This program, ran here from 1961 to 1970, worked toward attaining equality for blacks in the American South by teaching them their rights and helping them acquire the knowledge necessary to become registered voters by passing the required test.

[3] The dormitory building was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2006 for its later role in the American civil rights movement, and for its association with activist Septima Poinsette Clark, who oversaw the education program.

The former Dorchester Academy campus is located at the corner of Lewis Fraser Road and East Oglethorpe Highway (United States Route 84), a short way west of Midway's city hall.

That building was adapted for use in 1961 by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as the headquarters for its Citizenship Education Program, a vehicle for training African-Americans in the effective exercise of their civil rights.

This program was overseen by activist Septima Poinsette Clark, who was called the "mother of the [Civil Rights] movement" by Martin Luther King Jr., and established hundreds of education centers across the American South.