Helen Davis Johnson is Co-Founder and Creative Strategist at CreateHere. She brings us this announcement of an important opportunity for learning how to better receive and communicate information in the 21st century.
Never in history has there been such a proliferation of information available to so much of the world’s population. With access to so much information, the challenge is set before us to engage it in meaningful ways. Without engagement, information exists only as a busy backdrop.
It’s true: the Internet is actually rewiring our brains, making it harder to focus. That’s a difficult and urgent issue, particularly when we’re presented with information that can feel simultaneously essential and out-of-reach.
But focus we must. While we can (and undoubtedly should) develop a global perspective, the value we can add to the big conversation starts at home. If we want to turn information into knowledge and put it to the test, we need to do it in ways that are big-picture oriented and place-based in execution.
Each of us must decide to contribute information that is relevant to our neighborhoods and community. The great designer Charles Eames said that “Beyond the age of information is the age of choices.” Charles Eames and his wife Ray chose to solve problems through design. They understood that the creative process enables change-focused participation in outcome-based and proactive culture.
We can choose what we learn about and how creatively we participate in it, but how do we ensure that we’re digesting information in a productive way? In our knowledge-based economy, the challenge lies in our ability to process information resourcefully, make ethical choices, and deploy the tools we have to make our world a better place.
With the 18th century came the Age of Enlightenment, during which a collision of culture and science developed a set of values that have historically underscored progress in many places. These values determined to stomp out tyranny and prejudice for the betterment of society. Because of this knowledge-based movement, both France and England developed as hotbeds of intellectual correspondence and deft facilitation of idea and information exchange.
England revives this tradition of enlightenment conversation this Thursday at 1:00 pm when Matthew Taylor will discuss how he thinks we might go about the development of a 21st Century brand of enlightenment. Matthew Taylor is Chief Executive of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), headquartered in London. Prior to this appointment, he was Chief Adviser on Political Strategy to Prime Minister Tony Blair.
As RSA Chief Executive, Taylor provides an annual lecture. This Thursday, he will explore what is meant by the idea of 21st century enlightenment and why he thinks the original enlightenment period was not just about new ideas, but was concerned with a more fundamental shift in consciousness.
Matthew will discuss whether another such a shift is required for us to meet the challenges we face today—climate change, achieving human security and dignity on a global scale, promoting human fulfillment and well-being—and the role played by institutions such as the RSA.
We’ll be live streaming the talk at CreateHere and invite you to join the conversation in person. We’ll have a screen set up and plenty of coffee to boot. If you would like to follow the talk on Twitter, the hashtag is #21CE.
Last week’s City Share event was an interactive conversation designed to bring local law enforcement agencies, community initiatives, and individuals who deal with crime on a daily basis together to offer a context from which Chattanooga citizens can act in the civic process. The conversation will continue at Bessie Smith Hall on June 23 with “One Goal, Many Approaches”.
Townsend Atelier has recently announced a series of workshops, seminars, and classes to be held at its new home here on Main Street. A well-known asset to the Chattanooga art community, Townsend Atelier recently relocated to the heart of the Southside and will now use their expanded space to provide beginning and professional artists with a place to learn, experiment, and grow.
Their newest painting workshop is “Painting the Head in Oil” with Chattanooga-based instructor Jim Aplin. Working from a live model, students will strengthen their drawing skills, examine the proportions and planes of the head, and enhance tonal painting by the introduction of complementary colors. The class will be small, adapted to each person’s progress, with plenty of individual instruction.
The workshop is for intermediate to advanced artists (drawing and painting experience is required) and will run October 22, 23, and 24 from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The final day will conclude at noon, followed by catered lunch and (optional) tour of the Hunter Museum. “Painting the Head in Oil” is expected to fill up quickly, so pre-registration is required. Fee: $450
For more information and to register, email info [at] townsendatelier [dot] com or call 1-877-903-1488.
