Neighborhood Revitalization: To, For or With? | Chris Lambert | TEDxDetroit

Detroit residents have all the talent they need, but many don't have access to all the opportunities they deserve. 88% of third grade students are currently reading below grade level. 30% of Detroiters cannot access the health care they need. Detroit residents median household income is half that of suburban residents. Because of these disparities, I founded a nonprofit called Life Remodeled that partners with communities and organizations to create neighborhood revitalization that lasts. We repurpose large vacant school buildings into one stop hubs of opportunity for community thriving. We then fill these buildings with the best and brightest nonprofits that are providing services to directly requested by community members. And we help them collaborate to make far greater impact. Together, we improve academic outcomes, increase access to health and wellness services, and help more Detroiters achieve economic self sufficiency. The Durfee innovation society is 100% occupied with 25 or 34 remarkable nonprofits that are serving more than 25,000 children, youth and adults every year. Check out our totally free arcade, which incentivizes youth to enroll in after school programs. An old swimming pool that was repurposed into a youth event space, a gorgeous auditorium, a gym that sees a lot of action, and a totally free laundromat. Because according to Detroit students, the number one reason chronic absenteeism is so high is because of lack of of access to laundry facilities. When Tony first walked into Durfee, his head was hanging down low, his shoulders were slumped over because he was unemployed, and as a single father, he had no idea how he was going to provide for his children's future. Six weeks later, Tony crushes a rigorous workforce development exam and landed a new job that will significantly impact his family's future. Ms. Joy has two beautiful twin sons who both have autism. Ms. Joy used to have to drive her sons many miles to get them access to the care they needed and deserved. Because of Durfee, she's now only two minutes away from some of the best pediatric therapy in the region. And her boys absolutely love it here. When we first opened our doors to Durfee in 2017, 80% of people who lived within four and a half square miles of that building lived at or below the poverty line. Last year, Gallup Research surveyed thousands of detroiters across all 139 square miles. And their research concluded that the Durfee neighborhood has the second highest perception of thriving opportunities in the entire city. And as of this year, we now have the number one lowest crime rates in Detroit. This is amazing, right? However, what I didn't tell you was how I got my teeth metaphorically kicked in during this project, and why that hurt even worse than having them physically kicked in. And if it weren't for several remarkable Detroiters, the Durfee Innovation Society probably wouldn't even exist today. In 2016, Detroit Public Schools asked us to repurpose this soon to be vacant school. We immediately informed community members of their request, and most were very supportive. However, what they didn't know was that the property was about to be leased to us for $1 a year for 50 years because we weren't supposed to make known publicly the details of the negotiation process. Now, because of my blind spots at the time, I actually thought community members would be excited about us spending only $1, because that meant we could invest more money into the building and. And into programming for the community. Okay, the key word here is for, and I'm going to come back to that. After we inked the deal and made it public, to our surprise, more than 250 people showed up at the next community meeting. The first person to grab the mic was an influential local community leader named Andre McCullough. Andre's fiery speech set the tone for a long list of individuals from various parts of Detroit who spent nearly three hours calling me a white mfer in less polite language than I'm using right now. And Life Remodeled and I were labeled as colonizers and gentrifiers who had a plan to displace black people altogether. Nevertheless, I was absolutely certain that we'd turn it all around at the next community meeting next month, where I would share what we learned from community listening sessions, and I would share the vision for the future with inspiring slides. So here we are the following month at our community meeting, and yet another 250 people show up, which I'm so excited about. I'm getting on the stage, all right. As soon as I put my first slide on the screen, about 20% of the people in the room are picking up their chairs and. And turning them completely around and facing the opposite direction. About two minutes goes by, and one person starts yelling, then another person, and another. Now, I'd already been informed that several people had made their way to this event with the sole purpose to distract people from hearing what was being said. So I decide I'm just gonna focus on those who came to hear the message. About a minute goes by, and a woman gets up out of her chair, walks right toward me, and she puts her hand on the bottom of the microphone and tries to take it out of my hand. Now, this is an experience I'd Never had before in my life. So what do I decide? I decide to ignore as if it's not even happening. I keep a firm grip on the mic. We're not wrestling or anything, but I got a nice grip on the mic, and I just keep talking. Immediately, another woman stands up, who I'd never met before, and she says very loudly, why are all the black men in this room sitting down While that white MFer is assaulting the honorable councilwoman Joanne Watson? Now, I'd never met council member Joanne Watson before, but I'd heard of her remarkable legacy. And at this point, all the blood is draining out of my face into my feet. I'm turning white as a ghost. I've just been accused of assaulting a pillar in the community. And all of a sudden, dejuan Dandridge, who had just recently joined life remodeled staff. What a great time to join our staff, by the way. He gets up out of his chair. He asks me to hand him the mic, which I gladly do. He asked me to sit down. I say, yes, sir. He calls Joanne Watson back up. And Ms. Watson and others for the next two hours share their fears and anger over white privilege and gentrification. While this is happening, for the first time in my life, I am ready to quit project. Immediately after the meeting, Dwan pulls me aside. The first thing he says is, tonight you were being hazed. Some people just want to see how you're going to react. Now, this gives me hope because I said, duan, I was in a fraternity in college. I can do hazing as long as there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Then Dwan said, you came here tonight with some important things to say, and you experienced having your voice taken away. I said, yeah, exactly. Then Duan says, the reality is, many of the people in this room tonight experience that on a regular basis. Wow. That was life changing. And sent me down a long course of deep soul searching and learning. The last thing Duan said was this. We're going to spend even more time with community members, and we're going to make sure that they know we're not asking them to trust us, but we are inviting them to show us what the community wants and needs and hold us accountable to do what we say we're going to do. Six months later, we had made significant progress on the project, and it was becoming clear to many in the community that we were not only listening well, but that we were bringing together their visions to life. And here's how I know I'm standing in the gymnasium at Durfee, and I get a phone call from Andre McCullough, who I hadn't seen in six months. Andre says, where are you at? I said, well, Andre, I'm in the gym. He says, stay there. I'm coming over. Boom. Hangs up the phone. Now, five minutes later, I see him walking through the door briskly, right at me. I have no idea where this is going until Andre opens up his arms, wraps them around me, gives me a massive hug, and says, I'm in, brother. For the next five years, Andre sat on an advisory council that continues to hold Life Remodeled accountable. And Andre and I are friends today, along with the vast majority of people who were initially a part of this project. And my life was remodeled in the process. When we do neighborhood revitalization to a community, this is unhealthy gentrification. This is the kind of development that displaces people. When Life Remodel first started, that project I told you about, honestly, we were doing it in our hearts for the community. And when you get down to the bottom of it, that treats people like charity cases, and nobody wants to be treated that way. Thanks to Andre McCullough, Duan Dandridge, and many others, we became an organization that. That does neighborhood revitalization with the community in a way that continues to be transformational for all. And as we conclude, will you give it up for Andre McCullough, Duan Dandridge, and the entire Durfee community.