SAN ANTONIO — Reverend Otis Mitchell can feel rich Black history when he walks through his 152-year-old church, Mount Zion First Baptist.

“This church has hosted Adam Clayton Powell, Martin Luther King Jr., Martin Luther King lll during my reign. We’ve also even had John Lewis,” Mitchell said.

He even took the reins from San Antonio civil rights leader and politician Claude Black.

“He was the first African American mayor, mayor pro tem, but he was elected to (City Council) District 2,” Mitchell said.

The church is nestled on San Antonio’s East Side in a historically Black neighborhood.

He walked a street over to home and pointed to its historical significance.

“The first president of the local chapter of the NAACP lived here,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell says it’s an area that is rapidly changing as property values are skyrocketing. He doesn’t want this neighborhood’s Black history to get lost. Which is why he’s advocating for San Antonio ISD to not close Frederick Douglass Elementary School — a school that mirrors his church.

“Please consider the history of this school and what it means to this community,” Mitchell said in a recent meeting.

Douglass became the first free public Black school in San Antonio in 1868. It was a high school until 1933, when it transitioned into a junior high and eventually an elementary.

“So if it gets closed, that closes the history of Douglass Academy, Douglass Elementary, Douglass High School, and it won’t be long before people will forget about it,” Mitchell said.

It’s a school that has a strong relationship with his church.

SAISD Superintendent Dr. Jaime Aquino says they don’t plan on selling the buildings of their closed schools.

“We are committed to making this building the Frederick Douglass Professional Learning Center,” Aquino said.

Aquino added it would serve as a museum, but Mitchell wasn’t buying it.

“But why not let it do what it was built to do? Let live out its function. It’s a good school,” he said.

Mitchell believes this neighborhood will have a hole in it if the SAISD board votes yes to close Douglass.

“The community is used to being gentrified. It’s used to being put aside and saying we can get rid of that. How about don’t do that?” Mitchell said.