Prescripton drug dropoff at East Chattanooga Weed and Seed
East Chattanooga Weed and Seed and East Side Task Force (ECWS and ESTF) have been working together for years to improve the quality of life in Chattanooga. With their multiagency approach to law enforcement, crime prevention, and community revitalization, ECWS and ESTF aim to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in East Chattanooga.
Both organizations have noticed the threat posed to Chattanooga by improper disposal of prescription drugs, an issue with far-reaching consequences for individuals, families, the community, and the environment. Unused or expired medications sitting idle in medicine cabinets can lead to medication errors, accidental overdoses, and inappropriate use. Patients are often advised to dispose of medications by flushing them down the toilet or washing them down the sink, but this practice sadly leads to contamination of water supplies and landfills.
ECWS and ESTF are offering a free, safe, easy, and confidential way to dispose of unused and unwanted medications on Saturday, June 12 from 11 am – 3 pm. Prescription and over-the-counter medications can be brought to the Weed and Seed office (1502 McCallie) at this time to be disposed of by law enforcement officials. Medications should be delivered in their original containers (if possible) with the medication name and information visible. Any personal information should be crossed out. IV bags, sharps, needles, and radioactive medications will not be accepted.
Also, given the widely known dangers of mercury, The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will be exchanging mercury thermometers for new mercury-free thermometers at this event free of charge.
For more information about East Chattanooga Weed and Seed and East Side Task Force, call 423-752-4449 or visit their website.
We’re nearly three months into planning and implementation for the 2010 MakeWork grant cycle, and it has already become evident that Chattanoogans are on the brink of something big and intoxicating—contagious, in fact.
MakeWork Grantees are surpassing our expectations as a city and as an arts community.
Over the course of the past two years, we have seen MakeWork transform in many ways, not least a new (and entirely paperless) application process refined programmatically to meet the needs voiced by the community. It is a dynamic and nimble model.
This year, we spoke with artists from all over the Chattanooga region who were excited and anxious to submit their grant proposal by the May 14th Final Application Deadline. The caliber of this year’s grants, let alone the sheer number that we received (152 applicants requesting over $1.6 million), is inspiring.
A well-known secret: there are lots of talented, progressive artists working in our city and MakeWork is filling a niche in the community by serving a cultural demographic—working artists—that often struggles during tough economic times.
Dozens of artists and artisans in Chattanooga have already been able to propel themselves and their work to the next level because of the financial stimulus provided by the MakeWork Arts Grants. This year, MakeWork will infuse another $125,000 into the creative economy.
MakeWork is working for us.
That said, we are so grateful for the opportunity to work with so many talented recipients and applicants since 2008. To all 2010 MakeWork applicants: Thank you!
Thank you for countless hours writing and editing your proposals. Thank you for staying true and dedicated to your art. Thank you for your patience as we tread new waters and embark on a future for this city that is unparalleled. Chattanooga is a place that values creativity and innovation; artists here are rising to the occasion.
For more information, check out the MakeWork Arts Grants page. Also, check out this new video profile of 2009 MakeWork Grant Recipient Charles Allison.
All 2010 MakeWork applicants will be notified of their grant status on July 2, 2010. Stay tuned until mid-July to learn more about the 2010 MakeWork Recipients!
If you’ve been tracking with City Share, you’ll know that we’ve shifted our popular series of lunch get-togethers from a focus on hearing innovative ideas from national voices to finding Chattanooga-based solutions to the problems we face as a city. It’s an ongoing conversation and, more than ever, we’d like you to be involved.
Next Wednesday (June 9) from 12:00-1:00 pm, City Share will present “Crime in Context,” a lunch conversation at Bessie Smith Hall designed to bring local law enforcement agencies, community initiatives, and individuals who deal with crime on a daily basis together to offer a context from which Chattanooga citizens can act in the civic process.
A panel of individuals culled from a variety of professions will join City Share on June 9 to shed light on local efforts based in the city’s communities, schools, families, faiths, policing, workforce training, and criminal justice systems.
The “Crime in Context” panel includes David Eichenthal, a prominent community expert in criminal justice policy; Tim Dempsey from Chattanooga Endeavors, a publicly supported charity with a mission to improve public safety by restoring former offenders to productive roles in society; Vivian Hixson, Site Director for East Chattanooga Weed and Seed; and Sgt. Toby Hewitt, President of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 22.
