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As a person who has moved from Illinois to Michigan and back to Illinois, the first dozen or so people I meet set the tone for me to view the place as a welcoming space. My focus is on communities that are rich in history and tradition, as well as amenities beyond mandated government services. I research information about race, religion (churches/denominations), cultural amenities, health care, and tolerance. These aspects of community are intertwined: Faith, Family, Supporting, Loving, and Guiding. When my children lived at home, the list included teachers, social workers, youth leaders, and a safe environment.
The most essential component on the community list was identifying the bridge builders. People who reach across race, faith, and social lines to create authentic relationships of give and take. People are willing to engage in honest dialogue to contribute to building a stronger society while growing and pulling someone along with them. The best groups I've found cross racial and ethnic lines because they figure out how to engage with people of different beliefs, traditions, and faiths.
When the world was focused on the movie Hidden Figures, a group of us read the book about another community…Hidden Figures. The brilliance of the "computers" --- Katherine Gobles Johnson, Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughn, and other black women mathematicians whose calculations fueled the US flight into space. The three leading characters were college-educated women and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority members, young and married or widowed in Katherine's case. They were employed in occupations where they were supremely overqualified yet treated as inferior by the white men and women around them. Despite job discrimination, segregation, and men taking credit for their work, they continued to press forward to achieve their ultimate goals.
The book is lengthy. However, I encourage you to read it and unpack the lives of these unsung heroes. In addition to their core families, these women and numerous other women across this nation dedicated themselves to building community—active in sorority and church life, children's development and the ongoing Civil Rights fight, human rights improvement, labor, and healthcare struggles.
Today, when too many physical locations face declining economic bases, high-paying jobs, and young skilled people, the remaining people are working to keep young people and ensure everyone can flourish.
A historical perspective and future orientation should be every community's living, breath-stealing aspect. What did we do, and what can we learn from it? Who shared in the hard work of making community happen instead of whose name goes on the headline banner. Why is that even necessary? There's another leadership concept that few communities acknowledge – "We did it." We invested in preserving and improving the outcomes of a vibrant, nurturing community. Everyone can be great because everyone can serve. Even visionaries need a team to realize the ideal impact on their community.
When speaking to groups about community building, solutions that worked three to five years ago may need tweaking or modifying if data exists to discuss impact. Ask additional people to join in the work of community building. Pay attention to unsung heroes and broaden your perspectives about what is possible. Too often, complacency can set in when we only rely on those people identified in certain circles as leaders. Pay attention to changes in the landscape, whether politically or educationally. Invite new people with differing ideas into the community of learners and doers to brainstorm and collaborate to strengthen community.
The world is changing. Actors may emerge, play a vital part in community building, and leave or move on. Turnover makes way for innovation and new people to add social impact. It's also crucial for people identified as leaders to make room at the same table for others to engage in community impact. This engagement benefits all and dispels the notion that only a few heroes exist. There are heroes all around us if we only invite them to participate in community building—everyday people who care about the community and their willingness to build on its rich heritage. Communities thrive when we enlarge the number of stakeholders.
Joyce A. Brown is a motivational speaker and author who uses her creative energy to give voice and meaning to the challenges women face in all walks of life. She grew up in Rockford, Illinois in a household of strong women, but her professional career expanded her reach into Peoria and Battle Creek, Michigan. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and has served as a direct services worker, executive director, program director for a major foundation, and entrepreneur. Joyce has experienced many uplifting moments as a professional and as a dedicated parent and strives to bring those events and lessons to life through her characters in the contemporary fiction novels she pens. Visit her Author’s Page
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