Keep walking, though there's no place to get to.
Don't try to see through the distances. That's not for human beings.
Move within, but don't move the way fear makes you move.
Rumi
[Lifted from SoJo.net, the on-line service of Sojourners magazine and community.]
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Saturday, February 17, 2007
City depths
Urban areas present daunting challenges.
Deep, sometimes frightening "holes" open up before us, with no apparent way to get across or over.
People everywhere.
It is easy to see people as the problem.
In reality, among the poor and the distressed, people provide hope and potential solutions.
The real challenge is getting people together to decide that hope is something we create in concert with one another, no matter how deep the holes or how daunting the fears.
We are in this together.
It is in this realization and commitment that we find our way across, and sometimes down to reclaim another friend.
[Photo taken from atop The Prince George hotel, a Common Ground Development property in New York City.]
Friday, February 16, 2007
Responding to people with class
During our recent trip to Common Ground Development in New York City, we toured three properties the organization has restored to use as single room occupancy apartments for low-income and formerly homeless persons.
Their work is stellar.
The buildings are all emaculate. The restorations exquisite.
Most importantly, the residents are enjoying great and encouraging living environments.
During our trip, we witnessed no problems with loitering, drunkenness or any sort of disturbance caused by any of the over 1,200 tenants leasing apartments from Common Ground.
The environments are key to the success they are experiencing.
The environments establish an expectation among the residents. No one could reside in such great places and be a "bum."
One of the features I appreciated, even in the bitter cold, was the rooftop patios and gardens. We were told that the tenants really took advantage of these spaces, especially in the springtime. [Forgive the quality of these photos. I captured them with my cell phone.]
The vision of Common Ground is amazing. The results are phenomenal.
What a model.
Talk about taking people seriously and responding to everyone with class, grace and quality!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Organizing for change. . .
Antonio Gramsci, writing after World War I, describes the effects of the war on Russia and its people.
"Selfish, individual instincts were blunted; a common, united spirit was fashioned; feelings were universalized; the habit of social discipline was formed. The peasants came to see the state in all its complex grandeur, it measureless power, its intricate construction. They came to see the world no longer as something infinitely vast like the universe and as circumscribed and small as the village bell-tower, but as a concrete reality consisting of states and peoples, social strengths and weaknesses, armies and machines, wealth and poverty. Links of solidarity were forged which would have taken decades of historical experience and intermittent struggles to form. Within four years, in the mud and blood of the trenches, a spiritual world emerged that was avid to form itself into permanent and dynamic social structures and institutions." (A Gramsci Reader, page 115)
Gramsci's description of the impact of the trauma of a world war on poor workers and farmers in Russia helps explain how the people managed to come together quickly to form an entirely new political worldview and social framework for such a vast nation. The exploitation and violence of the oppressive regimes of Lenin and Stalin intervened to thwart what might have been created had it been allowed to go forward in more equitable and just ways.
The interesting point here for me is the effect of shared pain on human communities, especially on communities of common interest and experience. Clearly, the pain caused by the war and the preceding stark realities of deep poverty, extreme class disparities, disease and death created a social movement among common, very poor people.
My grandfather once told me that "you can't organize farmers." I expect he should have known. He and my dad were West Texas cotton farmers for decades. The promise and/or availability of continuing credit, no matter how bad the terms, combined with the prospects of a "better crop on the place next year," almost always blocked efforts at collective action or marketing among independent producers.
The same sort of dynamic seems to hold true here in Dallas and across the nation among poor folks, though in an even more hopeless context. It is very hard to organize people at the very bottom of the economic ladder for any sort of collective effort to bring about change or social improvement.
So much energy is expended on simply "getting by" that very few have time or resources to spare on getting together to promote change, reform or better opportunities for themselves as a group.
Mix in healthy doses of a religious fervor that continually points people away from the harsh realities of this world and on toward the next and you take away even more motivation to come together to demand changes and reform for the here and now.
Others turn to narcotics, alcohol or other abusive addictions, including unchecked sexual avarice, to deal with the pain and discouragement associated with poverty and economic failure. The "quick fix" options often crowd out the longer term requirements of community activism and organizing.
Then, there is the extremely resilient power of the persistent social and cultural notion that boasts "anyone who will work hard and follow the rules can make it in this country." Like my grandfather's friends, this takes us back to the power of the motivated individual rather than the promise of the organized group. This social myth leads people to act, vote and behave in ways that often work against their own best self-interest.
Still, Gramsci teaches me that if the pain is severe enough and the crisis deep enough, people will come together to work for better lives for everyone who shares in and understands the difficulties of poverty and the consequences following from the absence of real, widespread opportunities.
Call me naive, but I find at least a glimmer of hope in this promise. Maybe things will have to get worse in our inner cities before they actually get much better.
"Selfish, individual instincts were blunted; a common, united spirit was fashioned; feelings were universalized; the habit of social discipline was formed. The peasants came to see the state in all its complex grandeur, it measureless power, its intricate construction. They came to see the world no longer as something infinitely vast like the universe and as circumscribed and small as the village bell-tower, but as a concrete reality consisting of states and peoples, social strengths and weaknesses, armies and machines, wealth and poverty. Links of solidarity were forged which would have taken decades of historical experience and intermittent struggles to form. Within four years, in the mud and blood of the trenches, a spiritual world emerged that was avid to form itself into permanent and dynamic social structures and institutions." (A Gramsci Reader, page 115)
Gramsci's description of the impact of the trauma of a world war on poor workers and farmers in Russia helps explain how the people managed to come together quickly to form an entirely new political worldview and social framework for such a vast nation. The exploitation and violence of the oppressive regimes of Lenin and Stalin intervened to thwart what might have been created had it been allowed to go forward in more equitable and just ways.
The interesting point here for me is the effect of shared pain on human communities, especially on communities of common interest and experience. Clearly, the pain caused by the war and the preceding stark realities of deep poverty, extreme class disparities, disease and death created a social movement among common, very poor people.
My grandfather once told me that "you can't organize farmers." I expect he should have known. He and my dad were West Texas cotton farmers for decades. The promise and/or availability of continuing credit, no matter how bad the terms, combined with the prospects of a "better crop on the place next year," almost always blocked efforts at collective action or marketing among independent producers.
The same sort of dynamic seems to hold true here in Dallas and across the nation among poor folks, though in an even more hopeless context. It is very hard to organize people at the very bottom of the economic ladder for any sort of collective effort to bring about change or social improvement.
So much energy is expended on simply "getting by" that very few have time or resources to spare on getting together to promote change, reform or better opportunities for themselves as a group.
Mix in healthy doses of a religious fervor that continually points people away from the harsh realities of this world and on toward the next and you take away even more motivation to come together to demand changes and reform for the here and now.
Others turn to narcotics, alcohol or other abusive addictions, including unchecked sexual avarice, to deal with the pain and discouragement associated with poverty and economic failure. The "quick fix" options often crowd out the longer term requirements of community activism and organizing.
Then, there is the extremely resilient power of the persistent social and cultural notion that boasts "anyone who will work hard and follow the rules can make it in this country." Like my grandfather's friends, this takes us back to the power of the motivated individual rather than the promise of the organized group. This social myth leads people to act, vote and behave in ways that often work against their own best self-interest.
Still, Gramsci teaches me that if the pain is severe enough and the crisis deep enough, people will come together to work for better lives for everyone who shares in and understands the difficulties of poverty and the consequences following from the absence of real, widespread opportunities.
Call me naive, but I find at least a glimmer of hope in this promise. Maybe things will have to get worse in our inner cities before they actually get much better.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Churches, Poverty and the Inner City
Church leaders often remark to me, "What can we do to really be involved in the work you are doing? We don't want to just write a check."
I understand and appreciate the sentiment behind the question, at least I think I do.
Of course, there are some clear facts to consider in this discussion.
First, churches don't write many checks to support our work here in Dallas. We project, based on past experience, that contributions by churches to Central Dallas Ministries during 2007 will total a good bit less than 5% of our operations budget. So, you will understand that from our perspective, in view of the needs and opportunities we face every day, it is not a bad thing for a church to simply write us a check, or better yet, a check a month!
Second, getting churches involved in inner city neighborhoods can be a little tricky. For one thing, lots of church folks want to lavish lots of stuff on poor people. This can be useful at times, if we are talking about the right stuff, delivered in the proper manner. But for the most part, free stuff is not what is needed or even best for our communities.
For example, putting low-income persons in a position to control the process of, say, hunger relief or clothing distribution, may be much better than having church folks from outside the community deliver the goods directly to the poor.
If your goal is community and human development, you look for ways to avoid the creation of dependence or a neo-colonial approach to relief and compassion efforts. If the community senses that it is being assisted by its own members, things seem to work better and lead somewhere beyond the venue and limitations of charity. Churches that are mature enough to entrust resources to inner city leaders and community organizers without the demand to be involved in the delivery process usually are doing much more than they realize to promote health in distressed communities.
