@midwestplanner.bsky.social
Community Development Practitioner | Urban Sociologist and Embedded Urban Planner focused on building healthy, safe, and vibrant neighborhoods. Research focus on Sociology and Psychology of the American Rust Belt. Penn State | Arizona State
In Cairo, faith wasn’t passive, it was the center of cultural and social life. Throughout the city's history, people faithfully organized, protested, and demanded change.
To many, Cairo is unknown, but to those that do know the community, recognize its unmatched power in America's story.
Reading Pimblott’s "Faith in Black Power" alongside Chapell’s "Ye That Are Men That Now Serve Him" reminds me how Cairo, Illinois was more than any ordinary American town, it was a battlefield for America’s soul.
"The configuration of social capital is the key in shaping resilient city dynamics. Rather than simply increasing the number of civic organizations, what is most important is how social capital is deployed, called upon, and realized by the actors within a community."
- Sean Safford
"We live in a fragmented society of individuals who have no conception of the common good, no way to come together to pursue a common good, no way to persuade one another what the common good might be, and indeed we believe that the common good does not exist."
- Ted Clayton
iep.utm.edu/p-macint/
I think a lot about what Carl Sagan said in one of his final interviews.
Had a great week in Omaha Nebraska for the IAP2 Conference to talk about how Engage #FortWayne is leading the way in community engagement.
I had a chance to explore the Old Market Neighborhood and enjoy beautifully crafted social environments and shelter during a tornado warning!
What an honor it was to present at this year's International Association for Public Participation in #Omaha about the work we're doing in #FortWayne with ENGAGE Fort Wayne.
Watching The Dark Money Game about the corruption in Ohio's House of Representatives, and talk about an eye-opening documentary!
It exposes the corruption of the Ohio Republican party.
youtu.be/dykZuyO7RUU?...
...and?
Can't wait til May ☘️
As an alumnus of @arizonastateuni.bsky.social I would agree, the @democrats.org need to act more like Crow. It's about the outcomes.
www.azcentral.com/story/opinio...
6th Street looking north on Commercial, probably sometime around 1930.
hickscarworks.blogspot.com/2021/11/
#CairoIllinois #Cairo
And of those, several hundred are kids and young adults.
This is a great piece about Cairo's basketball team and its importance in giving the youth an activity. AND a focal point of pride, grit, and determination where together they can bond and build community in the face of adversity.
Even former HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson completely wrote off Cairo on a visit calling the town "dead" and saying residents would be better off if they left.
But Cairo isn't dead. There's still 1,500+ people who call the community home.
Since I first traveled to Cairo, at the junction of the mighty Mississippi and Ohio rivers, the first thing that always came to mind was the youth. Imagine growing up in a place that everyone writes off as dead, decaying, desolate and destroyed.
"We making some strides, some positive changes ... we got some people here that are really fighting for this community ... for these kids."
-Josh Baldwin, Cairo HS Basketball Coach
pulitzercenter.org/stories/dont...
"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."
- Dr. Maya Angelou
#ElaineArkansas #ArkansasDelta #MississippiDelta
Elaine is believed to be the deadliest racial confrontation in Arkansas and bloodiest in American history, but no one ever spoke a word about it in my years of education. That was on purpose, for a century, the history and stories of Elaine were purposely hidden or destroyed.
I am excited to get a copy of Grif Stockley's "Blood In Their Eyes" about the 1919 Elaine Massacre. Are you asking yourself, Elaine Arkansas? Yeah, I did, too, when I first heard about this on a drive to Cairo Illinois working on my Masters thesis.
This is important research about how public space has shifted.
We know that when people spend less time in public spaces, social and unplanned connections (Granovetter's weak ties) decline.
We have to invest in and focus on more thoughtful and meaningful public spaces.
www.nber.org/papers/w33185
"Screw the argument, win the election."
- James Carville
25 years in radio
Spent a decade at the #1 spot in afternoon drive
Was Program Director of the year twice
Mike Posner, Chainsmokers and The Script are still my favorite artists
The Flooding Will Come “No Matter What”
The complex, contradictory and heartbreaking process of American climate migration is underway.
By @abrahm.bsky.social
Food deserts are not an inevitable consequence of poverty or low population density, and they didn’t materialize around the country for no reason. Something happened. That something was a specific federal policy change in the 1980s.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
A stunning sunset over LaRez in Fort Wayne.
#FortWayne
Thorny questions around intangible heritage, or whatever we choose to call it, come down to how we wish to define and enshrine our neighborhoods, our culture and ourselves. The discussion itself is a crucial part of the preservation process.
www.nytimes.com/2024/11/30/a...
Your IKEA product name is your name backwards with an umlaut.
I am LEINÄD, a reliable standing desk.
there are a lot of industrial towns in pennsylvania, but there’s no place like monessen
This is a must read:
'Slow and Sudden Violence' by Derek Hyra