Community Building in Bronzeville
Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood was once a thriving, stable
African American community, similar to Harlem, Kansas City, and Washington,
DC. The past several years have taken a toll on the neighborhood, however;
a declining homeownership rate and decreasing residential incomes have left
Bronzeville economically challenged. In an effort to restore this once-vibrant
community, local and City leaders have developed a plan for targeted revitalization.
The neighborhood is now part of a HUD-designated Empowerment
Zone and an Enterprise Community and Community Builder Michael Asque
is working with the Bronzeville revitalization team, which is focusing on
increasing the participation of local merchants and improving overall coordination
of economic development initiatives in the area.
When Michael first joined the team, he set
out to build capacity of local organizations, increasing their ability to
foster economic development partnerships and create new job opportunities.
Michael found that one local organization, the Bronzeville Merchants Association
(BMA) had been overlooked by several previous economic development partnerships
despite a record of accomplishments. He began working with BMA, facilitating
a three-stage strategic planning process to strengthen the Associations
Commercial Leadership, generate new economic development opportunities,
and create 100 or more new jobs in the community within 18 months.
"When I first started working with BMA,
it was clear that I needed to establish trust with local merchants,"
said Asque. "The merchants were wondering, why is HUD offering
this service at the grass-roots level? However, they soon realized
the need for a strategic planning process and recognized the sincerity of
our involvement."
Michael facilitated a process through which
local merchants developed a plan for restoring BMAs commercial leadership.
They decided their first order of business was to resurrect the annual "Mayor
of Bronzeville" campaign to restore appreciation for the communitys
rich history, galvanize citizen participation in economic development, foster
public and private partnerships for the cause of civic renewal, and increase
customer traffic to local merchants. Initiated before World War I, the annual
"Mayor of Bronzeville" campaign gave citizens an opportunity to
elect a community leader as a symbolic figure to preside over a series of
community-building social events and merchandise sales for community members
and visitors to Bronzeville. The annual event was so popular in the 1930s
that the winning candidate amassed over 13 million votes.
With Michaels assistance, the Bronzeville
business leaders have developed a three- part "Bronzeville Economic
Development Agreement," which establishes a partnership between the
Bronzeville Merchants Association, HUD, and the Chicago Defender Newspaper.
The agreement calls for HUD Community Builders to facilitate local strategic
planning; BMA to convene business leaders for planning the annual "Mayor
of Bronzeville" and other economic development campaigns; and for the
Chicago Defender to promote the "Mayor of Bronzeville" campaign
and underwrite costs associated with printing ballots and coupons for local
businesses.![Mayor of Bronzville Celebration](bzville_celebration.jpg)
On August 13th, the "Mayor
of Bronzeville" campaign was officially revived. Chicago radio legend
Herb Kent was elected as the 1999 Mayor of Bronzeville and installed during
a ceremonial banquet in front of hundreds of community members and local
television and radio stations.
"This is a great thing that the merchants
are doing with help from HUD and I am willing to do my part for this community
because I grew up here and I want to see it return to its prominence,"
said Kent.
As a result of this initial campaign the corporate
communitys planning process, BMA is providing valuable leadership
in development of local tourism and business opportunities. BMAs membership
has increased 100% while the association is developing rich partnerships
with the media.
"The Bronzeville Merchants Association
has taken a leadership role in revitalizing the business district and creating
new jobs," said Col. Eugene Scott, General Manager of the Chicago Defender
Daily Newspaper, recognizing the progress during the past year.
Illinois State Representative Lou Jones believes
that "the Mayor of Bronzeville Campaign was the kind of event that
works for everyone and I am proud to work with the merchants and HUD to
make it happen."
"Its been rewarding to serve as
a resource in this whole process," said Asque, who is helping the merchants
as they enter the second stage of their strategic plan for Bronzeville.
"This project has been one of the most fulfilling of my Community Builder
experience as we have been able to see the return from engaging the Department
in building local partnerships." |