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Georgia Black College is On Its Last Legs

Historically Black Morris Brown College in Atlanta, which has suffered its share of money problems over the past several years, may not be able to rise above its latest money hurdle.

The campus is drowning in $380,000 in unpaid water bills. As if the flood of other bills – $1.5 million worth – weren’t enough, the city has cut off water to the 127-year-old institution.

Now, it appears that Morris Brown, which has survived embezzlement by its former president, Dolores Cross, and loss of its accreditation, will not reopen next month for spring semester, according to school officials, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

As it stands now, Morris Brown has no money to pay faculty and staff salaries, utilities and other operating expenses, acting president Stanley Pritchett told the newspaper. The campus simply cannot reopen unless the water comes back on, Pritchett said. “You’ve got to have basic services.”

The college once boasted a student body of 3,000; it has dwindled to a paltry 56. Among its distinguished alumni are military officers, actors, authors and civil rights leaders such as the late Hosea Williams.

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