These Network Members are well-positioned to lead through this crisis because of an ongoing focus on building trust and elevating community leaders. Together, they know the strengths and vulnerabilities of their neighborhoods and residents. Strong relationships and mutual respect are allowing place-based leadership to respond nimbly to the specific and dynamic needs of their community … Continue Reading →
The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging communities like never before. It also reminds us that we are all in this struggle together. This powerful message reminds us that we can and must be there for each other. Rev. Carl Pointer is a board member of Renaissance Heights United, a neighborhood-based revitalization effort in Fort Worth, Texas. Bringing lasting, meaningful change to a community requires thoughtful design, collaborative engagement and deliberate execution. Watch
The COVID-19 pandemic is laying bare the stark inequities and inequality in our country in a very powerful way. People who live in low-income communities are facing unique challenges and falling ill and dying at disproportionate rates. Leaders in the Purpose Built Communities network are on the front lines of providing help for their neighborhoods and have had to adapt as circumstances evolve quickly, just like the rest of the world.
In 2018, Purpose Built Communities convened the first cohort of Equity Ambassadors, a group of executive directors from around our national network who are doing the hard work of addressing racial equity within their communities.
Building from a rich history, community quarterback AmplifyGR is driving change with a holistic approach to neighborhood revitalization. Working in partnership with residents and a host of organizations, AmplifyGR is focused on cradle-to-college education opportunities, community wellbeing resources, mixed-income housing and economic development. Watch this great video to get to know this community and meet some of the people who are working to make it stronger than ever. Watch
Dr. Richard Besser, President and CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation speaks about “Building a Culture of Health in Our Communities.” The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is committed to a working alongside others to build a national Culture of Health that ensures everyone in America has a fair and just opportunity to thrive. Watch
The Atlanta Fed’s Community and Economic Development department supports the central bank’s mandate of stable prices and maximum employment by working to improve the economic mobility and resilience of people and places. Dr. Raphael Bostic, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Mr. Egbert Perry, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Integral; former Chairman, Fannie Mae, explore the ecosystem of organizations and the unique assets and opportunities of each – the Federal Reserve System, Fannie Mae, community developers, housing developers, educators, everyone at the Purpose Built Communities conference – and offer perspective on a call to action about how collectively we help communities develop. Watch
Since 2009, Purpose Built Communities has grown from just a handful of place-based holistic initiatives to more than 20 across the country. This network is now home to valuable innovations in community building, tackling racial and health inequities, creating strong cross-sectoral partnerships, and delivering better outcomes for children and families. Hear from some of the leaders who have been living and breathing this work with their community partners and neighbors and the lessons they have learned along the way. Watch
Building racial, social, and health equity is one of the primary goals of the community quarterbacks in the Purpose Built network. Several of the Executive Directors of these organizations are forming the first cohort of Equity Ambassadors to deepen their knowledge – and the network’s – of the impact their work is having on issues of equity. In this conversation, they share their reflections along this journey. Watch
Racial segregation characterizes every metropolitan area in the U.S. and bears responsibility for our most serious social and economic problems – it corrupts our criminal justice system, exacerbates economic inequality, and produces large academic gaps between White and African American schoolchildren. We’ve taken no serious steps to desegregate neighborhoods because we are hobbled by a national myth that residential segregation is de facto—the result of private discrimination or personal choices that do not violate constitutional rights. The Color of Law demonstrates, however, that residential segregation was created by racially explicit and unconstitutional government policy in the mid-twentieth century that openly subsidized Whites-only suburbanization in which African Americans were prohibited from participating. Only after learning the history of this policy can we be prepared to undertake the national conversation necessary to remedy our unconstitutional racial landscape. Watch