Third, churches from outside the inner city can make a big difference if they are willing to simply work on developing authentic friendships. Churches may want to "adopt" a neighborhood, not to shower it with material gifts, but to come to know it, the environment, the challenges and its residents. As relationships form around various projects and meetings, friendship will lead naturally to joint action.
Such an approach takes time and commitment that includes and goes beyond check writing.
One of our best supporting churches is in the process of adopting the community formed by one of our apartment complexes. Church members have spent weekends painting and repairing apartments. They have had picnics and they have erected a much-needed fence around the front yard to protect the children who play outside from their rather busy street. I know his group plans to stay with it and get to know the people who live there.
Such an approach is key to really being involved in a way that goes beyond checks to friendships and community connections. The benefits are mutual and reciprocal. Both groups benefit from one another. This is key.
If an action does not result in reciprocal benefit for both groups and everyone involved, it likely should be reconsidered or redesigned. Including neighborhood folks in any planning for such activities will be a step in the right direction from the get-go.
Not every church is ready for such a commitment. That's okay.
Checks placed in the hands of community and ministry leaders are crucial to our continued progress. If more follows on from the financial commitment, well and good.
Please though, don't underestimate the importance and power of simply writing a check!
I understand and appreciate the sentiment behind the question, at least I think I do.
Of course, there are some clear facts to consider in this discussion.
First, churches don't write many checks to support our work here in Dallas. We project, based on past experience, that contributions by churches to Central Dallas Ministries during 2007 will total a good bit less than 5% of our operations budget. So, you will understand that from our perspective, in view of the needs and opportunities we face every day, it is not a bad thing for a church to simply write us a check, or better yet, a check a month!
Second, getting churches involved in inner city neighborhoods can be a little tricky. For one thing, lots of church folks want to lavish lots of stuff on poor people. This can be useful at times, if we are talking about the right stuff, delivered in the proper manner. But for the most part, free stuff is not what is needed or even best for our communities.
For example, putting low-income persons in a position to control the process of, say, hunger relief or clothing distribution, may be much better than having church folks from outside the community deliver the goods directly to the poor.
If your goal is community and human development, you look for ways to avoid the creation of dependence or a neo-colonial approach to relief and compassion efforts. If the community senses that it is being assisted by its own members, things seem to work better and lead somewhere beyond the venue and limitations of charity. Churches that are mature enough to entrust resources to inner city leaders and community organizers without the demand to be involved in the delivery process usually are doing much more than they realize to promote health in distressed communities.
Third, churches from outside the inner city can make a big difference if they are willing to simply work on developing authentic friendships. Churches may want to "adopt" a neighborhood, not to shower it with material gifts, but to come to know it, the environment, the challenges and its residents. As relationships form around various projects and meetings, friendship will lead naturally to joint action.
Such an approach takes time and commitment that includes and goes beyond check writing.
One of our best supporting churches is in the process of adopting the community formed by one of our apartment complexes. Church members have spent weekends painting and repairing apartments. They have had picnics and they have erected a much-needed fence around the front yard to protect the children who play outside from their rather busy street. I know his group plans to stay with it and get to know the people who live there.
Such an approach is key to really being involved in a way that goes beyond checks to friendships and community connections. The benefits are mutual and reciprocal. Both groups benefit from one another. This is key.
If an action does not result in reciprocal benefit for both groups and everyone involved, it likely should be reconsidered or redesigned. Including neighborhood folks in any planning for such activities will be a step in the right direction from the get-go.
Not every church is ready for such a commitment. That's okay.
Checks placed in the hands of community and ministry leaders are crucial to our continued progress. If more follows on from the financial commitment, well and good.
Please though, don't underestimate the importance and power of simply writing a check!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
A New Mayor's "Prayer List"
There's a joke making the rounds in Dallas today that asks who is running for Mayor in May?
The punch line serving several variations on this theme goes something like this, "It would be a heck of a lot easier to list who isn't running!"
The last count I saw listed 20 candidates for the job.
Yesterday was the beginning of the filing period for candidates to get their names on the official ballot. By this time tomorrow no telling how many folks will be in the race!
The field was opened up when Mayor Laura Miller announced that she would not to seek another term. Ms. Miller has decided to step away from the chaos of running Dallas to spend more time with her family. Who could blame her?
As the field began filling up shortly after the Mayor's surprise announcement, we started wondering. . .
Who, if anyone, among the candidates had a vision for our low-income, inner-city neighborhoods?
Who among those hoping to guide our city for the next four years has a plan for attacking the challenges presented by persistent, almost intractable poverty here in Dallas?
Who has a valid vision for the Southern Sector in our city?
Is there anyone?
We decided to find out.
We will do so at our 12th Annual Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, April 26 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. Our meeting will begin at 7:15 a.m. Our program for the morning will be the top 7-8 mayoral candidates vying for the top position in Dallas city government. We have invited the top contenders. All have agreed to be present.
Each candidate will be given an opportunity to respond to prompts like these:
"When I pray for poor people in Dallas, my list includes. . . ."
"My vision for improving life for the residents of our lowest income neighborhoods includes. . . ."
"When it comes to the Southern Sector here in Dallas, I plan to. . . ."
After hearing from each candidate, we will open the meeting to questions from the floor.
It should be a great and informative morning.
We just felt like the campaign should not conclude without someone asking hard questions about the issues that matter most to us and our inner city neighbors.
If you are anywhere near Dallas on this special morning, I hope you'll join us. Information about tickets, tables and sponsorships will be up on our website in the near future (http://www.centraldallasministries.org/).
Monday, February 12, 2007
Public Schools and "Turning" Neighborhoods
I mentioned last week that I got to hear Richard Baron, Chairman and CEO with McCormack Baron Salazar, speak to the annual Real Estate Council breakfast.
Baron has been re-developing housing and community in some of America’s toughest urban centers, including Boston, Pittsburgh and Atlanta. He and his firm seem to go where no one else much wants to play. Good for him!
The first line of his very informative and inspiring presentation was stunning: public schools are the key to renewing inner city neighborhoods and communities.
In short, according to Baron, if you can’t capture, reform and make effective the local public schools, forget your plans to revitalize failing urban communities.
He went on to describe the work he and his firm have been doing, not only in housing and retail development, but in working directly with public school districts at a very high level to insure needed change.
Baron is the first to admit the importance of after school programming and other human development services. But, he also insists that such programs will never be enough.
What is needed is strategic alignment of inner city developers and public school leaders and planners. Until both groups learn to trust each other and sit down and plan together, nothing very significant will change in our urban centers. He went on to talk about how some districts where he has worked built new, highly effective schools in conjunction with the housing development he was leading.
He also noted that public schools must be re-engineered to operate much more effectively and efficiently than is currently the case in urban districts like Dallas, Texas.
As he spoke, I thought of the groundbreaking work being done here by Don Williams and the Foundation for Community Empowerment via the Dallas Achieves initiative.
What’s needed now is a similar commitment to revamp our public schools, and thus, our neighborhoods, from home builders and economic development folks, including the City of Dallas.
Our problems are much too large to work in isolation from one another for even one more day.
Why don’t we all get together and talk?
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Love, Courage, Wisdom. . .
"Love without courage and wisdom is sentimentality, as with the ordinary church member. Courage without love and wisdom is foolhardiness, as with the ordinary soldier. Wisdom without love and courage is cowardice, as with the ordinary intellectual. But the one who has love, courage and wisdom moves the world."
--Ammon Hennacy (Catholic activist, 1893-1970) as quoted in Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical (Zondervan, 2006)
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Les Miserables
“There is always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the higher.”
Victor Hugo, Les Miserables
[Quoted on the cover of the program of the play presented by the School of Performing Arts at Garland High School, Garland, Texas February 7-10, 2007]
Friday, February 09, 2007
The War
I know that it won't matter, what I say, I mean.
Sometimes though, a person just needs to go ahead, lead with the chin and get things of the heart out in the open.
So, here goes.
To date the war in Iraq has cost the nation $365,000,000,000--and that is a conservative estimate. Earlier this week the President asked Congress for $237,000,000,000 in additional funds for the next year.
Sums of money this large more than boggle my very limited mind.
The funds and their use cut at my heart and move my soul deeply for many reasons, all related to life, priorities, purpose, outcomes, peace, justice and hope.
For today I will stick to brief observations about alternatives.
The National Priorities Project provides a running--"rushing" would be better--tabulation of the cost of the war. Take a moment and check the site out at: http://costofwar.com/index.html.
Just as striking are its estimates of the completely different outcomes that could have been realized with the application of funds at these same levels. What might the nation have been able to achieve had these same funds been applied to other pressing national issues?
For example. . .
Sometimes though, a person just needs to go ahead, lead with the chin and get things of the heart out in the open.
So, here goes.
To date the war in Iraq has cost the nation $365,000,000,000--and that is a conservative estimate. Earlier this week the President asked Congress for $237,000,000,000 in additional funds for the next year.
Sums of money this large more than boggle my very limited mind.
The funds and their use cut at my heart and move my soul deeply for many reasons, all related to life, priorities, purpose, outcomes, peace, justice and hope.
