Mayors of three civil rights cities discuss economic inclusion, creating opportunities
May 25, 2018 - Birmingham, Ala.
Three mayors from major cities around the Southeast participated in a panel discussion on Thursday at Neighborhood USA's conference, touching on civil rights, connecting the community, strategies that have worked in their cities and a host of other topics.
The panelists were Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell and Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba of Jackson, Mississippi.
One common theme throughout the panel was the concept of economic inclusion.
Lumumba said that moving to what he called a “dignity economy" has been an effective strategy for Jackson.
“Moving away from cycles of humiliation, cycles that lead people without opportunities and jobs and truly improve their condition.”
Emphasizing that Jackson is a business-friendly city creates a space where people can get the employment they need, he said. Then, when businesses come in and make money, he said they can invest back into the city and provide living wages.
In New Orleans, Cantrell said she works hard to keep the door open so the community can stay involved, even if someone doesn’t have a lot of money. A facility by itself doesn’t get the community involved, she said.
“We have to make sure that silos are broken down, that we don’t create an environment and infrastructure where our residents feel like they have to pay to play,” she said. “It’s not about how much money you have to participate in a program. So coming to this work, having created the only education corridor that exists in the city of New Orleans, a community center that runs 50 programs a day, a community that’s paying for a liaison that’s working with the community … Open the doors. Keep the gatekeepers away.”
The crowd of about 800 people erupted in applause.
Woodfin said Birmingham also has plans to hire a liaison. For the first time in the city’s history, they will hire an LGBTQ liaison.
“We are actually in our office creating an office of social justice and racial equity,” he said. “What that simply means is, issues not only around equity, but issues in the LGBTQ community and immigrant community … All these issues will be addressed in the mayor’s office of social justice.”
Lumumba referenced a critique that he and his father received once, that they were “just too radical” to bring people together. He laughed, saying that there is a need for someone to be radical, someone who seeks change.
“When we look at those people who have made such significant contributions to our world and the change of our world, those individuals were radical,” he said. “When we look at Martin Luther King, when we look at Medger Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ida B. Wells, Jesus Christ — they were radical. We have to dare to be radical. I challenge our city. I made the challenge for Jackson to be the most radical city on the planet.”
The three mayors also discussed the challenges they face during a press conference after the discussion. Woodfin said they each deal with issues such as dealing with crime and managing resources.
“We’re seeing a full decline in federal resources,” Woodfin said. “That probably also means state resources from some of our state capitals. Our response has to be creative, and it has to be unique and innovative in how we respond with limited local tax dollars and how we go about having a national conversation, whether it’s with philanthropic or national foundation dollars to offset what we’re not necessarily getting from federal dollars.”
The event was part of Neighborhood USA’s four-day conference. Neighborhood representatives from across the nation came to Birmingham to hear them speak, in addition to workshops and neighborhood tours that were also scheduled.
“We get a chance to be recharged when we get to sit in front of a room and learn from each other as well as be able to share and articulate some of the things we want to do in regards to engaging neighborhoods, not just in our very cities, but from across the nation,” Woodfin said.
The importance of listening and communication was another theme of the panel.
“None of us have the answers to all of the questions by ourselves,” said Lumumba, gesturing to the other two panelists. “So we have to dig deep and listen to people.”
I wrote this article and took photos on an assignment for The Birmingham Business Journal.