Honoring Pioneers and Unsung Heroes
Inspired by the camaraderie and commitment generated in the Unity prayer service, the Race Relations Council initiated a “Community Celebration and Awards Program”, honoring individuals from the community who had made significant contributions to promoting racial equality and racial healing. We saw these “pioneers and unsung heroes” as valuable role models, and felt it was important to provide recognition and reinforcement for their work. Our plan was to hire musical entertainment, charge a small admission fee, and develop fund-raising projects to promote the event. Proceeds would be used to fund two scholarships at the local community college, scholarships that would be offered to students who had demonstrated a commitment to improving race relations in their communities.More than five hundred residents, from both sides of the river, attended the Community Celebration and Awards Program. Many who were present that day expressed strong support for regularly highlighting positive contributions and for bringing people together to celebrate diversity. In light of the program’s success, the Council decided to make it an annual event.
Forming A Multiracial Children’s Choir
For the first two years of the Awards program, professional musicians provided the entertainment. But the organizing committee had a new idea in planning the third celebration – why not bring together children from Benton Harbor, St. Joseph, and nearby communities to form a multiracial children’s choir?With the help of two local pastors, one from Benton Harbor and one from St. Joseph, along with volunteer choir directors from both sides of the river, we organized the All God’s Children Community Choir. Since its debut at the third annual Race Relations Council Awards Program, the Choir has grown from 40 to 70 children, ages 2 to 16. In the past five years, All God’s Children has performed together on more than 60 occasions, including a live radio broadcast commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, a special performance for former President Jimmy Carter, and concerts with recording artists Tom Chapin, Josh White, Jr., Gemini, and Pamela Chappell (with whom All God’s Children collaborated on an award-winning CD).
The children have continued to perform every year for the Race Relations Council Awards Program and, in the past four years, have been joined by the Citadel Dancers, a diverse children’s dance troupe based in downtown Benton Harbor. The combination of singing and dancing by children from different racial, ethnic, and religious groups has provided a powerful model of the richness of diversity.
Shining A Light On Home Lending Inequities
One of the major problems in the Benton Harbor community has been (and continues to be) deteriorating housing stock. Many houses are in need of significant repair; others are beyond repair, serve as a magnet for social problems, and need to be torn down.As the Race Relations Council began to discuss housing issues, residents of Benton Harbor expressed frustration that home improvement loans, though sorely needed, were difficult to obtain. Homeowners who applied were often informed that the lending institution wouldn’t provide the loan because other properties in the neighborhood were in such poor condition. The stated rationale was that neighboring properties had to reach a certain appraised value in order to “justify the investment”.
Clearly, this created a vicious circle – the homeowner who wanted to improve his or her property was denied a loan because other properties in the area also needed to be improved.
Benton Harbor residents were frustrated - without home improvement loans, how does a neighborhood begin to “turn itself around?”; how does the community acquire a “critical mass” of more highly appraised properties?
An additional problem was that individuals who were able to improve their financial status – secure employment, earn promotions, etc., often ended up leaving Benton Harbor because of their limited ability to improve their property and their community.
Residents also reported that loan applications for home purchases in Benton Harbor were frequently denied. As with home improvement loan denials, one of the explanations given by lending institutions was that property values in the community were too low to justify a mortgage. As a result, it was difficult for individuals, especially those of modest means, to purchase a home in Benton Harbor. When they were able to buy a home, they were often unable to make needed repairs because of the difficulty obtaining a home improvement loan. Therefore, property values continued to decline.
Article Continues: Fostering Change in Home Lending...