Morris Brown

Morris Brown was opened in 1885 as a liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. The school was named after Rev. Morris Brown of Charleston, South Carolina. He was a second Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) churches, which helped establish the school. Annie B. Thompson served as the first principal and Laurene Chandler became the first graduate. Morris Brown was 1 of 5 African American Institutions with the others being Spelman, Morehouse, Clark, and Atlanta University.

The Fountain Hall was completed years prior in 1882 and was originally used for Atlanta University where it housed administrative offices and classrooms. Once Atlanta University merged with Clark College to become Clark Atlanta University, the building was then leased by Morris Brown in 1929. This currently sits as the oldest building at the college. The structure is 3-1/2 stories with a masonry structure built out of red brick.

At its peak, the college was home to over 2,500 students offering Baccalaureate Degrees in Management, Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Organizational Management & Leadership.

Trouble Ahead

In the year 2003, the school lost its accreditation due to money management problems. The school’s sports program was also discontinued during this year as well. The institute was also deprived of federal financial aid and to add fuel on the fire, the institute was also asked to withdraw from Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUC).  It was a consortium that used to back Atlanta black colleges including Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of medicine and Spelman College.

Stanley Pritchett Sr., Morris brown’s president said in 2010 that we lost our accreditation due to some financial issues. He made it clear that it does not have anything to do with the faculty of the college, the qualification of the staff members or the curriculum, it happened due to the dreadful mistakes made in the financial area in the past.

Finally, in 2012, the college filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy according to which a chapter 11 debtor proposes a plan of reorganization to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time. The college had a debt of $32 million for 8 or 9 years. In 2015, the college fought out of bankruptcy and left only with $3 million debt left to be paid. Finally, the school has made the tough decision of selling a chunk of Morrison brown’s campus to save the school. 

Since 2003, the college provided less than 200 graduated students through fewer fees and scholarships in the hope that one day their degree will have a full value of accreditation. The school has been working on getting its accreditation back and hopefully, Morris brown will receive its accreditation by the end of the year 2019.

Morris Brown has accepted 25 freshmen in the academic year of 2018-2019 and also looking forward to having 15 returning students back to its campus. More than 1000 students have already shown interest in the college for the upcoming academic year.

The worst days of Morris brown are almost over and it is looking forward to getting its accreditation back in a short time. It has proven over time that it is here to stay and it will get back on its feet in no time.

Today

Upon arriving at the school, most of the buildings are either bordered up or burned down due to fire. There is one building they continue to use today as an administrative office that has a few classrooms.  

The first building that was entered was the former John H. Lewis Recreation Building. This building housed swimming, basketball courts, fitness rooms, and a game room. The building was very messy and had a very foul urine smell. The basketball court was in great condition compared to other parts throughout the building. As a group, we encountered homeless people and even spoke to some of them that claimed they’ve been there for months. Some even had jobs and operating cell phones, but no place to stay. We entered the indoor swimming pool area as well which was very dark. 

As leaving the building we encountered the Fountain Hall Building which is decaying very badly and boarded up.

The last building we visited was a 5-story building that housed a cafeteria, general classrooms, and a library. The cafeteria remained intact with minor vandalism. A lot of the school’s signage was found throughout this building.

The former dorm rooms were too dangerous to explore due to it being partially collapsed and damaged by fire. If this school ever wants to house students on campus, new dorm buildings will need to be constructed. When visiting this school, I encourage that you do not go alone and be prepared to run into homeless people. 

Abandoned Morris Brown College Bus 

Interior School Photos

Exterior Shots

Herndon Stadium (Future Blog)

Used during the 1996 Olympics and also for the former sports team at Morris Brown College (MBC Wolverines). Along with the school, financial hardships lead to the stadium falling in disrepair.