David Eichenthal was with us for “Vision to Action,” a previous City Share that recapped the results of the Stand Survey. He offered an address full of hopeful insight for the future of Chattanooga. “The ability of local governments around the nation to reduce crime rates is one of the truly great public policy success stories of the late 20th century,” Eichenthal said. He then offered a charge that reached far beyond the City Share audience to Chattanooga’s citizenry as a whole: “Don’t let anyone – anyone! – tell you that crime is just something you have to deal with in cities because we know that we have the right set of policies to combat crime.”
“Crime in Context” will be the first of three City Share luncheons focused on crime and safety, acting as the first part of Stand & Deliver: Safety, a series of events designed to connect Chattanooga citizens and entities through collaborative, community-building efforts aimed at reducing crime in our area.
As always, City Share is a free and open to everyone, but it’d be great if you could RSVP to rsvp [at] createhere [dot] org because space is limited. For more information about City Share or Stand & Deliver and how to get involved, email participate [at] createhere [dot] org or call 423-648-2195.
As an act of neighborly goodwill, the Volkswagen Group of America’s Chattanooga plant is offering our community access to large quantities of oversized pallets. And these are not your average pallets—they’re made from good quality 4x4s, 2x8s, and 1x6s with strong potential for reuse. Recipients from the last two wood pick-ups have made everything from shelving, artwork frames, and raised garden beds to sheds, fences, and even a rustic kitchen table.
We’re very proud to announce that the third distribution of this wood will take place from 10 AM - 3 PM on Saturday, June 5 and 12 - 3 PM on Sunday, June 6 in the parking lot of Architectural Surfaces. And there will be a lot of quality lumber to hand out.
If you’d like to take some of the wood home, please be prepared to spend a little time helping to break down the pallets. They’re attached with bolts, long nails, and star-drive screws so please bring any ratchet sets, hammers, mallets, cordless drills, pry-bars and large leveraging bars you may have access to.
The Habitat ReStore will be providing a shade tent with water and Powerade … and they’re bringing a forklift so we’ll be able to spread out the pallets easily for optimal break-down.
Everything is available on a first-come-first-served basis, so if you want a lot of wood or have very specific needs, make sure to get there early.
Additionally, all of the partners involved will be very interested in the projects you’ll be creating. Please be prepared to tell us a little bit about your plans.
Feel free to share this event with your friends via Facebook. For additional information, please contact (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
We’re excited to announce that SpringBoard will be back in action with a new round of business planning courses for artists, artisans, and creative entrepreneurs beginning June 8 and continuing through July 27.
Entrepreneurship is one of our community’s strongest internal engines for economic and cultural growth, but many small businesses that begin with a strong vision find themselves with little idea of how to sell their concept to investors or customers. SpringBoard teaches the practical application of business best practices, positioning start-ups for success.
Since SpringBoard started in 2008, we’ve been privileged to watch over 200 creatives build their knowledge of best business practices and share collective wisdom. Over its 16 sessions, SpringBoard has represented a wide variety of creative enterprises including commercial painting, restaurants, custom outdoor-wear, pet care, and handmade furniture, marking the continuation of a watershed period of creative entrepreneurialism in Chattanooga. In the last class alone, graduates created more than 50 net new jobs in the Chattanooga region.
Kim Smith, a recent SpringBoard graduate and owner of one of the freshest startups in Chattanooga, said, “SpringBoard has given me simple tools to create my business and ensure its success. It’s been a lighthouse of information for a startup like Jk3 Softwear Inc.“
David and Keeli Crewe, founders of Main Street’s Area 61 gallery and showroom, said, “SpringBoard has been enlightening in many ways. It’s helped us clarify the best practices for running our business and outline new goals for growing it in the future. Most of all, it’s been great to go through the process with other new entrepreneurs—developing our business plans together, sharing ideas, networks, encouragement, and generating renewed enthusiasm.”
