How you can help raise money to preserve a civil rights movement landmark

Salemtown Neighbors needs to raise $500 to protect Fehr School

Salemtown's Fehr School, built in 1924, was one of the first schools desegregated and was a center of civil rights strife in 1957. Because of its place in Nashville history, Historic Nashville, Inc. has declared it one of the 2011 Nashville Nine most endangered local buildings.

Salemtown Neighbors has a petition and is working with Council Member Erica Gilmore and the Metro Historical Commission to pass historic overlay for Fehr School and to preserve the exterior from demolition or drastic alteration that would destroy its historic qualities.

Planning Commission consideration of an overlay requires the neighborhood association to raise funds to notify residents who live around the building of the request for rezoning. Those funds will pay for postage, signage, and notice in the Tennessean, costs totaling over $500 according to the Planning Department.

Please help raise these funds to preserve this landmark by donating what you can to Salemtown Neighbors, designated "re: Fehr School preservation".

If you would like to help immediately email me (by clicking on the "Contact Me" button in the right-hand column of this blog) for contact info or stop by the Salemtown Neighbors booth at the Germantown Street Festival next Saturday and drop off your donation there.

Thanks for your help! I'll provide updates here on the blog as donations come in.


Full disclosure: I am a member of the executive committee of Salemtown Neighbors; however opinions expressed on this blog are entirely mine and are not intended to reflect the views of SNNA members or officers, unless quoted. SNNA has not authorized Enclave to help them fund raise, but considering it worthy, I am lending what help I can to this good cause.