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SPELMAN
THE LATANYA RICHARDSON JACKSON AND SAMUEL L. JACKSON PERFORMING ARTS CENTER:
RESTORING SPELMAN’S ARTISTIC GEM FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS BY ALICIA SANDS LURRY
When the John D. Rockefeller Fine Arts Building first opened its doors on Spelman’s campus in 1964, it was a state-ofthe-art, bustling hub of the arts that included the impressive Baldwin Burroughs Theatre and a 2,200-square-foot gallery. A cultural oasis for Atlanta’s Black community, the facility spotlighted the burgeoning talents of Spelman and Morehouse students and acclaimed African American visual and performing artists, actors and musicians from across the country. Nearly 60 years later, however, the fine arts building is in desperate need of repair. Many of the features, including the theater, stage, dressing rooms and rest rooms, require updating. In addition to asbestos, poor ventilation and lack of handicap accessibility, there is also a need to soundproof spaces to protect music and drama from noise. Other necessary upgrades include space creation for visual arts, workshops, and interdisciplinary teaching. Thanks to a generous $5 million donation from actressproducer-director LaTanya Richardson Jackson, C’71, and her actor husband Samuel L. Jackson, Spelman will soon restore the Rockefeller Fine Arts Building back to its original glory. 32
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SPELMAN MESSENGER
The College will name a renovated theater, lobby, dressing room and supporting areas the LaTanya Richardson Jackson and Samuel L. Jackson Performing Arts Center. The updated arts center is also funded by a lead gift from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation along with donations from the Bank of America and David Rockefeller Jr. A total of $17.3 million has been raised for the Rockefeller Fine Arts Building. Construction is slated to begin fall 2021. Richardson Jackson considers it a blessing to give back to her beloved Spelman by restoring the very place where she and her husband honed their talents as students on the stage of the Baldwin Burroughs Theatre. “I have great gratitude to Melody Hobson and George Lucas for the initial gift and to my friend Brian Moynihan at Bank of America for helping to get this started,” said Richardson Jackson, who performed alongside her husband, a Morehouse College alum, as a member of the Morehouse Spelman Players in productions like “The Sale” by Pearl Cleage, C’71. But, Richardson Jackson wants her gift to be more than just an eponymous performing arts center. She wants to leave a