Space is limited for the next round of SpringBoard classes. If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur interested in taking the next step in developing your business, take action and pre-register for SpringBoard by contacting Enoch Elwell at 423-648-2195 or by email at enoch [at] createhere [dot] org.
Chattanooga’s Riverbend Festival has featured some notable guests over the years and 2010 is no exception. As usual, there’s a mystery performance this year, the details of which are being kept strictly under wraps until showtime on Sunday, June 13. It’s being billed as the single largest, live “arts experiment” in Chattanooga history and rumors have already started.
What we do know is this: The Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra will be playing the Coca-Cola stage that night along with The Waybacks, a San Francisco based “golden era” cover band best known for performing some of rock’s greatest albums from start to finish. They’ll be joined by guest vocalists John Cowan, a Chattanooga favorite and one of the purest voices in Americana music, and Joan Osborne of The Grateful Dead, whose hit single “(What If God Was) One of Us” made its way up the charts in 1995.
The beloved, well-known album—it could be anything from Led Zepellin to Bob Dylan—is the secret centerpiece of Mystery Rock Review, a concert that promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Maestro Bob Bernhardt of the CSO has already stated, “It’s shaping up to be one of the highlights of my entire musical career.”
Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga is offering a special discount on 200 pairs of VIP “STAR” seats and 200 single night wristbands for music lovers who want to attend the Mystery Rock Review only. The Allied Arts deal will save concertgoers $12 from the normal price of a Riverbend General Admission Pin.
The folks at Allied Arts say it best: “If you skip out on the Mystery Rock Review, be prepared Monday morning to hear rave reviews of one of the finest moments in Chattanooga’s musical history.”
Take advantage of this great deal by picking up tickets at Allied Arts (406 Frazier Avenue) while they last. For more information, call Allied Arts at 423-756-2787 or the Friends of the Festival office at 423-756-2211.
If you take a stroll down Main Street, you’ll be sure to notice the many studios, galleries, and creative enterprises nestled in Southside neighborhoods and on trafficked thoroughfares. Main Street has emerged as the epicenter for working artists in Chattanooga, many of whom moved to the urban district as part of the ArtsMove artist relocation program, a collaborative effort of Choose Chattanooga and CreateHere.
To showcase Main Street’s exciting happenings, many of these spaces will be open to the larger public every last Friday of the month (until November) from 5 – 8 pm as part of Last Fridays on Main.
Inspired by the eclecticism and creativity of the annual Main x 24 Southside event every December, Last Fridays on Main attempts to harness that energy for the rest of the year by showcasing one of our district’s most precious assets: our artists.
The Southside will be bustling this Friday evening with Last Fridays on Main and we hope to see you there. We’ll be featuring some live music here at 55 E. Main, but here’s a list of other open venues coupled with the exciting creative opportunities they’ll be offering.
CIAO BELLA (1415 Market St.)
Chattanooga’s fashionable boutique is conveniently located in the Southside District across from the famous Chattanooga Choo-Choo. Fine clothing and complementary accessories.
SET IN STONE (306 W Main St., Suite 114)
Featuring concrete countertops and functional art. Brothers Jeremiah and Nathan Smith are two local craftsmen using local materials to craft custom hand-made products for your home. (See their Fence Art, “Spare Parts,” at 301 E. Main St.).
STUDIO 2/ GALLERY 2 (27 W. Main St.)
Owner/Artist Vicki White features regional fine art and quality framing.
RED HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY (55 E. Main St., Suite 104)
Owned and operated by award-winning wedding photojournalist Ricki Chester, this studio specializes in the contemporary, intimate, and artistic.
AREA 61 (61 E. Main St.)
A space for craftspersons and artists to showcase and sell their work between art shows, openings, and festivals. Patrons can also work with any of the artists and crafts persons to create their own one-of-a-kind piece.
OUTDOOR CLIMBING WALL (Parking lot of the Mitchell Ave YMCA)
Tennessee Bouldering Authority (TBA) is an indoor climbing gym located in St. Elmo. For this Last Friday event, they’re setting up a unique portable climbing wall, providing fun challenges for kids of all ages.
