The Fuller-Freedom House, which served as a refuge for young Civil Rights Movement leaders, will be protected as a historic landmark site, according to city officials.
The white brick home on John Wesley Dobbs Avenue in the Old Fourth Ward was one of the “Freedom Houses” that served as the unofficial headquarters for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, also known as SNCC.
“The Fuller-Freedom House was a place of refuge, rest and nourishment for many SNCC members — including Congressman John Lewis, Stokely Carmichael and my aunt Ruby Doris Smith Robinson,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a statement. “This landmark designation will protect not only the property, but Atlanta’s legacy of leading on voting and civil rights in America.”
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The designation of the home as a landmark site, the highest level of protection under the city’s laws, protects it from being demolished or subject to any major changes.
The city worked with the current owners of the property on the designation as part of a recent effort to preserve more historic spaces across Atlanta.
“The Fuller-Freedom House represents the work of the significant, but relatively unknown Fuller Family, who championed religious growth and education opportunities for African Americans in the Southeast,” said Cori Honoré, a member of the family that owns the home.
