Audience members listen as Vicksburg resident Bruce Payne speaks during the dedication ceremony for the Jackson Street Community Center Saturday. About 100 people attended the event.(The Vicksburg Post/C. Todd Sherman)

[08/04/02]Horace Allen remembers his days as a young boy swimming, playing pool and shooting hoops at the old Jackson Street YMCA when facilities in Vicksburg were still segregated.

“As a little boy, I can remember the old Y as a safe place, a home away from home,” Allen said at the dedication ceremony for the Jackson Street Community Center Saturday.

“As a product of the old Y, I can proudly say I benefited from it, but today it’s time for a new beginning.”

About 100 people attended the dedication ceremony and open house for the new building that sits on the site of the former YMCA that served the black community of Vicksburg for nearly seven decades. But, unlike in the days of segregation, Allen, who was the guest speaker at the ceremony, encouraged everyone to participate in the new center.

“This truly is a new beginning for the Jackson Street Community Center,” said Vickie Bailey, director of the facility.

The Jackson Street YMCA was built in 1924 with a donation from Fannie Willis Johnson who also funded a YMCA for whites. The Jackson Street Y served Vicksburg’s black residents during segregation and remained open until the mid-1980s.

The building was donated to the city in 1994, but the structure collapsed in 1995.

Bruce Payne also fondly remembers the former YMCA where he and his friends started a radio show as teenagers. Payne later worked at the YMCA as a janitor and later as a desk clerk, but mainly he remembers the facility as the center of social life in the black community.

“Every thing that happened in the black community happened here,” Payne said.

When plans for the Jackson Street Center were announced, it was estimated to cost $1.2 million, but the first bids received were more than $1 million over budget.

Changes were made in the design, such as scaling back the college regulation basketball court in the original plans, and after three attempts, the contract was awarded at $1.5 million.

Although many criticized the plans as too expensive, Willie Glasper, who served on a volunteer committee that made recommendations towards the facilities design, praised North Ward Gertrude Young for her persistence in getting the facility built through three city administrations.

“It might not be what we wanted, but it’s what we have, so let’s make the best of it,” Glasper said.

Young, who has served on the city board for nine years, said the biggest complaint she has heard during her three terms is that there is no place in Vicksburg for young people to gather and be safe.

“We know that a place is needed and we’re willing to put centers thoughout the community,” Young said.

The Jackson Street Center was constructed over 16 months under the previous administration headed by former Mayor Robert Walker. Although Walker was instrumental in building the facility, he did not attend the ceremony.

Mayor Laurence Leyens, who took office about halfway through the construction of the center, said the city will continue to develop more recreational programs and activities for the city’s youth.

“We can either get involved in our children’s lives or the thugs and drug dealers will,” Leyens said.

Warren County Prosecutor Johnny Price, who serves on the juvenile crime enforcement coalition, also praised the facility as a way to help reduce crime in the community.

“Up the road, where they are spending millions of dollars adding a fourth floor to the jail is nothing but despair, but this is hope,” Price said.

Operations began at the center two months ago with several summer youth programs. An after-school program will begin there Aug. 12 and in September a basketball league will kick off.

Other programs at the facility will include senior activities from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. on weekdays. The facility has an indoor basketball court, two classrooms and an outdoor area for playground equipment.