Trained as a classical portraitist, Miki Boni chose a more spirited approach to her facescapes. Contrary to the humorless and the mundane, her world is charged with mischievous wit and occasional absurdity. Featuring: Chattanooga Facescapes.
IGNIS GLASS AND CHRISTOPHER MOSEY STUDIO (1800 Rossville Avenue, Suite 4)
Ignis artists will be blowing glass and raffling the evening’s creations. Located side-by-side in the Off-Main Art District on Rossville Avenue, the glass blowing studio, in tandem with Ignis, offers the public a rare chance to watch the dramatic glass-blowing process and see the finished display pieces.
ART X-TRACTOR (At Ignis Glass)
This amazing, interactive machine invites guests to choose 3-5 pieces of ephemera, place them into a slot, and within minutes a one-of-a-kind piece of art pops out. Each is a mini masterpiece uniquely reflecting both the artist and the person who chose the materials. The Art X-tractor appears at different venues each month, featuring different artists.
HASKEL SEARS DESIGN (1800 Rossville Ave. Suite 8)
Matt Sears founded Haskel Sears Design in Chattanooga in 2005. A core value of sustaining the environment leads Matt to build with reclaimed lumber, environ-mentally sensitive adhesives and finishes, and smarter use and reuse of resources. Each contemporary heirloom is constructed around nature and its possibilities, and taps into the beauty and strength of the wood.
Be sure to check out Last Fridays on Main on Facebook for frequent updates about local artistic happenings.
CreateHere is proud to announce Stand & Deliver, a series of civic “interventions” designed to channel the time and talent of Chattanooga citizens into community-building efforts, new and old.
In the coming months, CreateHere will be partnering with local organizations, institutions, businesses, and individuals to address major themes that emerged from the Stand survey results—specifically, concern about Chattanooga’s future in the areas of public safety, education, and the environment.
Stand & Deliver: Safety is the first of these three Stand & Deliver events and will take place June-September of this year. Aiming CreateHere’s proven methods and models at connecting around a community goal, Stand & Deliver consists of four citizen-led stages—all centered on improving quality of life and making Chattanooga a safer city.
City Share // June 9, June 23, and July 7:
The next three City Share luncheons will each feature a panel of local crime prevention and safety experts who will help define and contextualize crime as a community problem.
June 9 // Crime in Context
@ Bessie Smith Hall | 200 E MLK Blvd
Panelists: David Eichenthal, Tim Dempsey, Vivian Hixson, Sgt. Toby Hewitt
June 23 // One Goal, Many Approaches
@ Bessie Smith Hall | 200 E MLK Blvd
Panelists: Bea Lurie, Lt. Brian Cotter, Helen Eigenberg
July 7 // Idea Exchange
@ Urban League | 730 E MLK Blvd
Panelists: TBD
Action Lab Blitz // July 16-17
Action Lab Workshop Series // July-August
Teams of local crime prevention partners will connect with a diverse group of local experts & enthusiasts for an intensive and results-focused community brainstorm. To increase sustainability, impact, and reach of their collaborative efforts, the Action Lab will continue as a multi-part, goal-setting workshop series where teams and individuals will work together to establish long-term outcomes.
City Share // July 21, August 4, August 18, September 1
This second round City Share events will function as a venue for Action Lab teams to report the progress of their collaborative efforts. City Share attendees will be given the opportunity to engage in open conversation with these teams and self-select opportunities to contribute based on interest, time, and/or talents.
Stand & Deliver: A Public Celebration of Crime Reduction Efforts // September 11 @ Coolidge Park
This celebration increases community awareness of the many local crime prevention efforts in a fun, unexpected, and guilt-free setting, providing an opportunity to enlist potential partners, funders, and volunteers. Stand & Deliver’s Public Celebration will showcase the success of local collaboration and generate excitement for continuing to make Chattanooga communities safer places to live, work, and play.
