Morris Brown College Becomes The First HBCU Candidate To Regain Its Accreditation After 20-Year Hiatus

Morris Brown College did it!

According to CBS 46, after 20 years in the making, the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) has announced its candidacy to regain its accreditation from the U.S. Department of Education.

In 2002, the college was stripped of its accreditation due to debt and financial mismanagement. The new candidacy confirms that the institution is in compliance with the standards and criteria, has been evaluated by an on-site peer team, and provides sound instruction and student services in the professional judgment of the evaluation team and the Accreditation Commission.

Now, Morris Brown College will make history as the first HBCU to regain its status!

“We intend on making history as the first HBCU to regain its status after a 20-year hiatus and the first HBCU to have a flagged hotel on its campus for a hospitality education program,” said Morris Brown President Kevin James, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. “These achievements have sparked other closed HBCU’s to try again. Without the resilience, support, and prayers from the Board of Trustees, African Methodist Episcopal church, faculty, staff, alumni, and the community, we would not be here. We have so many amazing projects coming up in the pipeline that will prepare our students for academic success and jobs.”

Founded by formerly enslaved religious leaders at Big Bethel AME Church in 1881, MBC is the first college in the state of Georgia to be owned and operated by African Americans.

The recent accreditation candidacy comes following a rewarding partnership between the college and CGI Merchant Group — a minority-owned global investment management firm — and includes a $30 million investment in the historic college.

Plans for converting existing facilities into an upscale Hilton hotel and hospitality management training complex are underway thanks to the investment.

Construction is set to begin later this year.

Morris Brown College’s notable alumni include Martin Luther King, Jr.’s mother, Alberta Williams King, and James Alan McPherson, the first Black writer to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.