A community fight over the College of Charleston’s plans to build new dorms on an 18the century burial site is intensifying online as the school prepares to demolish the historic YWCA downtown.
An online petition called No Beds Over Bodies has collected more than 1,000 signatures. Those opposed to the multi-level dorms are concerned because the college’s own recent research shows that the Coming Street site served as a public burial ground for the poor between 1790 and 1807.
It’s believed that as many as 12,000 people may be buried there. That could include immigrants, orphans, Native Americans, and Africans who did not survive the transatlantic journey into slavery. The public cemetery quickly filled up just before the importation of Africans was prohibited in 1808. By then, the city had banned slave ships from dumping bodies overboard.
The city’s Board of Architectural Review deferred action earlier this month on the dormitory’s design until a full archaeological study is complete. The city of Charleston must also sign off on the plan.
Already on part of the site is the single story, historic YWCA. Founded more than century ago, the Y was once a safe haven for Black women and girls during the Jim Crow Era. It also played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement, including the 1969 MUSC hospital strike. That’s when some 400 Black healthcare workers took to the streets, fighting for equal pay and an end to racial discrimination.
The college says the Y will be demolished between July 29 and Aug. 28. It has long argued it desperately needs more housing. Officials say they can only house about one third of their students. What’s more, they say, the college did consider several other sites before purchasing the property last January for $75 million.
As for the petition, the college says it supports public input. The school put together a Community Engagement Council (CEC) last year. It’s meant to get feedback from those concerned about the development of the historic property.
But one of its 20 members stepped down in June, saying she believes the college has already made up its mind about what it plans to do. The CEC’s next meeting is Aug.6.
