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"In order to realize
the promise of full
participation and
inclusion in
American society,
African Americans
and other
communities of color
must join and help
to lead the struggle
for metropolitan
reform in the United
States. This is the
civil rights
movement of the 21st
century.
The African
American Forum on
Racism and
Regionalism is the
results of many
years of studying
the evolution of
life in the urban
areas of America for
African Americans.
In the 21st
Century we are now
witnessing the
comeback of major
American Cities
across the nation.
Gentrification has
led to the complete
restoration of
neighborhoods, which
has resulted in the
return of services
including
restaurants,
Starbucks,
supermarkets and local
theaters for the
arts and new
schools.
The tools
employed by the new
landed gentry
include historical
preservation, zoning
and policies
promoting
comprehensive
planning to the
benefit of some and
to the exclusion of
others. During the
last thirty five
years of the 20th
Century African
Americans have been
moving to the
suburbs seeking
better housing,
schools and quality
of life for their
families.
Many
families, who were
among the initial
wave moving from the
cities in the
seventies, are now
challenged by the
conditions in the
inner suburbs where
the quality of life
has substantially
deteriorated as
compared to the
exurbs and the newly
gentrified cities.
As the suburbs have
grown over the years
becoming major
employment centers
with their own town
centers life, as we
knew it in urban
America has
changed. The Region
has become the focus
of policy making and
by its very nature
demands that issues
such as a
transportation,
public safety,
homeland
security, affordable
housing, education
and infrastructure
be approached on a
Regional basis.
The
challenge facing
policymakers is to
develop policy based
upon a realistic
assessment of
resources, the
appropriate
political parameters
and a consensus of
values that are
inclusive of the
various groups
affected by the
policies adopted."
Carl Anthony,
The Ford
Foundation
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The
challenge
facing
African
Americans is
to promote: |
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-
Networking
and
broadening
key
constituencies,
and
information
sharing
regarding
lessons
learned
about
regional
and
metropolitan
sustainability,
issues
and
policy
tools;
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-
Critical
direction
in a
framework
that can
strengthen
the
conversation
among
communities
of color
about
metropolitan
sustainability,
community
development;
and
environmental
justice;
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-
Stimulating
dialogue
among
community
constituencies
about
differing
experiences,
definitions
and
benefits
of
sustainable
development;
|
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-
Providing
direction
in the
national
discourse
on the
shape of
the
sustainability
movement
over the
next
decade;
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-
Creation
of a
place
for
constructive
conversation
and
healthy
relationship
building;
and
recommendations
on
funding
strategies,
which
will
advance
smart
growth
projects
and
programs
that
integrate
economic,
social
and
environmental
justice
and
collaborative
opportunities
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!!! A CALL TO ACTION !!!
See Below
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Shaping a sustainable regional agenda
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Shaping sustainable regional communities
- expanding the base of interdisciplinary African Americans on relevant issues and projects
- networking and broadening key constituencies
- information sharing that addresses community assets
- shaping and setting a sustainable regional agenda
- inclusion of African Americans in the discourse, planning and policy and
- recommendations on strategies, projects and effective programs
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News
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!!! A CALL TO ACTION !!! Please join the African American Forum on Race & Regionalism in a National Day of Prayer and Call to Action in support of efforts to rebuild the Gulf Coast so that everyone in the region—especially low-income communities and communities of color—can participate and prosper from redevelopment and recovery initiatives in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. We urge your participation and solidarity with those whose futures depend on sustainable and equitable economic and social recovery. See Full Story... |
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