CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) — A Charleston building with deep roots in Black history is slated for demolition and the move is drawing criticism from community members, students, and advocacy groups who say the site should be preserved, not replaced with student housing.

The former YWCA building on Coming Street, once a safe haven during the Civil Rights Movement, sits on a potter’s field. The potter's field under the site is an unmarked burial ground believed to hold the remains of nearly 4,600 people, including enslaved Africans and Indigenous Americans.

“Anyone who was at that meeting the other night might remember a student stood up and led the chant: ‘We don’t want this… we don’t…’” said Paul Garbarini, student at the College of Charleston.

Community members gathered at two public meeti

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