Butler Street Community Development Corporation

The Butler Street Community Development Corporation began as Butler Street Young Men’s Christian Association "YMCA" in 1894. The Butler Street YMCA was founded as a place for young African-Americans to gather for recreation and it transformed into an incubator for civil rights and social change. The Butler Street YMCA and its members played integral roles in the Civil Rights movement from the very

beginning. Martin Luther King, Jr., Andrew Young, Jesse Hill, Maynard Jackson, Vernon Jordan, and Ralph Abernathy are historic figures and past members of the Butler Street Y. The Hungry Club Forum was founded at the Butler Street YMCA in 1942 and became the forum for both black and white leaders to interact with the community and address the problems plaguing Atlanta and beyond. The Forum featured prominent speakers including Martin Luther King, Jr., Andrew Young, and Langston Hughes. Through its history, Butler Street’s community-based programs have included youth development, education, child care, summer camps, community programs, homeless and transitional men’s housing, skills development programs for the homeless, and much more. In 2012, the Board of Directors renamed the Butler Street YMCA and it became the Butler Street Community Development Corporation.