This article originally appeared in WFAE's weekly EQUALibrium newsletter. To get the latest race and equity news in your inbox first, sign up for our email newsletters here.
As Charlotte grows, questions about how to build a more equitable city constantly emerge. WFAE’s SouthBound host Tommy Tomlinson aims to explore some of those ideas on Thursday regarding planning, preserving and building neighborhoods, and the arts.
Here’s a look at the panelists that will take the stage on Thursday at 7 p.m. at WFAE’s Center for Civic and Community Engagement in uptown Charlotte.
Monique Douglas
Douglas runs the Brooklyn Collective with her husband Kevin Douglas. The arts organization helps grow small businesses, nonprofits, and artists to boost economic mobility and equity in the Charlotte area.
The collective operates out of three buildings that remain from the historically Black Brooklyn neighborhood. The neighborhood was destroyed in the 1960s as part of Charlotte’s first wave of urban renewal.
The art gallery is housed in the historic Mecklenburg Investment Company, or MiCo, building. Built just over a century ago, it was the first office building open to Black professionals in Charlotte and was financed by many in that community.
It served as a space to help train entrepreneurs and small businesses so they could better serve the community.
The Brooklyn Collective continues that legacy. "Our mission here is to be a gathering place for real conversations, to not only make a real difference for our community but also be a place of education and empowerment,” Monique Douglas told WFAE in 2022.
Some of Brooklyn Collective’s initiatives include art exhibits, music performances and space for small businesses.
Alyson Craig
Craig is the director of Charlotte's Planning, Design and Development Department. She is one of the architects of the 2040 Charlotte Future Comprehensive Plan, which Craig says will help the city grow more equitably.
“[We began] the process with an equitable growth framework and understanding where we have made mistakes as a city….and really being intentional about righting the wrongs of those [mistakes],” she said in an interview last year with WFAE’s Gwendolyn Glenn. “The comprehensive plan really sets the foundation of how we want to grow in the future.”
Part of the 2040 plan is Charlotte's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), a set of city rules that “make sure the growth of Charlotte fits the community's goals.”
WFAE has gone through the 605-page UDO and has covered what stood out to us, like the preservation of historic districts and protection of the city’s tree canopy.
Most of the plan wasn’t controversial, but the debates over increasing density by allowing duplexes and triplexes in areas zoned for single-family homes was one of the most intense debates council members have had. Council members are now looking at modifying that.
Craig told Glenn that she and her team are always brainstorming new ways to get people’s ideas to the table.
“It's really important to involve the different neighborhood leaders,” Craig said. “We want to hear every person's perspective. We want to hear what your ideas are for your communities.”
Charis Blackmon
Blackmon is the executive director of the West Side Community Land Trust, a nonprofit organization that acquires land and raises money to ensure longtime residents of west Charlotte have a place to live as the area rapidly changes.
“Our mission is to create permanently affordable housing with community-centered development in west Charlotte and beyond, ultimately creating staying power for longtime residents who are facing displacement,” Blackmon said toWFAE last year.
West Charlotte includes three of the city’s Corridors of Opportunity. These are historically overlooked areas in which the city of Charlotte is focusing millions of dollars in new public investments. Black residents make up the majority of most neighborhoods in west Charlotte.
Other organizations in the area work to address the needs of the community, like fresh food, affordable housing, economic development and improving infrastructure for public safety.
“As we continue to see our neighborhoods redeveloped, as we continue to move forward with progress and growth, we must ensure that we are not leaving behind the residents that are such a core component of what makes our city great,” Blackmon said.
SouthBound Live: Charlotte Forward Part II will take place on Thursday, March 28, at 7 p.m., at WFAE’s Center for Civic and Community Engagement at 301 E 7th Street.
Tickets are $7.50 pljus fees. Get them here.
