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Lessons from Woodlawn prepare future leaders

By Richard Muhammad on Thursday, December 14, 2006

When Bishop Arthur Brazier, of the Apostolic Church of God, stepped to the podium in the Grand Ballroom on Cottage Grove Avenue, near 63rd St., the group of up and coming professionals assembled was quiet and attentive.

Leadership Greater Chicago 2007 fellows had come to spend the day in Woodlawn learning about its history and its challenges as the south side neighborhood strives to make progress.

The day, which included breakfast, a tour and lunch presentations, was much more than an academic exercise.

Participants heard about real problems, like rebuilding a neighborhood without displacing longtime residents and crafting effective affordable housing solutions that can withstand powerful market forces, and enjoyed a sampling of passionate leaders determined to shape the future of their community.

Leadership Greater Chicago sponsors a 10-month fellowship that aims to build relationships with budding organizational and business leaders and encourage civic engagement throughout their careers. It also aims to inspire fellows to get an understanding of regional issues and problems, hear different voices and solutions, and act to resolve the problems.

Its graduates include the CEO’s of the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Chicago Public Schools, Ariel Capital Management, Commonwealth Edison and Chicago United. and other movers and shakers. The program also allows participants to join an informal professional network.

Bishop Brazier, a longtime Woodlawn leader, offered a living history lesson. His talk started with conversations he had with community organizing legend Saul Alinsky and ended with comments about current housing construction.

In between, he shared lessons about how major groups, like The Woodlawn Organization, developed and how the University of Chicago went from a one-time enemy to a community partner.

He admitted that at the beginning it was hard for Alinsky to convince him to get involved in community organizing. Brazier’s home at the time was in a pulpit at his Woodlawn church, not out on the streets.

But as the University of Chicago threatened to expand into Woodlawn and continue an urban renewal agenda, or what could have been called urban removal efforts, it was time to come out of the church sanctuary.

He became the first spokesperson and later president of TWO. where he tried to solve varied problems, from youth gangs, slumlords, unsavory merchants, and population losses to charting a course for a renewed Woodlawn.

Woodlawn is ‘on the way up’

Woodlawn was a community “that was on its way out, and is now on its way up,” said Bishop Brazier.

Affordable housing and market rate housing are part of the community development plan and some new homes have already been built, he said. The University of Chicago has opened its first charter high school as part of the effort to improve education, Bishop Brazier added.

The desire is to “make Woodlawn a community of choice” by improving its offerings and capitalizing on its location near the lakefront, easy access to downtown and proximity to a major education institution, he said.

Bishop Brazier expressed the belief that the local New Communities Program can be a catalyst for change and a way to make sure Woodlawn has a place for everyone.

A frank discussion of housing issues

Following the lunch session, the afternoon program consisted of a panel discussion about housing issues.

Laura Lane, WPIC executive director and alumni of the program, reviewed the agenda for the day and recapped the morning events reminding fellows that it was devoted to a discussion of leadership with long-term Woodlawn leaders including Mattie Butler of WECAN, Rev. Dr. Leon D. Finney, Jr. TWO CEO, and Hank Webber , vice president University of Chicago. The morning panel was co-facilitated by Joseph Strickland, PhD., a leader in the New Communities Program in Woodlawn. A community tour followed the morning panel.

The afternoon would be devoted to a discussion of housing, she said.

The afternoon panel included Paul Thompson, of Urban Quest, which is building Columbia Pointe; developer Andy Skolnick, who invested $1 million to refurbish the Grand Ballroom; Jared Davis, of the Davis Group, a private partner in Columbia Pointe; Mattie Butler of WECAN, Andy Mooney, senior program director for LISC Chicago; developer Vince Lane; and Rudy Nimocks, executive director of the University of Chicago police force.

It was a spirited discussion of community development, affordable housing and varied opinions about balancing market forces and definitions of community stability.

The panelists also shared their roles as part of an effort to enlighten the fellows and hopefully inspire some to consider serious civic involvement.

Mooney talked about LISC’s effort to connect neighborhoods with the economic mainstream through the New Communities Program planning process that resulted in five year quality of life plans for participating neighborhoods. NCP is garnering attention nationally and internationally, he said.

The essence of the program is simple, said Mooney. “It’s good old fashioned community development. People plan for themselves and everyone is held accountable,” he added.

Jared Davis shared his interest in doing mixed income developments, using multi-family homes and mixed use housing and rental space in Woodlawn.

He also opened up a heated discussion by arguing that troubled Grove Parc Plaza Apartments, a 504 unit affordable housing complex on Cottage Grove Ave., should be broken up and rebuilt with market rate housing and retail space.

Mattie Butler, an affordable housing advocate and non-profit developer, countered that Grove Parc needed to be preserved. Woodlawn stands to lose 1,000 to 1,500 subsidized apartments, which means increased homelessness and other problems, she said.

“We’re not building one for one replacement for what is torn down,” she noted.

People talk about problems of crime and violence at Grove Parc, but residents of the complex are usually victims of crime, Butler said. Most of the residents are young women with children who are beaten and victimized by boyfriends or other men, she added.

There is plenty of space for $200,000 and $300,000 homes in Woodlawn, just leave the affordable housing alone, Butler said.

There was considerable discussion about how escalating housing prices in Woodlawn increases the need for subsidizing affordable housing, and where the increased amounts of money would come from.

In responding to the funding issue, Vince Lane added that there needs to be a change in public housing policy,. A regional housing policy that allows for affordable units to be spread throughout the area is needed, he argued.

Such a strategy would have negligible impact on individual neighborhoods , he said.

“Woodlawn is in an enviable position relative to other communities,” Vince Lane continued. There is plenty pf vacant land and large populations don’t have to be displaced, he noted.

Woodlawn, however, should not be left totally to market forces, and affordable housing should not be placed in pockets of poverty, Vince Lane said.

Passion, insight hallmarks of day

Robert Harris, a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow who lives in North Kenwood, enjoyed learning about the history and traditions in Woodlawn as well as the interplay between business, church and community leaders. Harris is Cook County Public Guardian.

He was especially attentive to discussions about community involvement and activism, and questions about change and community impact.

The day was an insightful experience for Stacy Sharpe, corporate relations director for Allstate Insurance Company. Hearing the different leaders, different perspectives and seeing the passion of community leaders were the day’s highlights for Sharpe.

The ability of the different leaders to reach consensus was impressive, observed Quin[KK4] Golden, a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow and chief of staff for the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The leaders don’t agree on everything, so they work together on things related to core values, Golden said.

Bishop Brazier’s point about U.S. institutions investing overseas, instead of in neighborhoods at home was also important, she said.

Golden also wondered if some of the lessons about collaboration and planning could be transferred to health care issues.

Laura Lane, WPIC executive director, was happy to host the group. It shows there are a lot of things going on in Woodlawn, she said.

Her hope is that some of the fellows will take an interest in Woodlawn by joining in some way – whether through donating individual help or choosing Woodlawn as the site of a civic project required by the program.

She also doesn’t discount future benefits, given many graduates have gone on to lead major institutions. It’s good to be able to pick up the phone and ask someone for information, or help, Laura Lane said.

Besides, she added, a couple of fellows expressed an interest in getting involved. Her immediate plans include reaching out to a fellow who deals with energy efficiency. It’s about connecting with people, she said.