2024 taste of the southside gala

In 1956, Rev. Thomas H. Carter Sr, Assistant Pastor of Mt. Calvary Church of God organized the local colored Boys Club. The purpose of the club was to promote, inspire and entertain the youth of the community. The Club was housed in a room in the back of Willie B. Young Funeral Home on Athens Street. In the 1950s, Rev. Carter was Chairman of the thirteen-member Colored Boys Club Board of Directors. In the 1960s, with BOD approval, Mr. Kyles Moorehead, Sr. built the Forest Hills Boys Club on Desota Drive in the Newtown neighborhood. Mr. Ross Harrison served as FHBC Director. In 1970, a nine-member BOD continued to serve the FHBC. In 1962, Jim Smith became Executive Director of Gainesville-Hall County Boys Club. In 1963 the Girls Club program was established. In the 1970s. Jim Smith would oversee the merger of the Gainesville-Hall County Boys and the Forest Hills Boys Club into the Chestnut Street Boys Club of America at the current location on Downey Blvd. Two new clubs were opened to accommodate growth. One club at the Blackshear Place, the other at the current location. In 1997, Gainesville-Hall County Boys Club merged with Girls Club to form Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County and began operating from the Positive Place Club on Downey Blvd. In 2006, the Teen Center was established to provide programs specific to teenagers. 1n 2017, Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County became Boys & Girls Clubs of Lanier to reflect growing demand beyond Hall County. The Lanier Area includes 26 Club programs in Hall, Habersham, Forsyth Counties, and Buford.

Currently, Sean Couch is President of the twenty-five member Board of Directors and five-member Trustee Board. Steven Mickens is Chief Executive Officer of Boys & Girls Club of Lanier, Erica Doughty is Unit Director of the Positive Place Club, and Derrick Caldwell is Unit Director of the Teen Center. The Southside community is proud to claim the Positive Place Club and Teen Center of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lanier as historic Pillars of the Southside Community.

Historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr. says, “No pillar of the African American community has been more central to its history, identity, and social justice vision than the ‘Black Church’.” The First Baptist Church on Martin Luther King Blvd. is the oldest continuous church in Gainesville. It is the oldest “Black Church'' in Gainesville/Hall County. Organized in 1838, twenty years after Hall County was laid out, Little is known about the early days of the church because there were no written records. Around 1877 Rev. Jack Nichols, a former slave, was named pastor of the church. In 1901 a new church building was built at the corner of High and Pine streets. In 1906, under the leadership of Rev. William Dorsey, the church became affiliated with the Northwestern Baptist Association (established in 1877). In 1923, one hundred and one years ago, the current sanctuary was built under Rev. Dorsey’s leadership. Current pastor, Rev. Isaac Whitehead Jr. became the pastor in December of 1997. First Baptist on MLK Jr., as the oldest, is one of more than thirty-five current “Black Churches” serving the Gainesville/Hall County Southside community. At least twelve of these churches have existed for more than 100 years.

On Gainesville’s Southside in 1974, if someone had asked who Nathaniel Shelton was, the answer could have been summed up in a few sentences. Mr. Shelton was the former E.E. Butler High/Gainesville High teacher who married Ms Janie Hunter. He was also the Gent’s Club founder/advisor. This group of young men in the community were doing great things. They sponsored the Teen Center, the Christmas “Toys for Underprivileged Children” project, Men’s Fashion show, and the Miss Black Teenager of Hall County pageant and parade. In 2024, anywhere in Gainesville/Hall County, if one were to inquire about “Shelton” on Gainesville’s Southside, they should be prepared for at least an hour of commentary. Anyone answering the inquiry would give a personal testimony of the influence Shelton has had on their lives. He has been and continues to be involved in the community, serving on more than 25 boards/committees, and has received numerous awards and honors. Nathaniel Shelton is the first individual to be recognized by the Gainesville - Hall County Black History Society as a Founding/Lifetime Member and a historic Pillar of the Southside Community. He claims Gainesville as his hometown on Facebook. Shelton and Mrs. Shelton are the proud parents of an adult son, Terrance. In Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia, and this nation, Shelton has personally mentored/motivated thousands.