The entire CreateHere team was saddened to hear of the loss of Jack Lupton on Sunday afternoon. Though most of us never had the opportunity to meet him, he laid the groundwork for all of our efforts today. Among Mr. Lupton’s passions was a reverence for place-based change and a belief that citizens could shape their own collective destiny. As such, he created a legacy that lives on today in Chattanooga, a city we lovingly call home and which we recognize as a center for civic engagement regionally.
As students of Chattanooga’s history, we know that Mr. Lupton played a catalytic role in helping the city’s residents regain a sense of civic pride. He was pivotal in a movement to build unprecedented networks of connectivity across disciplines, breaking down institutional walls—and we are still served well by that spirit of neighborliness.
Hearing of Mr. Lupton’s passing reminded us of an interview between himself and Bill Dedman of the Chattanooga Times, conducted in 1986. His words ring as true today as they did some 25 year ago. On this day, in honor of Mr. Lupton, we pledge not to make the biggest mistake of all. We ask that you do the same. Pledge to renew the Chattanooga Way, learn from a leader, get out, shake something up, and do something.
The first day Erin Gruwell walked through the doors of Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, she was entirely unprepared for her introduction to a community filled with gang violence, high juvenile detention rates, and drugs. It didn’t take long for shock to become action as she encouraged students to rechart their futures by rethinking themselves. The students she encountered soon became critical thinkers, college students, and real citizens within their communities.
You may remember this story from The Freedom Writers Diary, the book published by Gruwell and her students, or the 2007 film Freedom Writers that retold their story to a wider audience.
Tomorrow night, Re:Start – The Center for Adult Education in Chattanooga is welcoming Erin Gruwell to the Tivoli stage as part of their 50th Anniversary Celebration. In addition to being founder and president of the Freedom Writers Foundation, Gruwell is one of the most respected educators in the country, widely known for the transformative way her influence as a teacher converted student apathy into responsible action.
Since Erin Gruwell’s story has inspired educators in our region and around the world, Re:Start’s goal is to make tomorrow night’s event accessible for as many people in the Chattanooga community as possible. They’ve focused specifically on teens and young adults, partnering with event sponsors who will serve as benefactors for area non-profits and organizations serving at-risk youth. Sponsors include Brewer Broadcasting, Chattem, Unum, Benwood Foundation, Pannell Mechanical, Inc., and WRCB Channel 3.
Tickets for Thursday evening’s event are $15 and are available online or by calling the Memorial Auditorium box office at (423) 757-5050.
And in case you aren’t familiar with Re:Start’s work in our community, here’s what they’re all about: “Re:Start is an adult education service dedicated to the idea that educated adults have greater economic opportunity, are less vulnerable to those who would take advantage, are less likely to live in poverty, and make more productive citizens and better parents, therefore making Chattanooga a better community.”
Last Wednesday at City Share, we welcomed Lori Quillen and David Eichenthal from The Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies to present the major findings of the Stand data and what those results say about the future of Chattanooga. Following Lori’s presentation of the facts and figures, David shared some important and inspiring thoughts with us on how vision becomes action through citizens taking responsibility for their communities and being involved in the civic process. Video coverage of last week’s City Share is posted below as well as David’s full talk (with particularly decisive bits in bold).
On Sunday, I had an op-ed piece published in the Times Free Press outlining The Ochs Center’s research on the state of school readiness in Hamilton County. About two years ago, we found that one in four children born in Hamilton County were (for a variety of reasons) at risk of not being ready for school. Earlier this year, we put out the results of a survey led by Dr. Eileen Rehberg of parents registering their children for kindergarten. We found that about one in five children had not been in any sort of preschool program and that among at risk children, four in ten had not been in Head Start, childcare, or any sort of home visitation program. This was a terrific research project and I thought I had done a pretty good job outlining the problem in the op-ed.
I got an email at 1 a.m. on Monday morning titled “Re: Your Column in Sunday Paper.” It read: “Please tell us something we don’t already know – like the solution to the problem.” I thought that was a fair point.
The reality is that for many of the issues highlighted in our research and that stand out as issues of concern based on the responses to the Stand questionnaire, we actually know a fair amount about the solutions, as well as the magnitude of the problem.