For today I will stick to brief observations about alternatives.
The National Priorities Project provides a running--"rushing" would be better--tabulation of the cost of the war. Take a moment and check the site out at: http://costofwar.com/index.html.
Just as striking are its estimates of the completely different outcomes that could have been realized with the application of funds at these same levels. What might the nation have been able to achieve had these same funds been applied to other pressing national issues?
For example. . .
- 48,000,000 children could have been enrolled in the pre-school programs of Head Start
- 218,000,000 children could have been fully insured
- 6,000,000 new public school teachers could have been recruited and hired
- 3,000,000 new units of housing could have been built
- 18,000,000 four-year, full scholarships to public universities could have been awarded
The possibilities are endless. Pick an area. Consider the weight of the assets involved. Dream a little.
Sadly, today our nation finds itself in a very difficult position as our leaders consider what to do next in Iraq. One thing is certain. The funding meter is still whirling.
Even sadder is the realization that this comparison is actually a cruel fantasy.
Can you imagine us deciding to actually appropriate and spend our national treasure on such matters as these I've listed as "alternatives"?
Like I say, I know this won't matter. But, I do feel better having expressed myself.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Mental Health and Dallas Jails
In Dallas County our public hospital system, Parkland Health and Hospital System, provides medical services for the County Jails.
Recently, I participated in a panel discussion at the Dallas County Commissioners Court regarding housing and homelessness.
One aspect of the presentation shocked me.
Dallas County operates the 7th largest jail system in the United States.
Currently, our jails “house” 1,270 inmates who have been diagnosed with mental illness.
Of these folks, 272 have been determined to be homeless.
Sixty-four of these persons take psychotropic medications, or they should, to manage their illness.
One hundred-twenty-seven are addicted to some sort of drug.
Is it just me, or doesn’t it seem logical and much more humane that these men and women might do better if they were placed in an environment other than jail?
Of course, Texas ranks 48th and 49th respectively in mental health and addiction treatment services. I guess with so little funding available, we've just decided as a community that jail is as good a place as any for the “throwaways” in our population.
But, we are compassionate here, please don’t lose sight of that fact!
Maybe this is something we could pray about this weekend in church, temple and mosque.
What do you think?
Recently, I participated in a panel discussion at the Dallas County Commissioners Court regarding housing and homelessness.
One aspect of the presentation shocked me.
Dallas County operates the 7th largest jail system in the United States.
Currently, our jails “house” 1,270 inmates who have been diagnosed with mental illness.
Of these folks, 272 have been determined to be homeless.
Sixty-four of these persons take psychotropic medications, or they should, to manage their illness.
One hundred-twenty-seven are addicted to some sort of drug.
Is it just me, or doesn’t it seem logical and much more humane that these men and women might do better if they were placed in an environment other than jail?
Of course, Texas ranks 48th and 49th respectively in mental health and addiction treatment services. I guess with so little funding available, we've just decided as a community that jail is as good a place as any for the “throwaways” in our population.
But, we are compassionate here, please don’t lose sight of that fact!
Maybe this is something we could pray about this weekend in church, temple and mosque.
What do you think?
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Common Ground Community
Spending 24 hours in Manhattan can renew your faith in the human enterprise.
At least that was my experience yesterday when four of my partners and I devoted a day to touring and attempting to understand the amazing work of Common Ground Community, one of the most successful and edgy community development corporations in the world.
Rosanne Haggerty runs the outfit from her office as President. She oversees the creative and diligent work of 200 professionals who are devoted to developing, delivering and managing high-quality housing opportunities for some of the poorest of the poor who reside in New York City.
About half of their almost 1,200 units are now home to formerly, chronically homeless men and women who lived on the streets of our nation's largest city.
So, what did I bring home from the trip?
1. Low-income working people and formerly chronic homeless persons can live together successfully in high density developments. None of this mixing of market rate units in the Common Ground developments.
All of their major projects are filled with low-income tenants. The Times Square Hotel, their first major project, offers over 600 units to low-income and formerly homeless. We visited the Prince George Hotel (over 400 units) and The Christopher (200 plus units, including about 40 youth who aged out of state foster care services). Each development is a stunning success. Turn over rates are extremely low in all of the properties Common Ground owns. Waiting lists are long.
Common Ground proves that the “housing first” philosophy works and works well. The notion that people need to earn their way into permanent housing is a foolish, paternalistic idea. By placing people in decent housing first and then surrounding them with relationships and friendship, Common Ground is proving that life can change for even hard core poor and homeless persons.
2. Cities, like Dallas, must change their priorities if they truly desire to see homeless eradicated and sufficient workforce housing developed in their communities.
The City of New York mandates that their housing preservation dollars be spent primarily on chronically homeless individuals. They back up that commitment with money.
Dallas should go to school on New York City.
Enough of our excuses.
It is time for the city to adequately fund a real housing strategy. The next mayor needs to be on board with such a plan. Every mayoral candidate needs to declare a position on housing and homelessness, the sooner the better.
3. The key to success resides in how we regard low-income people.
Common Ground believes in people. It’s that simple for them.
Everyone we met exhibited a positive attitude about their relationship with the tenants. Haggerty told us that her Tenant Services staff shares more in common with cruise directors than professional case managers or traditional social workers. The refreshment that flows from that attitude cannot be over emphasized. Haggerty spoke eloquently of the “normalizing” factor such an attitude brings to the living environment.
The key question asked again and again by the Tenant Services team members is, “What does my friend [insert first name here] need?”
4. Common Ground seeks to meet the housing needs of very poor people by sharing their experiences and their intelligence freely with whoever is interested in joining in the battle. We were amazed and encouraged by just how transparent the entire team was with us. We left determined to be more attentive to groups wanting to meet with us and share learning here in Dallas.
Our CityWalk@Akard development can become a major asset to the city of Dallas, not only in terms of its immediate impact on the housing inventory available to the very poor, but also as a model for future projects.
Confession: I have found that if you stay in Dallas for long, unbroken periods of time, you begin to believe our “community lie” that the poor are simply a major, distracting aggravation and that the homeless are hopeless. Such poison can seep into your soul and sap your energy and kill your heart and passion.
Getting away for just a day to be among people who are getting the job done in a city that is determined to get it done, is invaluable.
As we flew home, I realized that we really aren’t such fools after all. We just need to stay at our work and we need to persuade others to join us.
5. Big projects are much better than small ones. Why waste time and energy dreaming small? Large projects enjoy efficiencies and advantages of scale that make them the best option. I saw it in New York City all day long with Common Ground.
Dallas needs to think bigger.
Neighborhoods need to step up and people need to grow up.
It is time our city actually worked on becoming world class. We’ve talked a good game. But now the time has come to put up or shut up.
Thanks, Common Ground! I needed exactly what you provided.
At least that was my experience yesterday when four of my partners and I devoted a day to touring and attempting to understand the amazing work of Common Ground Community, one of the most successful and edgy community development corporations in the world.
Rosanne Haggerty runs the outfit from her office as President. She oversees the creative and diligent work of 200 professionals who are devoted to developing, delivering and managing high-quality housing opportunities for some of the poorest of the poor who reside in New York City.
About half of their almost 1,200 units are now home to formerly, chronically homeless men and women who lived on the streets of our nation's largest city.
So, what did I bring home from the trip?
1. Low-income working people and formerly chronic homeless persons can live together successfully in high density developments. None of this mixing of market rate units in the Common Ground developments.
All of their major projects are filled with low-income tenants. The Times Square Hotel, their first major project, offers over 600 units to low-income and formerly homeless. We visited the Prince George Hotel (over 400 units) and The Christopher (200 plus units, including about 40 youth who aged out of state foster care services). Each development is a stunning success. Turn over rates are extremely low in all of the properties Common Ground owns. Waiting lists are long.
Common Ground proves that the “housing first” philosophy works and works well. The notion that people need to earn their way into permanent housing is a foolish, paternalistic idea. By placing people in decent housing first and then surrounding them with relationships and friendship, Common Ground is proving that life can change for even hard core poor and homeless persons.
2. Cities, like Dallas, must change their priorities if they truly desire to see homeless eradicated and sufficient workforce housing developed in their communities.
The City of New York mandates that their housing preservation dollars be spent primarily on chronically homeless individuals. They back up that commitment with money.
Dallas should go to school on New York City.
Enough of our excuses.
It is time for the city to adequately fund a real housing strategy. The next mayor needs to be on board with such a plan. Every mayoral candidate needs to declare a position on housing and homelessness, the sooner the better.
3. The key to success resides in how we regard low-income people.
Common Ground believes in people. It’s that simple for them.
Everyone we met exhibited a positive attitude about their relationship with the tenants. Haggerty told us that her Tenant Services staff shares more in common with cruise directors than professional case managers or traditional social workers. The refreshment that flows from that attitude cannot be over emphasized. Haggerty spoke eloquently of the “normalizing” factor such an attitude brings to the living environment.
The key question asked again and again by the Tenant Services team members is, “What does my friend [insert first name here] need?”
