(Black PR Wire) Columbia, S.C.–  On January 21, Allen University held a ground-breaking ceremony for the Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital that will include a permanent memorial for the Emanuel Nine.

 The Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital was one of only a few hospitals to serve Columbia’s African-American community during the segregation era operating from 1952-1973. Listed on the National, State, and City Register of Historic Places, it was the only training facility exclusively for black nurses in Columbia.

 Along with the forward-looking and innovated programs to be housed in Waverly, the addition will be a permanent memorial to the Emanuel Nine, the nine individuals who tragically lost their lives on June 17, 2015 when a gunman entered Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. during an evening prayer service.

 Among those individuals murdered was state Senator Clementa Pinckney, pastor of Emanuel AME Church and a 1995 graduate of Allen University. Two other victims from this incident were also Allen University graduates, Reverend Daniel Simmons ’67 and Tywanza Sanders ’14.

 The renovated and expanded facility will also host the Institute on Civility, the newly approved School of Education, the Dickerson-Green Theological Seminary, and a number of museum and exhibition spaces.

 “This will be a transformational project for the campus, the community, and the city” said President Ernest McNealey. “It will celebrate the lives and legacies of brave and committed people who served the greater good, while at the same time prepare a new generation of students and citizens who will follow similar paths.”

 For more information, contact Dr. Teesa Brunson, director of development/associate vice president for institutional advancement, at (803) 376-5724 or tbrunson@allenuniversity.edu.

( Photo Caption: 

Picture 1: Markup of renovated and expanded Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital

Picture 2: Front Row: Senator John L. Scott, Jr., President Ernest McNealey, Bishop Samuel L. Green, Sr., Board of Trustees Chairman, Reverend Edward H. McDowell, Jr., District 2 Councilman, and Jerome Simons, GMK Inc. Senior Architect

Second and Third Row: Members of Allen University's Executive Cabinet and GMK Inc. Representatives

Picture 1: Markup of renovated and expanded Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital

Picture 2: Front Row: Senator John L. Scott, Jr., President Ernest McNealey, Bishop Samuel L. Green, Sr., Board of Trustees Chairman, Reverend Edward H. McDowell, Jr., District 2 Councilman, and Jerome Simons, GMK Inc. Senior Architect

Second and Third Row: Members of Allen University's Executive Cabinet and GMK Inc. Representatives