About Dorchester Academy
Museums, Cultural, Interesting Places, Other Museums
Dorchester Academy was a school for African-Americans located at 8787 East Oglethorpe Highway, just outside Midway, Georgia. Operating from 1869 to 1940, its campus, of which only the 1935 Dorchester Academy Boys' Dormitory survives, was the primary site of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Citizen Education Program. This program, ran here from 1961 to 1970, worked toward attaining equality for blacks in the American South by teaching them their rights and helping them acquire the knowledge necessary to become registered voters by passing the required test. The dormitory building was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2006 for its later role in the American Civil Rights movement, and for its association with activist Septima Poinsette Clark, who oversaw the education program. The campus, which includes several later buildings, is now a museum and research center.
