The Southern Poverty Law Center Friday said it won’t appeal a circuit court judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit in the fight for the former Hungerford School.
With that decision, the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community and brought against Orange County Schools over the land remains dismissed.
The nonprofit sued the school district in 2023 claiming it had misused the site of the former Hungerford School, the area’s first school for Black students.
Advocates like N.Y. Nathiri, director of the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, said they’ll continue to advocate for the school board to return the land to the township.
“You can count on us as an organization to make the case by demonstrating that year-round, cultural heritage tourism is a very significant part, in fact, is the way that historic Eatonville and the people of Eatonville can experience prosperity,” said Nathiri.
The area is already a big draw for cultural tourism in Central Florida, according to Nathiri. That includes the annual ZORA! Festival, honoring Eatonville resident and author Zora Neale Hurston. If the former Hungerford School is returned and revitalized, it could be an even greater cultural tourism draw.
“People may not know because they don't see it. But on a day-to-day basis, we have visitors from around, from the local area, but from around the state and outside the state, because they are interested in what Zora Neale Hurston represents in Eatonville and that museum,” said Nathiri.
Eatonville Mayor Angie Gardner has already pledged to put the land in a trust to protect it for future generations of Eatonville families, if the former Hungerford School is returned to the township.
“Because ultimately, that land is the inheritance of the people of Eatonville, not a particular town council or mayor. So I think that we will continue to push forward. We'll continue to make the advocacy case by showing what can be done, how Eatonville can be counted on to actually live up to the assets with which it has been endowed. So as we would say…stay tuned,” said Nathiri.
A spokesperson for OCPS said, “At this time, the district has no plans for the property.”
The district’s plans to sell the former Hungerford School site to a developer to turn into mixed housing fell through when the developer pulled out in 2023.
The lawsuit followed shortly after. Eatonville lost its bid to be the site of Florida’s first-ever state Black History Museum, but the township said if the former school is returned to the township, it would be turned into a museum.