4. Common Ground seeks to meet the housing needs of very poor people by sharing their experiences and their intelligence freely with whoever is interested in joining in the battle. We were amazed and encouraged by just how transparent the entire team was with us. We left determined to be more attentive to groups wanting to meet with us and share learning here in Dallas.
Our CityWalk@Akard development can become a major asset to the city of Dallas, not only in terms of its immediate impact on the housing inventory available to the very poor, but also as a model for future projects.
Confession: I have found that if you stay in Dallas for long, unbroken periods of time, you begin to believe our “community lie” that the poor are simply a major, distracting aggravation and that the homeless are hopeless. Such poison can seep into your soul and sap your energy and kill your heart and passion.
Getting away for just a day to be among people who are getting the job done in a city that is determined to get it done, is invaluable.
As we flew home, I realized that we really aren’t such fools after all. We just need to stay at our work and we need to persuade others to join us.
5. Big projects are much better than small ones. Why waste time and energy dreaming small? Large projects enjoy efficiencies and advantages of scale that make them the best option. I saw it in New York City all day long with Common Ground.
Dallas needs to think bigger.
Neighborhoods need to step up and people need to grow up.
It is time our city actually worked on becoming world class. We’ve talked a good game. But now the time has come to put up or shut up.
Thanks, Common Ground! I needed exactly what you provided.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Extreme Cold. . .Brrrrr!
Five of us made the trip to New York City last night. Today we tour properties developed by Common Ground, one of the most innovative and successful community development corporations in the country.
It was the story of Common Ground's Times Square Hotel development that influenced us to purchase a building for re-development in Downtown Dallas. The "60 Minutes" report on the project here in Manhattan is still etched in my mind.
This morning the temperature stands just above 0! The windchill makes it feel somewhere between 0 and 15 below! Cold for a Texas boy.
Looking forward to what we can discover together for the sake of our city and folks who deserve a quality space for living.
It was the story of Common Ground's Times Square Hotel development that influenced us to purchase a building for re-development in Downtown Dallas. The "60 Minutes" report on the project here in Manhattan is still etched in my mind.
This morning the temperature stands just above 0! The windchill makes it feel somewhere between 0 and 15 below! Cold for a Texas boy.
Looking forward to what we can discover together for the sake of our city and folks who deserve a quality space for living.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Immigration: Practical and Complicated Considerations
Last Tuesday, I attended The Real Estate Council's annual breakfast at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas Love Field. The theme for the morning: "Rebuilding Neighborhoods in Central Cities."
Richard Baron, Co-founder and Chairman and CEO with McCormack Baron Salazar based in St. Louis, has been developing innovative, mixed-income, mixed-use housing projects in inner cities all over the United States. He and his firm are not afraid to tackle tough neighborhoods with depressing histories. From what I saw, Baron has a great track record that combines risk-taking with sound business and development practices.
I loved what he shared with us in words and photos. But, this morning I am remembering one of his "throw away" lines related, not to development, but to immigration.
"And speaking of plans to secure our southern border, who the $#&*@ is gonna build the wall?"
Good question, don't you think?
_________________________________
Consider these facts about immigration:
Richard Baron, Co-founder and Chairman and CEO with McCormack Baron Salazar based in St. Louis, has been developing innovative, mixed-income, mixed-use housing projects in inner cities all over the United States. He and his firm are not afraid to tackle tough neighborhoods with depressing histories. From what I saw, Baron has a great track record that combines risk-taking with sound business and development practices.
I loved what he shared with us in words and photos. But, this morning I am remembering one of his "throw away" lines related, not to development, but to immigration.
"And speaking of plans to secure our southern border, who the $#&*@ is gonna build the wall?"
Good question, don't you think?
_________________________________
Consider these facts about immigration:
- Of 31 million total immigrants, 12 million are undocumented with 1.4 to 1.6 million in Texas (5% of the state's population)
- 43% of Dallas area Hispanics are immigrants and only 19% are citizens
- Dallas Federal Reserve reports that around 30% of U. S. immigrants are undocumented
- DFW International reports that in Dallas almost 1/2 of the "foreign born" residents have no documentation or 10% of the city's population
- 50% of these immigrants live in poverty and have no health insurance
- Dallas County gained 175,000 Hispanic residents between 2000-2005
- Exit polls during last November's General Election reported that 2/3 of voters listed immigration concerns as "extremely" or "very important" and 50% said undocumented residents should be given a chance to gain legal status, while 1/3 were in favor of deportation
- Entering the country without proper documentation is a civil matter, not a misdemeanor or felony
- In 2006, approximately 70% of workers sent $24 billion home to Mexico--an annual increase of 25%, representing 2.5% of Mexico's GDP
- Every 10% increase in remittances sent home to Mexico result in a 3.5% reduction in Mexican poverty levels
- In Texas, Latin American immigrants contribute $52.8 billion to local economies
- Undocumented Texas workers contributed $1.58 billion to state coffers in 2005
- If all undocumented Texas workers suddenly disappeared, the gross state product would drop by $17.7 billion in revenues
- Jobs follow market needs: a skilled carpenter in Mexico earns $125 per month; the same laborer can earn $2,299 in the U. S. where food costs are also lower
- Sixty families in Mexico control 40% of the wealth
- Unemployment rates in Dallas-Ft Worth stand at about 5%--the result is a labor shortage
- 70% of the Dallas construction workforce is immigrant and largely undocumented
- Texas Workforce Commission reports that Texas will need almost 125,000 additional restaurant workers and over 35,000 truck drivers
- A language other than English is spoken in 43.9% of Dallas homes, as compared to 19.4% nationally
- High School graduation rates for Hispanics in the DISD is 32%--graduation rates for undocumented are even lower
- Over 2/3 of all DISD students are Hispanic
- The City of McKinney spent $138,000 to build a labor center for immigrant day laborers to "catch out" for work in an orderly manner--Plano and Garland also have such centers supported by public funds
- Parkland Health and Hospital System, the public hospital in Dallas County, wrote off $7.6 million in unpaid medical bills from patients residing in adjoining Collin County which has no public hospital
(D Magazine, "Mexican Invasion," by Rod Davis, February 2007, pages 42ff)
_____________________________
If you are really interested in the whole question of American jobs taken by immigrants, you may want to take a look at the article in yesterday's Dallas Morning News by Daniel Gross ("Reeled In," Sunday, February 4, 2007, Points section):
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/
opinion/points/stories/DN-gross_04edi.ART.State.Edition1.294d7c9.html
Sunday, February 04, 2007
More Gutierrez
"In the first place, liberation expresses the aspirations of oppressed peoples and social classes, emphasizing the conflictual aspect of the economic, social, and political process which puts them at odds with wealthy nations and oppressive classes. In contrast, the word development, and above all the policies characterized as developmentalist. . ., appear somewhat aseptic, giving a false picture of a tragic and conflictual reality. The issue of development does in fact find its true place in the more universal, profound, and radical perspective of liberation. It is only within this framework that development finds its true meaning and possibilities of accomplishing something worthwhile.
"At a deeper level, liberation can be applied to an understanding of history. Humankind is seen as assuming conscious responsibility for its own destiny. This understanding provides a dynamic context and broadens the horizons of the desired social changes. In this perspective the unfolding of all the dimensions of humanness is demanded--persons who make themselves throughout their life and throughout history. The gradual conquest of true freedom leads to the creation of a new humankind and a qualitatively different society. This vision provides, therefore, a better understanding of what in fact is at stake in our times.
"Finally, the word development to a certain extent limits and obscures the theological problems implied in the process designated by this term. On the contrary, the word liberation allows for another approach leading to the Biblical sources which inspire the presence and action of humankind in history. In the Bible, Christ is presented as the one who brings us liberation. Christ the Savior liberates from sin, which is the ultimate root of all disruption of friendship and of all injustice and oppression. Christ makes humankind truly free, that is to say, enables us to live in communion with him; and this is the basis for all human fellowship.
". . . .In this way two pitfalls will be avoided: first, idealist or spiritualist approaches, which are nothing but ways of evading a harsh and demanding reality, and second, shallow analyses and programs of short-term effect initiated under the pretext of meeting immediate needs."
(Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation, pages 24-25.)
"At a deeper level, liberation can be applied to an understanding of history. Humankind is seen as assuming conscious responsibility for its own destiny. This understanding provides a dynamic context and broadens the horizons of the desired social changes. In this perspective the unfolding of all the dimensions of humanness is demanded--persons who make themselves throughout their life and throughout history. The gradual conquest of true freedom leads to the creation of a new humankind and a qualitatively different society. This vision provides, therefore, a better understanding of what in fact is at stake in our times.
"Finally, the word development to a certain extent limits and obscures the theological problems implied in the process designated by this term. On the contrary, the word liberation allows for another approach leading to the Biblical sources which inspire the presence and action of humankind in history. In the Bible, Christ is presented as the one who brings us liberation. Christ the Savior liberates from sin, which is the ultimate root of all disruption of friendship and of all injustice and oppression. Christ makes humankind truly free, that is to say, enables us to live in communion with him; and this is the basis for all human fellowship.
