EL PASO -- The new leadership at the McCall Neighborhood Center sees an opportunity -- an opportunity to once again make the site the premier gathering place for the city's African-American community.

Led by a new board and a new manager with a new attitude, the center has been undergoing a transformation for 18 months. Now, to re-announce itself to the community, the center at 3231 Wyoming in Central El Paso will have a special Martin Luther King Day celebration on Monday.

The hope is that Monday's open house, free lunch and historical program will lure the black community in El Paso back into the McCall Center, a place where African-American people are enshrined and the history of black community in El Paso is preserved.

"By us revamping and starting new programs, we will be able to grow and get more people involved again," said Anna Howell, a center board member. "It has to be done, because the McCall center is historic. It's our place, it's our heritage, and it is good for this community."

Monday's festivities will begin with an open house at 10 a.m. The program, titled "A National Day of Service" will begin at 11:30 a.m., and will be followed by a free lunch.

The center, which has been undergoing a good scrubbing in the past year, has a historical Buffalo Soldiers exhibit, a Douglass School room, a library full of African-American history books and a variety of displays chronicling the history of the African-American community in El Paso.

pictures on the wall is of Don Haskins, the late basketball coach at the University of Texas at El Paso. He broke national racial barriers in 1966 by starting five black players and winning the 1966 NCAA Championship.

The center also pays tribute to Henry O. Flipper. He was the first black graduate from West Pointand a former El Pasoan. He was also a member of the historic Buffalo Soldiers military unit.

"Not only is this place historic, the McCall center is basically the only community center for the African-American community in town," city Rep. Carl Robinson said.

The McCall Neighborhood Center was established in 1983. It is the former home of Olalee and Marshall McCall.

Olalee McCall came to El Paso in 1914 as an English teacher at Douglass School, the only school for blacks in El Paso until 1956. In 1937, she became the first female high-school principal in the El Paso Independent School District. Marshall McCall was the first black mail carrier in El Paso.

"Right here, where the center is, used to be the middle of black community in El Paso," Howell said. "Now, it is tougher to get people to come here because the community is spread out."

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the number of black people living in El Paso in 2008 was estimated at 20,615. That is a decrease from 1990, when the census count for black people in El Paso was 22,110.

No matter what the numbers say, Barbara Byrd, the center's new manager, likes to remind people that the center is open to everyone. Although McCall is not funded by the city Parks and Recreation Department, it does partner with the county to offer free lunch to seniors. The center also has after-school tutoring and a computer lab.

Byrd was named the center's interim manager 18 months ago when a new board was seated. The "interim" was dropped from her title in December.

"The most important thing," Byrd said, "is that I would love the community to get involved in this center so we can keep it going."