We are in a moment right now when many Black people in America are hurt, angry and exhausted, and many White people are waking up to the realization that they can no longer be bystanders to what is a 401 year-old problem. Americans of all backgrounds are frustrated by the pace of progress. Collectively, Americans are struggling with how to address this moment. Purpose Built Communities has learned that we cannot do this work without directly addressing race and the continuing impacts of systemic racism. As a result, racial equity is one of the main lenses through which we view and do our work.
Purpose Built Communities and our Network Members stand with all who are raising their voices to call for a racially equitable and just society where the dignity, humanity and lives of Black people are no longer under assault from racist systems, institutions and individuals. As a Network, we seek to repair the cumulative harm of racist public policies and private actions that have trapped generations of Black people and other People of Color in segregated neighborhoods of concentrated poverty, and we understand that this is just one part of the work ahead. Piecemeal efforts and incremental progress feel wholly inadequate when the scale of the historic and current-day inequities and injustices is so immense. No one organization, group or individual will be able to create the world we want to see – this is our collective responsibility; but we must not let that paralyze us. This will not “get better with time.” We must listen, learn, and act. In the weeks and months to come, we will continue to shift and adapt to tackle these issues more directly. We challenge all people and organizations to do the same.
We acknowledge that the work is difficult and fraught, but it is essential.
Purpose Built Communities
Shirley C. Franklin, Former Executive Board Chair of Purpose Built Communities
David Edwards, CEO
Carol R. Naughton, President
East Lake Foundation, Atlanta, GA
Christopher Womack, Chair
Daniel J. Shoy, Jr., President and CEO
Focused Community Strategies, Atlanta, GA
Chris Gray, Board Chair
Jim Wehner, President
Katie Delp, Executive Director
Grove Park Foundation, Atlanta, GA
Marlena Norris, Board Chair
Debra Edelson, Executive Director and Board Member
The Mill District, Columbus, GA
Justin Krieg, Interim Executive Director, Board Chair
South Rome Redevelopment Corporation, Rome, GA
Brent Bell, Board Chairman
Charles Looney, Executive Director
Woodlawn Foundation, Birmingham, AL
Mike Goodrich, Chairman
Mashonda Taylor, Executive Director
Boston-Thurmond United, Winston-Salem, NC
Lilicia Bailey, Board Chair, Boston-Thurmond Community Network
Regina Hall, Executive Director, Boston-Thurmond Community Network
Sandy Stinson, President, Boston-Thurmond Engagement Roundtable
Renaissance West Community Initiative, Charlotte, NC
Bill Currens, Board Chair
William H. “Mack” McDonald, Chief Executive Officer
Southeast Raleigh Promise, Raleigh, NC
Kia Baker, Executive Director
CLE Purpose Built Communities, Cleveland, OH
India Pierce Lee, CLE Purpose Built Communities Executive Board
Timothy L. Tramble, Sr., CLE Purpose Built Communities Executive Board
Kimalon Dixon, Senior Project Director, CLE Purpose Built Communities
PACT, Columbus, OH
Elizabeth Seely, Board Chair
Autumn Glover, Interim President
Forest Forward, Dallas, TX
Elizabeth Wattley, Executive Director
Larry James, Board Chair
Renaissance Heights United, Fort Worth, TX
Brian Happel, Chair
Derrick Nutall, Managing Director
Connect Community, Houston, TX
Mushahid Khan, Board Chair
Anne Whitlock, Founding Executive Director
Amplify GR, Grand Rapids, MI
Kenyatta Brame, Board Chair
Jon Ippel, Executive Director
Meadows Community Foundation, Indianapolis, IN
John Neighbors, Chair
Dale DePoy, Interim Executive Director
Urban Neighborhood Initiative, Kansas City, MO
Dave Harrison, Broad Chair
Dianne Cleaver, President and CEO
Bayou District Foundation, New Orleans, LA
Gerard Barousse, Jr., Chair
Jacob Peters, Executive Director
Seventy Five North Revitalization Corp., Omaha, NE
Dana Washington, Board Chair
Othello Meadows, President and CEO
Southside Redevelopment Corp., Omaha, NE
John Levy, Chair
Cesar Garcia, Executive Director
LIFT Orlando, Orlando, FL
Tom Sittema, Chair
Eddy Moratin, Executive Director
South City Foundation, Tallahassee, FL
Loranne Ausley, Co-Chair of the Board
Ramon Alexander, Co-Chair of the Board
Courtney Atkins, Executive Director
Northend RISE, West Palm Beach, FL
Carlos Vidueira, Board Chair
Craig Glover, Executive Director
Northside Development Group, Spartanburg, SC
William Barnet III, Board Chair
Michael Williamson, CEO
Blueprint 15, Syracuse, NY
Sharon Owens, Deputy Mayor, City of Syracuse
Stephanie Pasquale, Interim CEO
Growing Together, Tulsa, OK
Robert Schaefer, Board Chair
Kirk Wester, Executive Director
REACH Riverside, Wilmington, DE
Charles S. McDowell, Esq., Chair
Logan Herring, Sr., CEO