". . . .In this way two pitfalls will be avoided: first, idealist or spiritualist approaches, which are nothing but ways of evading a harsh and demanding reality, and second, shallow analyses and programs of short-term effect initiated under the pretext of meeting immediate needs."
(Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation, pages 24-25.)
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Embracing poverty. . .
Whenever I am looking for inspiration and grounding to "stay at it," I turn to Gustavo Gutierrez. His classic, first published in 1971 as Teologia de la liberacion, Perspectivas, is where I usually begin. Of course, I read the English version, A Theology of Liberation (Orbis Books, 1973).
Gutierrez has inspired millions and shaped a major theological interpretative movement through his writing and teaching. Not everyone buys his "liberation theology," but for a boy reared to take the Bible seriously and, at the same time, disillusioned by the typical and traditional responses of organized religion to the pain and suffering of the world, Gutierrez provides a haven for escape and reflection.
From my perspective anyone who seeks to provide leadership from a faith perspective to people or organizations seeking both to relieve communities from the burdens and barriers created by poverty and oppression and to revitalize such communities, his words are must reading.
From the paragraph that follows, consider his definition of "poverty" and his insights as to what will be involved in embracing it.
Gutierrez redefines "sin" in such a way that we can no longer ignore poverty, its causes or its consequences and still make a credible claim to be the people of God. Gutierrez forces us to face the fact that we are called to do much, much more than simply "help the poor." We are called in the Gospel to do battle with all the forces that keep people poor and that create poverty and oppression.
___________________________________
Poverty is an act of love and liberation. It has redemptive value. If the ultimate cause of human exploitation and alienation is selfishness, the deepest reason for voluntary poverty is love of neighbor. Christian poverty has meaning only as a commitment of solidarity with the poor, with those who suffer misery and injustice. The commitment is to witness to the evil which has resulted from sin and is a breach of communion. It is not a question of idealizing poverty, but rather of taking it on as it is--an evil--to protest against it and to struggle to abolish it. As Ricoeur says, you cannot really be with the poor unless you are struggling against poverty. Because of this solidarity--which must manifest itself in specific action, a style of life, a break with one's social class--one can also help the poor and exploited to become aware of their exploitation and seek liberation from it. Christian poverty, an expression of love, is solidarity with the poor and is a protest against poverty. This is the concrete, contemporary meaning of the witness of poverty. It is a poverty lived not for its own sake, but rather as an authentic imitation of Christ; it is a poverty which means taking on the sinful human condition to liberate humankind from sin and all its consequences (Page 172).
Gutierrez has inspired millions and shaped a major theological interpretative movement through his writing and teaching. Not everyone buys his "liberation theology," but for a boy reared to take the Bible seriously and, at the same time, disillusioned by the typical and traditional responses of organized religion to the pain and suffering of the world, Gutierrez provides a haven for escape and reflection.
From my perspective anyone who seeks to provide leadership from a faith perspective to people or organizations seeking both to relieve communities from the burdens and barriers created by poverty and oppression and to revitalize such communities, his words are must reading.
From the paragraph that follows, consider his definition of "poverty" and his insights as to what will be involved in embracing it.
Gutierrez redefines "sin" in such a way that we can no longer ignore poverty, its causes or its consequences and still make a credible claim to be the people of God. Gutierrez forces us to face the fact that we are called to do much, much more than simply "help the poor." We are called in the Gospel to do battle with all the forces that keep people poor and that create poverty and oppression.
___________________________________
Poverty is an act of love and liberation. It has redemptive value. If the ultimate cause of human exploitation and alienation is selfishness, the deepest reason for voluntary poverty is love of neighbor. Christian poverty has meaning only as a commitment of solidarity with the poor, with those who suffer misery and injustice. The commitment is to witness to the evil which has resulted from sin and is a breach of communion. It is not a question of idealizing poverty, but rather of taking it on as it is--an evil--to protest against it and to struggle to abolish it. As Ricoeur says, you cannot really be with the poor unless you are struggling against poverty. Because of this solidarity--which must manifest itself in specific action, a style of life, a break with one's social class--one can also help the poor and exploited to become aware of their exploitation and seek liberation from it. Christian poverty, an expression of love, is solidarity with the poor and is a protest against poverty. This is the concrete, contemporary meaning of the witness of poverty. It is a poverty lived not for its own sake, but rather as an authentic imitation of Christ; it is a poverty which means taking on the sinful human condition to liberate humankind from sin and all its consequences (Page 172).
Friday, February 02, 2007
Joe Biden and a "clean" African American candidate
The United States has never enjoyed the leadership of an African American President, not because there have been no qualified African Americans, but because of our society's prevailing racist assumptions.
On the very day that he was kicking off his own run for the White House, Senator Joseph Biden, Jr. (D-Delaware) stumbled badly. Speaking of Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) and his potential candidacy for President and his prospects of being the first African American to hold the office, Biden told reporters that Obama was, "the first mainstream, African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice looking guy."
I have no idea what Mr. Biden meant. I do know where he was coming from, and that scene is not all goodness and light.
It is true that Senator Obama, elected by a wide cross section of Illinois voters to the U. S. Senate with a large majority, rises from the mainstream of the American political process. Thankfully, his emergence is a sign of improving racial attitudes in the nation. Previous African American Presidential candidates have stepped forward from the margins of our political process. (Although, Jesse Jackson won my precinct caucus vote in the 1984 Democratic Primary when we lived in Richardson, Texas!)
Where Biden slipped up, and actually revealed an insight into the struggling soul of the nation, was in the remainder of his statement.
Articulate.
Bright.
Clean.
Nice looking.
Did he mean or imply that no candidate before Obama possessed any of these characteristics? In his apologies that went on the rest of the day on Wednesday, he seemed to deny that he meant his words to be taken in that way. I have no doubt that he didn't mean for us to take his statement this way, but what informed his observation in the first place?:
Actually, Biden may have done us all a great service. In fact, Senator Obama's almost instant popularity may be a reflection of the same beliefs and ideas that Senator Biden expressed yesterday without much thought.
Over the course of our history, countless African Americans have possessed the qualities necessary to serve as effective leaders of this nation. Unfortunately, the expressed and unexpressed biases of our national community have stood squarely in the way.
As we move toward the 2008 election, it seems more than realistic to think that we may finally elect a black President.
On the very day that he was kicking off his own run for the White House, Senator Joseph Biden, Jr. (D-Delaware) stumbled badly. Speaking of Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) and his potential candidacy for President and his prospects of being the first African American to hold the office, Biden told reporters that Obama was, "the first mainstream, African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice looking guy."
I have no idea what Mr. Biden meant. I do know where he was coming from, and that scene is not all goodness and light.
It is true that Senator Obama, elected by a wide cross section of Illinois voters to the U. S. Senate with a large majority, rises from the mainstream of the American political process. Thankfully, his emergence is a sign of improving racial attitudes in the nation. Previous African American Presidential candidates have stepped forward from the margins of our political process. (Although, Jesse Jackson won my precinct caucus vote in the 1984 Democratic Primary when we lived in Richardson, Texas!)
Where Biden slipped up, and actually revealed an insight into the struggling soul of the nation, was in the remainder of his statement.
Articulate.
Bright.
Clean.
Nice looking.
Did he mean or imply that no candidate before Obama possessed any of these characteristics? In his apologies that went on the rest of the day on Wednesday, he seemed to deny that he meant his words to be taken in that way. I have no doubt that he didn't mean for us to take his statement this way, but what informed his observation in the first place?:
Actually, Biden may have done us all a great service. In fact, Senator Obama's almost instant popularity may be a reflection of the same beliefs and ideas that Senator Biden expressed yesterday without much thought.
Over the course of our history, countless African Americans have possessed the qualities necessary to serve as effective leaders of this nation. Unfortunately, the expressed and unexpressed biases of our national community have stood squarely in the way.
As we move toward the 2008 election, it seems more than realistic to think that we may finally elect a black President.
Ironically, if we do, for many people like Mr. Biden it may be because this particular African American is "acceptable" as judged by traditional, and largely mythical, white standards and categories.
Race matters in this nation. Race and racism are still very large issues.
Race matters in this nation. Race and racism are still very large issues.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Pigment Matters, And Pays
Vanderbilt University law and economics professor, Joni Hersch recently completed research on the impact of skin color on earning power among immigrants to the United States ("Study of Immigrants Links Lighter Skin And Higher Income," The New York Times, Sunday, January 28, 2007, A19).
Her findings are compelling and concerning.
In short, light-skinned persons earn more money on average than those with darker complexions.
The reason?
Simple discrimination on that basis.
Professor Hersch studied government surveys for 2,084 legal immigrants to the U. S. from around the world. She discovered that those with the lightest skin earned on average 8 to 15% more than similar immigrants who were born with darker skin.
"On average," Dr. Hersch said, "being one shade lighter has about the same effect as having an additional year of education."
