- After discovering structural issues in 2018, the city of Valdosta has been giving the go-ahead to demolish part of downtown's Liberty Theater.
- The original theater and club was an entertainment venue for the city's black residents during the segregation era.
- Watch the video to hear from neighbors, who share their memories of the old building.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
Removing parts of Valdosta's Black history.
“They’re tearing down our memories, and that hurt my feelings.”
I’m Malia Thomas, your neighborhood reporter in Valdosta... where part of the Liberty Club's downtown historic black building is no longer here.
The Liberty Theater and Club was the center of entertainment for Valdosta's black neighbors during segregation.
The complex was a part of the "chitlin circuit", where musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald and B.B. King performed.
The city was alerted to structural issues in 2018 and have now decided to tear down the club portion.
"When I walk through here, it give me so much memories."
I ran into neighbor Ronald Brantley while I was checking out the demolition.
He tells me memories of his time hanging out at the club.
"We had a teacher here science teacher named Mr. Prophet. Mr. Prophet owned this part and it used to be called The Oasis. It was the Oasis, but we called it the hole in the wall because he when you're going to the bar part, it's like getting the hole."
Ronald doesn't agree with the city tearing down the old structure due to structural issues.
"That's what they say. They tore it down, and they need to stop lying about it. They tore it down because the history it had."
While the city wasn't available for an on-camera statement, the city's PIO, Sharah Denton, did direct me to a statement that reads in part:
"While the decision to demolish was not taken lightly, the primary focus remains on the safety and well-being of the community. Regrettably, efforts to salvage the building were unsuccessful."
QUOLA, the current owners of the building, are sad to see it go.
They purchased it 25 years ago to revitalize it, and program director Erica Miller has been in court trying to prevent demolition for six years.
She tells me she learned a hard lesson about preserving history.
“Once we learned the history of it, we tried our hardest to keep it, but I disagreed on how they handled it. A lot of miscommunication and lack of effort."
Not all hope is lost for The Liberty Theater as QUOLA plans on creating a mural and installing an outdoor patio for their soup kitchen.
