Wendy McCaig, director of Embrace Richmond (left), leads a discussion with students and neighborhood leaders after the May production of "Together We Rise" at Pine Camp Cultural Arts Center. (Photo by Mac Konrad)
Following up on a North Side oral history project that culminated in the May 22 stage production "Together We Rise," community members have begun a series of meetings to talk about the history, culture and future of the Brookland Park area.
During the first meeting, on July 17, more than a dozen participants met at the offices of Embrace Richmond on Laburnum Avenue to discuss how to handle the radically changing landscape of the neighborhood, which experienced economic decline in recent decades but is now seeing property values rise along with the pace of housing renovations.
PTA leader Tanya Francis (provided photo)
The diverse group included community organization leaders, professionals and civil rights leaders. Conversations focused on neighborhood gentrification, education and preserving history.
In a chart that Embrace Richmond presented showing the performance of various Richmond schools, a couple of North Side schools -- Overby-Sheppard Elementary and Henderson Middle -- had relatively low standardized test scores in most subject areas compared to other schools.
“Is the question ‘Is there not enough help?’ or is the question ‘Is there not enough access to help?’ ” asked Tanya Francis a mental health professional and a PTA leader at three city schools -- the recently renamed Obama Elementary (formerly J.E.B. Stuart), Binford Middle School and Franklin Military Academy.
Civil rights leader Paige Chargois (provided photo)
Some participants decried efforts by parents to get their kids into the "best" schools regardless of what zone they live in; sometimes even lying about their residence to be admitted to a different school.
Others like Paige Chargois, a civil rights leader and one of the longtime residents interviewed for the "Together We Rise" event, faulted RIchmond Public Schools for allowing skewed performances to continue among the schools. Chargois said public gestures such as school supplies giveaways for poorer schools aren’t making them better.
“Our kids don’t need a pencil, they need an administration that cares," she said.
A second community conversation will be held in August.