Interestingly, the study considered other factors in the analysis such as English language proficiency, education, occupation, and racial or national background. Even after controlling for race, it was clear that skin color mattered.
For example, for two immigrants from Bangladesh with the same abilities, occupations and backgrounds, the lighter-skinned person would make more money than the darker-skinned individual.
The last paragraph of the article seems telling:
"Although many cultures show a bias toward lighter skin, she [Dr. Hersch] said her analysis showed that the skin-color advantage was not based on preferential treatment for light-skinned people in their country of origin. The bias, she said, occurs in the United States."
Her findings are compelling and concerning.
In short, light-skinned persons earn more money on average than those with darker complexions.
The reason?
Simple discrimination on that basis.
Professor Hersch studied government surveys for 2,084 legal immigrants to the U. S. from around the world. She discovered that those with the lightest skin earned on average 8 to 15% more than similar immigrants who were born with darker skin.
"On average," Dr. Hersch said, "being one shade lighter has about the same effect as having an additional year of education."
Interestingly, the study considered other factors in the analysis such as English language proficiency, education, occupation, and racial or national background. Even after controlling for race, it was clear that skin color mattered.
For example, for two immigrants from Bangladesh with the same abilities, occupations and backgrounds, the lighter-skinned person would make more money than the darker-skinned individual.
The last paragraph of the article seems telling:
"Although many cultures show a bias toward lighter skin, she [Dr. Hersch] said her analysis showed that the skin-color advantage was not based on preferential treatment for light-skinned people in their country of origin. The bias, she said, occurs in the United States."
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Race Matters. . .
On and on it goes.
A group of Clemson University students--white students--threw a "gangsta" theme party the weekend prior to the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday.
The party invited participants to dress and behave in a manner that could politely be described as a night of parody of African American racial stereotypes. Dress and behavior poked fun at blacks who were not present for the event.
A similar party took place at Tarleton State University here in Texas. Another convened at the University of Connecticut School of Law.
On each campus the events in question set off a backlash of disgust, disappointment and hurt feelings. In addition, on each campus formal talks and forums have been organized to discuss race, racism and the nature and current condition of America's racial psyche.
To a person the students involved in the parties claim they meant no harm or disrespect. And, above all, they denied any suggestion that racism was involved.
I must admit I have a hard time with that claim.
Further, it is the ease with which the group uses this sort of disclaimer as an easily accessible, default "fall back" position, when caught in an act of blatant racism, that continues to really bug, irritate and anger me. University students with, at a minimum, no more sensitivity than this is a phenomenon that I find preposterous.
We should not be fooled.
A group of Clemson University students--white students--threw a "gangsta" theme party the weekend prior to the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday.
The party invited participants to dress and behave in a manner that could politely be described as a night of parody of African American racial stereotypes. Dress and behavior poked fun at blacks who were not present for the event.
A similar party took place at Tarleton State University here in Texas. Another convened at the University of Connecticut School of Law.
On each campus the events in question set off a backlash of disgust, disappointment and hurt feelings. In addition, on each campus formal talks and forums have been organized to discuss race, racism and the nature and current condition of America's racial psyche.
To a person the students involved in the parties claim they meant no harm or disrespect. And, above all, they denied any suggestion that racism was involved.
I must admit I have a hard time with that claim.
Further, it is the ease with which the group uses this sort of disclaimer as an easily accessible, default "fall back" position, when caught in an act of blatant racism, that continues to really bug, irritate and anger me. University students with, at a minimum, no more sensitivity than this is a phenomenon that I find preposterous.
We should not be fooled.
Racism and all that goes with it is very much alive and well in this nation.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Mother's Choice
Several months ago a bright, young marketing guy produced and gave us this video. "Mother's Choice" gets at the choices facing low-income parents who struggle to make a positive life for themselves and their children.
The spot has aired several times thanks to WFAA TV Channel 8 here in Dallas.
Our work is all about engaging people like the mom behind the sounds you will hear as you read of her dilemma.
Remember her today.
The spot has aired several times thanks to WFAA TV Channel 8 here in Dallas.
Our work is all about engaging people like the mom behind the sounds you will hear as you read of her dilemma.
Remember her today.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Brace yourselves, poor folks. . .one more time
Just about every time the State of Texas decides it's time to "reform" anything related to health and human services, poor folks should prepare to take it on the chin.
That's why the headline in the "Texas & Southwest" section of Saturday's edition of The Dallas Morning News caught my eye: "State plans Medicaid experiment" (Saturday, January 27, 2007, page 3A).
On Friday, Governor Rick Perry, "key GOP lawmakers," and Albert Hawkins, Texas' health and welfare czar, met with U. S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. No doubt Medicaid financing poses a formidable challenge to the state, given that 25% of the state budget is earmarked for funding the health care delivery system designed to serve the poorest of our residents.
According to the report, the Governor wants to:
That's why the headline in the "Texas & Southwest" section of Saturday's edition of The Dallas Morning News caught my eye: "State plans Medicaid experiment" (Saturday, January 27, 2007, page 3A).
On Friday, Governor Rick Perry, "key GOP lawmakers," and Albert Hawkins, Texas' health and welfare czar, met with U. S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. No doubt Medicaid financing poses a formidable challenge to the state, given that 25% of the state budget is earmarked for funding the health care delivery system designed to serve the poorest of our residents.
According to the report, the Governor wants to:
- Offer subsidies to small businesses to fund the purchase of health insurance for their employees.
- Give "customized" benefit plans to certain groups of Medicaid patients.
- Transfer part of the funding to "savings accounts" for the patients.
I will reserve judgment until all of the details are revealed and worked through during this session of the Texas Legislature, but I have noted a trend following the announcement of these kinds of plans.
First, the cost involved is often covered by reducing overall benefits to the poor, and sometimes those who need help the most are cut off.
The last time Medicaid was "reformed" in Texas, benefits were cut, people found it harder to be certified and private industry got involved in trying to administer programs. The result to date has been a disaster, and I happened to be in on one of the original planning groups for Accenture, the private company contracted to "improve service and access" to the poor. Hasn't happened.
Second, whenever government begins suggesting private insurance as a remedy for bulging health care costs, I counsel my low-income friends to head for cover!
President Bush's current plan for a health care overhaul includes inducements in the form of tax breaks to motivate more Americans to buy private insurance. According to Dr. Ron Anderson, President and CEO for the Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas' public health care institution, the costs associated with these tax breaks would be covered by cuts in funding to hospitals like Parkland that treat the poor and uninsured. Dr. Anderson estimates that under such a plan the loss in Medicaid revenue to Parkland could be up to $83 million annually.
One note of concern for me, as I read the report, is the fact that our Governor asked Secretary Leavitt for "as much leeway as states can be given to tinker with Medicaid." I'd love to know the definition of "tinker" here. One thing I do know, shifting around already limited Medicaid funds never seems to benefit the poor.
I'll stay tuned, but I'm not optimistic.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Shane Claiborne on "Hell"
If you've read any of Shane Claiborne's stuff, you won't be surprised by what follows. His insights are refreshing in an unsettling sort of way! My friend here in Dallas, Al Garrett made me aware of this particular essay.
Meditate on his words this Sunday.
_______________________
The Gates of Hell
C.S. Lewis understood hell, not as a place where God locks people out of heaven, but as a dungeon that we lock ourselves into and that we as a Church hold the keys. I think that gives us new insight when we look at the parable of Lazarus or hear the brilliant words with which Jesus reassures Peter: “The gates of Hell will not prevail against you.”
As an adolescent, I understood that to mean that the demons and fiery darts of the devil will not hit us. But lately I’ve done a little more thinking and praying, and I have a bit more insight on the idea of “gates.”
Gates are not offensive weapons. Gates are defensive—walls and fences we build to keep people out. God is not saying the gates of hell will not prevail as they come at us. God is saying that we are in the business of storming the gates of hell, and the gates will not prevail as we crash through them with grace.
People sometimes ask if we are scared of the inner city. I say that I am more scared of the suburbs. Our Jesus warns that we can fear those things which can hurt our bodies or we can fear those things which can destroy our souls, and we should be far more fearful of the latter. Those are the subtle demons of suburbia.
As my mother once told me, “Perhaps there is no more dangerous place for a Christian to be than in safety and comfort, detached from the suffering of others.” I’m scared of apathy and complacency, of detaching myself from the suffering. It’s hard to see until our 20/20 hindsight hits us—but every time we lock someone out, we lock ourselves further in.
Just as we are building walls to keep people out of our comfortable, insulated existence, we are trapping ourselves in a hell of isolation, loneliness and fear. We have “gated communities” where rich folks live. We put up picket fences around our suburban homes. We place barbed wire and razer-wire around our buildings and churches. We put bars on our windows in the ghettos of fear. We build up walls to keep immigrants from entering our country. We guard our borders with those walls—Berlin, Jerusalem, Jericho.
And the more walls and gates and fences we have, the closer we are to hell. We, like the rich man, find ourselves locked into our gated homes and far from the tears of Lazarus outside, far from the tears of God.
