Friday March 29, 2024
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Louisville Metro Government, Cities United and The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust today announced the award of a $5 million grant to launch Russell: A Place of Promise, an initiative co-created with and accountable to Russell residents and stakeholders, and designed to be a national model for equitable community development in African-American communities.

The initiative will connect Russell residents and businesses that have been the backbone of the neighborhood with opportunities to build long-term individual and community wealth so that planned and underway new investment creating a renaissance in Russell does not result in their displacement. This initiative aims to create affordable housing, new jobs, business opportunities, new community gathering spots, opportunities for mobility, wealth creation, and whole-community health.

Project organizers have identified several initial efforts that could be used to create wealth for Russell residents, including the creation of new homeownership and business ownership opportunities. The details of these and other project activities will be informed by extensive discussion, input and decision-making from neighborhood residents and groups. Project leaders have had preliminary discussions with some of those stakeholders, and have met with local foundations and community-based organizations to understand the work they already have going on in Russell. The Place of Promise effort complements and augments that work, as well as efforts being made by local nonprofits and community groups, including the Louisville Urban League, One West, Concerned Pastors of Russell, Habitat for Humanity, Louisville Central Community Center, Inc., and Community Ventures.

“Thanks to local advocates, residents and non-profits and an injection of public funds, Russell is at the cusp of a really significant redevelopment, and we will be intentional about ensuring that this investment benefits existing residents while bringing much-needed new capital to Russell,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “We are grateful to our partner, the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, for its ongoing commitment to Louisville and its early infusion of capital to jumpstart this initiative, and we welcome the continued support of local and national partners, such as Cities United, as we move this work forward.”

Russell is a historically African-American neighborhood long referred to as the “Harlem of the South.” Despite a rich cultural history, decades of disinvestment and neglect due to then-legal racial discrimination in housing and business policy, including the practice of redlining, have left a lasting impact on Russell. As a result of these broken systems, neighborhood residents face higher hurdles related to employment, educational attainment, and access to neighborhood goods, services and health care.

“A key project value,” said Anthony Smith of Cities United, “is to ensure that the benefits of the new investment in Russell flow to the people who currently live, worship and work there, avoiding gentrification in this historic, majority-black neighborhood, which was decimated by racist practices such as redlining and urban renewal. We will do this by keeping residents’ voices front and center as we build out the initiative.”

“Louisville is a place of promise that can be a beacon that the rest of country looks to for how to build black wealth and mobility while allowing the community to define its own outcomes,” said Dorian Burton, Assistant Executive Director for the Kenan Charitable Trust, which has previously committed support to help improve the life outcomes of young black men and boys in Louisville. “This project is about not just engaging Russell residents, but also about building resources around them so they can be the heroes and heroines of their own story. We are hopeful that we can co-invest with local foundations that have already laid a solid foundation for this project in programs and projects that highlight the brilliance of the amazing people who live on the other side of 9th Street.”

Louisville Metro Government, in partnership with Cities United, will incubate Russell: A Place of Promise for up to five years before the initiative launches into a stand-alone, community based organization. Russell: A Place of Promise is fiscally sponsored by the Community Foundation of Louisville, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity, which allows the initiative to receive grants and tax-deductible donations. This work will align with the recently-announced civic engagement fellowship program being funded by an additional $5 million grant from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust. The fellowship aims to create pathways for young Black men ages 22 – 26 to be prepared to serve in civic leadership roles, and offers opportunities for education, jobs and careers combined with leadership development and mentoring support.

Russell: A Place of Promise will be co-led by Theresa Zawacki, who will be leaving her position as Senior Policy Advisor to Louisville Forward to serve as an Executive on Loan to the Place of Promise initiative during its incubation stages, and Anthony Smith, Executive Director at Cities United.

 

“As we see increased investment in Russell, it is critical that we identify opportunities to strengthen existing residents and businesses so that they receive tangible, long-lasting, personal benefits from these investments and have opportunities to take part in shaping the outcomes in their neighborhood” said Theresa Zawacki. “Russell: A Place of Promise provides a framework for these kinds of conversations to take place in community, and we are very excited to be moving forward with neighborhood residents as our partners to co-create strategies that will lead to a brighter future for the Russell Community, the West End and all of Louisville.”

An initial advisory board has been created, with the goal of expansion to include additional residential and business stakeholders, to provide oversight to Russell: A Place of Promise. The initial board currently includes Dana Jackson, Better Together Strategies; Alice Houston, HJI Supply Chain Solutions; Jackie Floyd, Center for Neighborhoods; David Snardon, Joshua Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church and Concerned Pastors of Russell; Kevin Dunlap, Rebound; Gill Holland, impact entrepreneur, small scale developer and community builder; Dorian Burton, Assistant Executive Director of the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust; and Trisha Finnegan, Vice President of Mission & Impact at the Community Foundation of Louisville.