I gave a talk late last year on four different numbers that I thought both defined the success and the challenges of Chattanooga. One of the numbers that I focused on was 37: 37% of moms giving birth in Hamilton County did not have first trimester prenatal care. Nationally, the number is 17%. The percentage of moms without first trimester prenatal care in Hamilton County is higher than in the states of Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. It is also higher than in Mississippi and Alabama. Simply put, all we have to do is address the issue as well as Mississippi and Alabama and we will be doing a better job.
There is also crime. I know that Stand has planned a separate session on crime, but I would like to say just a few words today. The ability of local governments around the nation to reduce crime rates is one of the truly great public policy success stories of the late 20th century. It is, in many ways, the local government equivalent of the polio vaccine – it saves lives. There were more than 2,200 homicides in New York City in 1990; last year, there were fewer than 500. This same story has been repeated in city after city after city – large and small – across the United States.
Don’t let anyone – anyone! – tell you that crime is just something you have to deal with in cities because we know that we have the right set of policies to combat crime.
That is, if we want to. Why don’t we have less crime in Chattanooga? Why don’t we have better prenatal care? Why don’t we have more children graduating from high school and going on to college and economic opportunity?
It would be easy to argue that it is because people don’t care enough. I believe this is wrong. You could also not argue that people don’t care enough if you spent time on the East Side two weekends ago as both Lori and I did. More than a thousand people came out in the rain to help needy people; to paint houses, clean lots; to work together to revive a community. They all cared a lot. They wanted to do the right thing. In many cases, they felt a certain moral – if not a religious – obligation to be there and to serve.
So why is it that we haven’t been able to tackle the crime problem in a way that other cities have? Why is it that we have a school system in which one in five students don’t graduate? Why is it that in Chattanooga we have more people living in poverty than ever before?
As I thought about all those people gathering behind Memorial Hospital on the East Side, I couldn’t help but wonder: how many of them were going to be among the 14,000 people who voted in Hamilton County’s election yesterday? How many of them had ever gone to a county commission or City Council or school board meeting to let their elected representatives know how important the future of their community is to them?
Last week as I was traveling, I took the shuttle up to the Nashville airport. I was the only passenger and I spent most of the ride talking to my driver who had served for years in the armed forces. He married a woman who had come to the United States illegally from Mexico, but who was now a legal resident. He spoke passionately about the need for a new immigration law. He also told me that he had never voted in an election.
We won’t reduce crime, improve education, or increase economic opportunity in our community until more people realize that democracy is a participatory sport and that you have to be in it to win it. To close the achievement gap, we have to eliminate our community’s advocacy gap. We have to make it normal for people to speak up for what they passionately believe in, backed with facts, and with respect for the other side. The best way to keep government upright is to lean on it from all sides.
When I was City Finance Officer, I was amazed that I was never lobbied on a budget issue by a member of the public. Never. A parade of community residents would attend City Council meetings to discuss land use issues in their neighborhood, but no one would ever speak out on the city budget.
One year, there was a lot of support within the administration to eliminate the city’s recycling program. I agreed that the program was not working well, but I also thought there were a series of ways to mend it rather than end it. I decided I would try to rally support for continuing recycling by voicing to the community that the elimination of their recycling program was under serious consideration. The result? Three emails. I got three lousy emails, one which was from a strong supporter of recycling who said that she hoped we would reconsider but knew we would do the right thing. By contrast, when there was an effort to end recycling in New York city in the early 1990s, protestors showed up at the home of the Deputy Mayor in charge of the effort with bags filled with garbage.
We need to arrive at a happy medium between in-your-face protests and the complacent attitude that someone will figure out the right thing to do. We need to understand that it is essential that people give voice to what they care about. Sometimes, it won’t be pretty because even when we agree on the problems and the ability to solve those problems may be clear, there is still room for a healthy and vigorous debate on the solutions. There are always more than two perspectives on a particular problem and there are rarely absolute rights or wrongs. We can disagree without being disagreeable.
