"I might be wrong, but I think this is the only thing they've done for the Black community, and now they're taking it away," said Kent Looney, the Crane Court Center program director.
Program Director Kent Looney has been with the community center since it opened 17 years ago. He says these kids, living in lower-income, primarily Black neighborhoods, need a place to call their own, not just to be put in with all of the other kids they go to school with.
"You have some people that don't want them to have their own program, and what I mean by having their own program is separate but equal. That's just the way it is. It's happening like that in the world today. It's separate but equal," said Looney.
He says their program stands out because they are open when schools are not.
Although they help the kids with their school work, they serve as a year-round resource specifically for at-risk youth.
Unique Dunston is the founder of "Reclaiming Our Time," a Marshall County non-profit dedicated to advocating for racial and social justice.
She spent her summers at the center and agrees the school system cannot provide these kids with what they need to be successful.
"I fear that if we close the center, the kids in the community are going to miss out on a big part of what makes them…them, which is their culture, and that is something that the school system cannot and will not be able to teach," said Dunston.
Dunston is one of many who spoke up at Monday's meeting to tell the council how they feel about the center closing.
Guntersville Mayor Leigh Dollar said she'd consider what Dunston and other supporters have to say.
"Absolutely, and that's what we will take into account, what they have said and decide what path is forward, but at present time, the council has decided not to renew the lease." said Dollar.
Dollar said the center is set to close down Dec. 31.
Looney said they will do everything to keep the center open. But even if they cannot keep it from closing, they say they will still be there for the kids.