Let us pray that God would give us the strength to storm the gates of hell, and tear down the walls we have created between those whose suffering would disrupt our comfort. May we become familiar with the suffering of the poor outside our gates, know their names, and taste the salt in their tears… then when “the ones God has rescued,” the Lazaruses of our world—the baby refugees, the mentally-ill wanderers, and the homeless outcasts—are seated next to God, we can say, “We’re with them.” Jesus has given them the keys to enter the Kingdom. Maybe they will give us a little boost over the gate.
And in the New Jerusalem, the great City of God, “on no day will its gates ever be shut.” The gates of the Kingdom will forever be open. (Revelation 21:25)
[For more, hit the link from which I got this essay at: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/
archives/2007/01/the_gates_of_he.html]
Meditate on his words this Sunday.
_______________________
The Gates of Hell
C.S. Lewis understood hell, not as a place where God locks people out of heaven, but as a dungeon that we lock ourselves into and that we as a Church hold the keys. I think that gives us new insight when we look at the parable of Lazarus or hear the brilliant words with which Jesus reassures Peter: “The gates of Hell will not prevail against you.”
As an adolescent, I understood that to mean that the demons and fiery darts of the devil will not hit us. But lately I’ve done a little more thinking and praying, and I have a bit more insight on the idea of “gates.”
Gates are not offensive weapons. Gates are defensive—walls and fences we build to keep people out. God is not saying the gates of hell will not prevail as they come at us. God is saying that we are in the business of storming the gates of hell, and the gates will not prevail as we crash through them with grace.
People sometimes ask if we are scared of the inner city. I say that I am more scared of the suburbs. Our Jesus warns that we can fear those things which can hurt our bodies or we can fear those things which can destroy our souls, and we should be far more fearful of the latter. Those are the subtle demons of suburbia.
As my mother once told me, “Perhaps there is no more dangerous place for a Christian to be than in safety and comfort, detached from the suffering of others.” I’m scared of apathy and complacency, of detaching myself from the suffering. It’s hard to see until our 20/20 hindsight hits us—but every time we lock someone out, we lock ourselves further in.
Just as we are building walls to keep people out of our comfortable, insulated existence, we are trapping ourselves in a hell of isolation, loneliness and fear. We have “gated communities” where rich folks live. We put up picket fences around our suburban homes. We place barbed wire and razer-wire around our buildings and churches. We put bars on our windows in the ghettos of fear. We build up walls to keep immigrants from entering our country. We guard our borders with those walls—Berlin, Jerusalem, Jericho.
And the more walls and gates and fences we have, the closer we are to hell. We, like the rich man, find ourselves locked into our gated homes and far from the tears of Lazarus outside, far from the tears of God.
Let us pray that God would give us the strength to storm the gates of hell, and tear down the walls we have created between those whose suffering would disrupt our comfort. May we become familiar with the suffering of the poor outside our gates, know their names, and taste the salt in their tears… then when “the ones God has rescued,” the Lazaruses of our world—the baby refugees, the mentally-ill wanderers, and the homeless outcasts—are seated next to God, we can say, “We’re with them.” Jesus has given them the keys to enter the Kingdom. Maybe they will give us a little boost over the gate.
And in the New Jerusalem, the great City of God, “on no day will its gates ever be shut.” The gates of the Kingdom will forever be open. (Revelation 21:25)
[For more, hit the link from which I got this essay at: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/
archives/2007/01/the_gates_of_he.html]
Saturday, January 27, 2007
"Strategic Masculinity"
The role of men in the revitalization of inner city communities is something we talk about a lot at Central Dallas Ministries.
Coach Joe Ehrmann (the guy with the white hair on the right) has something to say about the entire matter.
Best thing about the Coach is the fact that he "says" it with his life.
________________________
He Turns Boys Into Men
By Jeffrey Marx
Published: August 29, 2004 Parade Magazine
Young faces usually filled with warmth and wonder are now taut with anticipation and purpose. Eyes are lasers. Hearts are pounding. This is nothing unusual for the final minutes before a high school football game. But a coach and his players are about to share an exchange that is downright foreign to the tough-guy culture of football.
The coach, Joe Ehrmann, is a former NFL star, now 55 and hobbled, with white hair and gold-rimmed glasses. Still, he is a mountain of a man. Standing before the Greyhounds of Gilman School in Baltimore, Ehrmann does not need a whistle.
“What is our job as coaches?” Ehrmann asks.
“To love us!” the Gilman boys yell back in unison.
“What is your job?” Ehrmann shouts back.
“To love each other!” the boys respond.
The words are spoken with the commitment of an oath, the enthusiasm of a pep rally.
This is football?
It is with Ehrmann. It is when the whole purpose of being here is to totally redefine what it means to be a man. This is lofty work for a volunteer coach on a high school football field. It is work that makes Ehrmann the most important coach in America.
In his eighth season at Gilman, Ehrmann’s résumé is anything but ordinary for a defensive coordinator. After 13 years in professional football, most of them as a defensive lineman for the Baltimore Colts, he retired in 1985 and began tackling much more significant challenges.
As an inner-city minister and founder of a community center known as The Door, Ehrmann worked the hard streets of East Baltimore. He also co-founded a Ronald McDonald House for sick children and launched a racial-reconciliation project called Mission Baltimore. Now he’s a pastor at the 4000-member Grace Fellowship Church and president of a national organization that supports abused children.
“He’s a lot of things to a lot of people,” says Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. “He’s really an opinion leader. And what I love about Joe—it’s not just the messages. It’s the messenger. He’s a very unique man. Gentle. Principled. Committed. And effective.”
The Challenge for Men
Aside from the X’s and O’s of football, everything Ehrmann teaches at Gilman stems from his belief that our society does a horrible job of teaching boys how to be men and that virtually every problem we face can somehow be traced back to this failure. That is why he developed a program called Building Men for Others, which has become the signature philosophy of Gilman football.
The first step is to tear down what Ehrmann says are the standard criteria—athletic ability, sexual conquest and economic success—that are constantly held up in our culture as measurements of manhood.
“Those are the three lies that make up what I call ‘false masculinity,’” Ehrmann says. “The problem is that it sets men up for tremendous failures in our lives. Because it gives us this concept that what we need to do as men is compare what we have and compete with others for what they have.
“As a young boy, I’m going to compare my athletic ability to yours and compete for whatever attention that brings. When I get older, I’m going to compare my girlfriend to yours and compete for whatever status I can acquire by being with the prettiest or the coolest or the best girl I can get. Ultimately, as adults, we compare bank accounts and job titles, houses and cars, and we compete for the amount of security and power that those represent.
“We compare, we compete. That’s all we ever do. It leaves most men feeling isolated and alone. And it destroys any concept of community.”
The Solution
Ehrmann offers a simple but powerful solution. His own definition of what it means to be a man—he calls it “strategic masculinity”—is based on only two things: relationships and having a cause beyond yourself.
“Masculinity, first and foremost, ought to be defined in terms of relationships,” Ehrmann says.
“It ought to be taught in terms of the capacity to love and to be loved. It comes down to this: What kind of father are you? What kind of husband are you? What kind of coach or teammate are you? What kind of son are you? What kind of friend are you? Success comes in terms of relationships.
"And then all of us ought to have some kind of cause, some kind of purpose in our lives that’s bigger than our own individual hopes, dreams, wants and desires. At the end of our life, we ought to be able to look back over it from our deathbed and know that somehow the world is a better place because we lived, we loved, we were other-centered, other-focused.”
The Way We Learn
How is all of this taught within the context of football?
From the first day of practice through the last day of the season, Ehrmann and his best friend, Head Coach Biff Poggi, bombard their players with stories and lessons about being a man built for others.
They stress that Gilman football is all about living in a community. It is about fostering relationships. It is about learning the importance of serving others. While coaches elsewhere scream endlessly about being tough, Ehrmann and Poggi teach concepts such as empathy, inclusion and integrity. They emphasize Ehrmann’s code of conduct for manhood: accepting responsibility, leading courageously, enacting justice on behalf of others.
“I was blown away at first,” says Sean Price, who joined the varsity as a freshman and is now a junior.
“All the stuff about love and relationships—I didn’t really understand why it was part of football. After a while, though, getting to know some of the older guys on the team, it was the first time I’ve ever been around friends who really cared about me.”
Helping Others
Four hours before each game, the Gilman players file into a meeting room for bagels, orange juice and Building Men for Others 101. Ehrmann and Poggi tell their players they expect greatness out of them. But the only way they will measure greatness is by the impact the boys make on other people’s lives.
Ultimately, the boys are told, they will make the greatest impact on the world—will bring the most love and grace and healing to people—by constantly basing their actions and thoughts on one simple question: What can I do for you?
That explains the rule that no Gilman football player should ever let another student—football player or not—sit by himself in the school lunchroom.
“How do you think that boy feels if he’s eating all alone?” Ehrmann asks his players. “Go get him and bring him over to your table.”