Now is the time to start. Over the next few months, the elected leadership of our community will be making some very important decisions about our future. They need to hear you voice. Budgets aren’t about numbers—they are about priorities and choices. They are one of the most important ways for government to articulate what it cares most about.
This is a tough time to be making choices. Revenues are down and costs are up. A recession is, in many ways, the worst time to ask people to pay more in taxes and the worst time to impose budget cuts that eliminate jobs. This is why citizens need to be as clear as possible about what matters most to them and, in their eyes, what matters most to the community.
I am glad you all are here today. Honestly, I’d rather see you at a City Council meeting. Or at a school board meeting. Or at a county commission meeting. These are where the real decisions about the future of our city and our community will be made.
I don’t think it is possible to overstate the role that private philanthropy has played in the turnaround of Chattanooga and the relative prosperity of our region. Local foundations have provided innovation, vision, and leadership, and, yes, money. But please understand that when it comes to funding, the dollars spent by local foundations pale in comparison to the amount of money spent every year by local government. If you were to add up the budgets of county government, Chattanooga city government, and the school system, you would find that we are spending on the order of $600-$700 million a year. That is more than thirty times the amount of annual grants given by the city’s leading foundations.
To start closing the advocacy gap, I invite you to begin learning how that $700 million is currently spent and how it might be used to address the challenges facing our community.
Tommy Kranz, Daisy Madison, and Louis Wright are among the finest public servants I have ever worked with. Respectively, they are the CFOs of the school system, the city, and the county. You need to get to know who they are and they need to hear from you. They make tough decisions every day and they need you to understand those decisions even if – especially if! – you think they are the wrong ones. Go talk to them. They all work for you and part of what makes them fine public servants is that they know that.
I consider many members of the school board, county commission, and City Council to be my friends. I have worked closely with many of them. I guarantee that I don’t know a single one who wakes up in the morning thinking, “What can I do today to make Chattanooga a less livable place?” Most elected officials run for office because they want to (and think they can) improve life in our city. Go talk to them. Be clear about what you think is important. Demand results, because in the end, results are all that really matter. Nice people doing nice things does not reduce crime or improve graduation rates.
You must also demand results because it is the job of elected officials to deliver those results. Andrae McGary is my Councilman. I like Andrae (despite the fact that he is now a talk radio host). I want violent crime to decline in Chattanooga by 30% in the next three years. Other cities have done it; I know we can do it. I have nicely told Councilman McGary that if violence crime doesn’t decline 30% in the next three years, I will be finding another councilman who can deliver on those results.
If we can begin to have these conversations in Chattanooga, we can begin to take on the toughest challenges that our cities face in moving forward. We can have a city that celebrates its strengths and its truly historic turnaround while never becoming complacent in dealing with the challenges that remain.
We’ve got your back. The mission of the Ochs Center is “to conduct independent data analysis and policy research to improve the quality of life in the Chattanooga region.” We think we do a good job at that first part, but we know that the second part depends on people like you. We think we can help to identify the problems – and yes, the solutions – but without people willing to organize and take a stand, the best information and the best ideas will not amount to more than studies on the shelf gathering dust.
One of my favorite movies is The Right Stuff, based on Tom Wolfe’s book on the beginnings of the U.S. space program. In a famous scene at the end of the movie, reporters ask Astronaut Gordon Cooper to identify who is the best pilot he ever saw. Cooper begins to think about all the test pilots and others who came before him, but then grins and answers, “You’re looking at him.”
Today, as we search for leadership to move Chattanooga forward to address the issues outlined in the responses to the Stand questionnaire, I ask you to be that leader, to be the “best advocate” for your community.
The final deadline for this year’s round of MakeWork grants is coming up in just a few days. If you’ve thought about applying for the grant but haven’t done so yet; if the ideas in your head are still waiting to be put on paper; if you need to help a friend find the words to express their brilliance, please find time and submit the MakeWork application.
The final deadline is this Friday, May 14, 2010.
Also, don’t forget the $45 application fee that must be postmarked or delivered directly to CreateHere by May 14.