Russell: A Place of Promise complements other work happening in Russell. The Louisville Urban League, for example, will invest $30 million in the Track on Ali, a multi-sports complex anchored by an indoor track and field facility to be built and operated at a 24-acre, city-owned property known as “Heritage West.” A new $130 million headquarters for Louisville-based nonprofit health insurance provider, Passport Health Plan, and a new $35 million branch of the YMCA of Greater Louisville are also under construction. One West is investing in the transformation of 18th Street and West Broadway with the launch of a “special improvements district” to focus on making the corridor clean and safe, and with plans to reinvest in area commercial spaces. A $29.5 million Choice Neighborhoods Grant awarded to the Louisville Metro Housing Authority and Louisville Metro Government is leveraging over $200 million in new investment. These activities are further complemented by longstanding partner investments in projects such as an arts and cultural district along Muhammad Ali Boulevard, the reinvigoration of existing commercial space, market rate housing development, and workforce training programs.

The community is invited to learn more about Russell: A Place of Promise at upcoming meetings to be held on:

  • Tuesday, August 28th 5:00 – 7:30 pm, Joshua Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church
  • Thursday, August 30th, 5:00 – 7:30 pm, Baxter Community Center
  • Saturday, September 8th, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm, location to be announced

Photo: Keenan Charitable Trust

William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust announced more than $5 million in new funding over the next three years to improve the life outcomes of young Black men and boys aged 16-25.

The grant will support creation of two civic leadership fellowships for young men in Lexington and Louisville, KY, in partnership with local city leaders and advocates, along with national partners coordinated by Cities United. The fellowships will be directed toward young men impacted by community violence.

“We must work more collaboratively if we are going to make sure all of us can live in communities that are safe, healthy and hopeful,” said Anthony Smith, Executive Director of Cities United. “Investing directly in our youth, their families and the communities they call home is part of our new vision for real public safety—one that lights a path to real hope and opportunity for all. The data and our experience show that real public safety requires investments in prevention and community building, not simply increased law enforcement or incarceration.”

These fellowships will encourage young Black men and boys aged 16-25 to invest in their futures, and offer opportunities for education, jobs and careers combined with leadership development and mentoring support. Young people in the two cities will be selected based on their potential and need.

The fellowships are rooted in the belief that young Black men are assets to our communities and cities. They are creative, resourceful and whole, and if given the right support system and opportunities, they will thrive.

Cities United recently received a planning grant for the fellowship from the James Graham Brown Foundation. The fellowships will be a collaborative initiative, with the cities of Louisville and Lexington partnering with their local workforce, education, criminal justice housing and social service partners to prepare up to 120 young Black men to be the next generation of civic leaders. The fellowships will invest directly in young people to shape their leadership and skill building, while learning directly from their lived experience with broken systems that produce community violence, and applying those learnings across city policies and programs.

“When we invest in young people, we invest in a brighter future for our city. In Lexington we are making significant investments to identify and stamp out root causes of violence. This program, working at the individual level, will expand and support our efforts. Thanks to everyone involved for this unique opportunity,” said Lexington Mayor Jim Gray.

“We believe in our young people and are excited about this opportunity to build on our existing youth and community building efforts through Zones of Hope and the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “We look forward to working with Mayor Gray of Lexington to cultivate community-led efforts to reduce violence and ensure that all citizens, no matter race or ZIP code, have the opportunity to reach their full human potential. We will not succeed unless we all work together, including local and national funders who can direct much-needed resources to our communities.”

Lexington and Louisville were chosen because of the commitment from their mayors and their partnerships with Cities United, the Campaign for Black Male Achievement and other local and national organizations focused on creating better outcomes for young Black men and boys, their families and the neighborhoods they call home.

The partners will capture lessons from Lexington and Louisville, to use the fellowships as a model for investing in young leaders in other parts of the nation, where mayors and city leaders are also directing efforts to advance 21st century public safety, provide pathways to opportunity and reduce violence against young Black men and boys.

“We have been locking away and warehousing our most talented young people for far too long,” said Dr. Dorian Burton, William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust Assistant Executive Director. “Young Black men are assets to our communities, and when provided with the right support and resources, they will thrive. Leaders in Lexington and Louisville have created a real opportunity to show how cities can build equitable pathways for success for Black males, and drive systems-level reform in their communities. I am hopeful that other national investors, the private sector and the state will embrace these initiatives and invest additional dollars to scale their work to other cities and states.”

Both Louisville and Lexington will be identifying and resourcing a group of grassroots, “on-the-ground” service providers who have specialized skills and relationships needed to effectively engage these young men of promise.

Other local partners include Louisville Urban League, Metro United Way, New Legacy Reentry, KentuckianaWorks, Legal Aid Society, Simmons College, Bluegrass Community & Technical College, Jefferson Community & Technical College, Bluegrass Workforce Investment Board, Fayette County Public Schools, Fayette Circuit and District Court, Urban League of Lexington – Fayette County and Lexington Leadership Foundation. National partners include #Cut50, Campaign for Black Male Achievement, Cities United, JustLeadership USA, Essie Justice Group and BMe Community.

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