My name is Amanda Khorramabadi, and I’m a video producer with reckon south. More importantly, I’m a resident of the Five Points South neighborhood, and I’m trying to save the house at 1716 14th Avenue South from being torn down. Please join the efforts and help!

The current owner, Clint Sukar, has proposed a resurvey of this property into 4 lots and is planning on building 3 story townhomes with garages on the property. He will be tearing down the home on the property in the process. The home is historically significant. It was built in 1910. It is Craftsman style and resides just outside of the Anderson Place Historic District.

From 1986 until recently, Dr. Patience Claybon owned the home and operated her private practice there. She passed away last year. On December 15, 1974, Dr. Patience Claybon became the first African American woman to graduate from UAB’s School of Medicine. This would also make her the first African American woman to graduate from medical school in the state of Alabama. It is widely believed that Dr. Claybon is the second Black woman in the South to receive a medical degree from a primarily white institution. Dr. Edith Irby Jones, her predecessor, is the first to accomplish this historical feat. In 1979, Dr. Claybon was the only Black woman psychiatrist in our city.

Dr. Claybon’s husband, Ernest Claybon, put the property up for sale after his wife’s passing. When the current owner bought the property from Ernest Claybon last year, he purchased it for $255,000 as an investment property. The home was in disrepair when he bought it, but he has fixed it up for his employee to live there. He sunk quite a bit of money into the home so his employee could watch his building materials while he does construction. Renovations Clint Sukar has done to the home include: added air conditioning, fixed the plumbing, fixed the sewer line, replaced the main water line, installed a new water heater, put in a kitchen, and renovated a bathroom. Leaks causing water damage in the home were also fixed. The owner has been made aware of the historical significance to the home, but he still plans to tear it down and build his townhomes.

There is a public hearing January 27th for the proposed resurvey. The hearing is at 5:30 pm in the Council chambers located on the third floor of Birmingham City Hall. Come to the hearing and voice your opinions!

If there is ever a time to be saving the homes of Black female pioneers, it’s now! Dr. Claybon broke down racial and gender barriers, and she ensured other Black students would get the same opportunities she was afforded. Not only did she graduate UAB’s School of Medicine, but she joined their admissions council. Please help me save this house and protect the integrity of our neighborhood. The house has been a vital part of our community since 1986. This building and its history need to be preserved. It is so important to our community, untold Black history, and Dr. Claybon’s legacy. Please sign this petition and help implore the city and Clint Sukar to not resurvey and save the house. Thank you.

Best,

Amanda Khorramabadi