In the spring of 2006, Women's and Gender Studies graduate assistant, Julie Jacobson, met with students from Deborah Clark’s special needs class at Lakeview Alternative School to create two paintings for the grand opening of the Bethel Cultural Arts Center. Approximately 15 middle and high school students worked on the paintings over a 3-day period. The paintings were cut to fit over the windows of the building and portrayed John Anderson Lankford, the first African-American architect in the United States, and his family tree. Lankford designed the Bethel Cultural Arts Center building, formerly known as Bethel AME Church, on the corner of Sumter and Taylor Streets.