Services will increase as funding for Bates center decreases
The Wiley H. Bates Legacy Center serves as a vital resource in our community. Inside the historic Bates High School, the Legacy Center tells the story of the only high school for African Americans in Anne Arundel County for more than 30 years.
It tells the story of the school’s namesake as well, and the story of the remarkable alumni who are now leaders across our county and beyond. Bates nor the high school named after him were unfamiliar with funding reductions or the complete lack of government funding, yet that never stopped them from growing, increasing and flourishing.
Bates was born into slavery and became the wealthiest African American in Annapolis by the time he died. The funding to buy the land Bates High School sits on was provided by him because the county refused to buy land to educate “colored” students. Yet the school pressed on to become one of the best schools in the state.
Fighting funding cuts at every turn it expanded its programs and the number of students it served. And here we are again. The city of Annapolis is proposing an almost 50% cut in funding for the Bates Legacy Center.
It is an outrage, but not an unfamiliar one. We will fight this decision, but no matter what we will continue to increase the services we provide. We can’t let the Bates legacy die!
It is a legacy of not only fighting against educational inequities but providing opportunities for students to overcome them. It is a legacy of caring for the most vulnerable among us, especially the elderly.
If you’ve never heard of the Bates Legacy Center let me introduce you to who we are. We preserve and tell the story of Wiley H. Bates and Bates High School.
We are a civic/community space available for meetings and events, and we partner with likeminded organizations to provide programming in line with the legacy of Wiley H. Bates. This is our purpose and we will increase our services even if the city decreases our funding.
As we tell stories, we are proud to announce a new initiative, The Bates Through the Decades Story-Quilting Project. We invite all alumni, friends and relatives of Bates to come to the Legacy Center on May 31 at 5 p.m. to learn more.
You are also invited to the new Bates Legacy Center Movie Series (7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays). We will be showing movies telling Black stories and celebrating Black culture. Free tickets are available on Eventbrite.
We run programming in line with the legacy of Wiley H. Bates, and we are proud to partner with the ACE Program at the Boys and Girls Club, Pretty Girls Academy, and AACPS’ #BePresent Initiative, as well as offering college scholarships. As we look toward the next year, we are excited to expand these partnerships to instill a legacy of education into even more young people.
As a civic space, we provide rentals for parties and meetings and would invite you to consider us for your next gathering. In addition to being a meaningful and beautiful place to gather, it will help us do the work we’re committed to.
You can also support the legacy by buying a brick in our Heritage Courtyard. We are selling bricks for the rest of May. You can buy one on our website.
As government funding decreases, thank you for helping us continue to increase the services we provide.