Community activist Dr. Umar Johnson has issued a public plea to save the Frederick Douglas Marcus Garvey (FDMG) Academy in Delaware after revealing the institution is in danger of being sold. The announcement comes just a month after Johnson stated that both his personal and the academy’s bank accounts had been frozen.
In a video shared online, which has since been deleted, Johnson detailed the precarious situation. He claims the city of Wilmington, Delaware, issued a notice to auction off the FDMG campus due to four years of unpaid vacant property registration fees. According to Johnson, the city failed to notify him about the issue via email, letter, or phone call, instead placing a notice on the school’s door handles.
The notice reportedly stated that if the past-due fees and outstanding utilities were not paid by August 25, the campus would be sold. Johnson claims that for four months he had been trying to get the city to apply a nonprofit waiver that would waive the fees, which he says the city has ignored. He also mentioned that the vacant property registration fee is being raised from $5,000 to $12,000 a year this fall.
In response, Dr. Johnson urged his supporters to donate to the FDMG Academy via PayPal or Venmo to help pay the fees. He also called for a protest march on Wilmington City Hall to fight against what he calls “racism and discriminatory treatment.” Johnson stated that they plan to sue the city of Wilmington for racism and discriminatory treatment and that no amount of sabotage will stop them from opening the academy.