There are other rules that many coaches would consider ludicrous. No boy is cut from the Gilman team based on athletic ability. Every senior plays—and not only late in lopsided games. Coaches must always teach by building up instead of tearing down.
As Ehrmann puts it in a staff notebook: “Let us be mindful never to shame a boy but to correct him in an uplifting and loving way.”
Whenever Ehrmann speaks publicly about Building Men for Others—usually at a coaching clinic, a men’s workshop or a forum for parents—someone inevitably asks about winning and losing: “All this touchy-feely stuff sounds great, but kids still want to win, right?”
“Well, we’ve had pretty good success,” Ehrmann says. “But winning is only a byproduct of everything else we do—and it’s certainly not the way we evaluate ourselves.”
Win for Life
Unless pressed for specifics, Ehrmann does not even mention that Gilman finished three of the last six seasons undefeated and No. 1 in Baltimore. In 2002, the Greyhounds ranked No. 1 in Maryland and climbed to No. 14 in the national rankings.
Much more important to Ehrmann is the way that his team ends each season when nobody else is watching. Before the last game, each senior stands before his teammates and coaches to read an essay titled “How I Want To Be Remembered When I Die.”
Here is something linebacker David Caperna—reading from his own “obituary”—said last year: “David was a man who fought for justice and accepted the consequences of his actions. He was not a man who would allow poverty, abuse, racism or any sort of oppression to take place in his presence. David carried with him the knowledge and pride of being a man built for others."
The most important coach in America sat back and smiled. Win or lose on the field of play, Joe Ehrmann had already scored the kind of victory that would last a lifetime.
_______________________________
To Be A Better Man:
Recognize the “three lies of false masculinity.” Athletic ability, sexual conquest and economic success are not the best measurements of manhood.
Allow yourself to love and be loved.
Build and value relationships.
Accept responsibility, lead courageously and enact justice on behalf of others.
Practice the concepts of empathy, inclusion and integrity.
Learn the importance of serving others.
Base your thoughts and actions on “What can I do for you?”
Develop a cause beyond yourself.
Try to leave the world a better place because you were here.
[Pulitzer Prize-winner Jeffrey Marx is the author of Season of Life, a book about Joe Ehrmann, just published by Simon & Schuster. ]
Friday, January 26, 2007
Anxieties of the Rich
Advancing Philanthropy magazine published an enlightening report recently on worry and the rich ("What Worries The Wealthy," September-October 2006, page 46).
Quoting The U. S. Trust Annual Survey of Affluent Americans, AP reported the top "worries" of the rich this way:
1. Terrorism in the U. S. and abroad will negatively impact the economy and the securities markets (right at 90% ranked this concern first, up from 86% in 2003).
2. Concerns for the next generation's financial difficulties (75% cited this as a major worry, down from 82% in 2003).
3. Fear that taxes will rise steeply in the next few years (70% expressed this worry, up from 59% in 2003).
U. S. Trust, a New York-based financial management company conducts the annual poll that seeks information and opinions from a representative sampling of the top 1% of the wealthiest Americans. The "wealthiest Americans" by this poll's definition are individuals with adjusted gross incomes of more than $325,000 annually or net worth of greater than $5.9 million.
Quoting The U. S. Trust Annual Survey of Affluent Americans, AP reported the top "worries" of the rich this way:
1. Terrorism in the U. S. and abroad will negatively impact the economy and the securities markets (right at 90% ranked this concern first, up from 86% in 2003).
2. Concerns for the next generation's financial difficulties (75% cited this as a major worry, down from 82% in 2003).
3. Fear that taxes will rise steeply in the next few years (70% expressed this worry, up from 59% in 2003).
U. S. Trust, a New York-based financial management company conducts the annual poll that seeks information and opinions from a representative sampling of the top 1% of the wealthiest Americans. The "wealthiest Americans" by this poll's definition are individuals with adjusted gross incomes of more than $325,000 annually or net worth of greater than $5.9 million.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Just one more thing. . .
Yesterday morning on my way home from the Downtown YMCA, well before 7:00 a.m., I passed a large group of people massed on the sidewalk and steps in front of the Baylor University College of Dentistry on Gaston Avenue. No doubt these good folks were lined up waiting for the doors to open to the community dental clinic the school operates to benefit low-income patients and the dental students who train there.
Across the years we have referred many people to the Baylor dental clinic. The prices patients pay are considerably below what one might expect to pay in a private dental practice, but often the costs even here remain beyond the reach of many, if not most, of the people with whom we work.
Central Dallas Ministries operates a dental practice. We have two dentists who each work 20 hours each week. We need more volunteer dentists to increase the number of hours our practice is open each week.
Our practice is limited though. We do extractions, simple fillings and routine dental hygiene and education. We can't do more extensive procedures due to cost and limitations of equipment and staff. Still, we try to relieve pain and help low-income patients do the best they can with their dental health and that of their children.
When's the last time you had a tooth ache?
Remember how much fun it was?
I thought of that as I drove past the large group waiting to get into their chosen place of relief.
Most of us don't think about it, but dental care for the poor is almost non-existent in a place like inner city Dallas. Medicaid benefits stop once a person becomes an adult and don't pick up again until retirement age. During that long middle passage of life, without care, teeth have a way of failing and failing terribly.
Just one more thing with which the poor must contend.
Across the years we have referred many people to the Baylor dental clinic. The prices patients pay are considerably below what one might expect to pay in a private dental practice, but often the costs even here remain beyond the reach of many, if not most, of the people with whom we work.
Central Dallas Ministries operates a dental practice. We have two dentists who each work 20 hours each week. We need more volunteer dentists to increase the number of hours our practice is open each week.
Our practice is limited though. We do extractions, simple fillings and routine dental hygiene and education. We can't do more extensive procedures due to cost and limitations of equipment and staff. Still, we try to relieve pain and help low-income patients do the best they can with their dental health and that of their children.
When's the last time you had a tooth ache?
Remember how much fun it was?
I thought of that as I drove past the large group waiting to get into their chosen place of relief.
Most of us don't think about it, but dental care for the poor is almost non-existent in a place like inner city Dallas. Medicaid benefits stop once a person becomes an adult and don't pick up again until retirement age. During that long middle passage of life, without care, teeth have a way of failing and failing terribly.
Just one more thing with which the poor must contend.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Messages from the edges. . .
Yesterday, in the monthly meeting of the Dallas area Continuum of Care group that administers and utilizes U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs funds to serve the homeless locally, a representative from Plano,Texas informed us that the shelter in her city was full and that it had been for over a year. No weather related cause explained the situation. When asked, she also told us that the surge in shelter population was not Katrina related either.
For a number of years Plano, Texas was at or near the top of the list of America's most affluent communities. I am sure it is still way up there, but something else is obviously going on in Plano and, I would argue, around the nation.
There really are "two Americas" today.
A small group of people are growing more and more wealthy.
At the same time, a large and growing group are losing ground with many falling off into poverty. The Plano, Texas shelter report is just the latest piece of data to confirm what I am seeing.
The extremes are at once disturbing and bewildering.
This morning NBC's Today Show aired a story on a mattress company in New York City. Did you catch it?
The company specializes in handmade mattresses. The least expensive mattress in the store sells for something over $4,000. The top of the line mattress that is their best-seller--are you ready for this?--goes for a bit over $49,000.
The top-of-the-line mattress is considered "an investment in your health and your sleep."
Wonder what my buddies who spent last night on the curb or in a Downtown shelter, or out in that Plano shelter would think about that pitch?
I suppose the extremes are always like this.
But I've noticed across the years, we would be wise to watch the extremes because after awhile they begin to tell us really important things about where we actually are.
A bulging homeless population in suburban, North Dallas and mattresses worth more than many homes in South Dallas. What do you think?
For a number of years Plano, Texas was at or near the top of the list of America's most affluent communities. I am sure it is still way up there, but something else is obviously going on in Plano and, I would argue, around the nation.
There really are "two Americas" today.
A small group of people are growing more and more wealthy.
At the same time, a large and growing group are losing ground with many falling off into poverty. The Plano, Texas shelter report is just the latest piece of data to confirm what I am seeing.
The extremes are at once disturbing and bewildering.
This morning NBC's Today Show aired a story on a mattress company in New York City. Did you catch it?
The company specializes in handmade mattresses. The least expensive mattress in the store sells for something over $4,000. The top of the line mattress that is their best-seller--are you ready for this?--goes for a bit over $49,000.
The top-of-the-line mattress is considered "an investment in your health and your sleep."
Wonder what my buddies who spent last night on the curb or in a Downtown shelter, or out in that Plano shelter would think about that pitch?
I suppose the extremes are always like this.
But I've noticed across the years, we would be wise to watch the extremes because after awhile they begin to tell us really important things about where we actually are.
A bulging homeless population in suburban, North Dallas and mattresses worth more than many homes in South Dallas. What do you think?
Monday, January 22, 2007
Kashia. . .too good to miss--please try again!
I just realized that the video link to the story of Kashia wasn't working properly.
Take it from me, this is more than worth your time. So, I intend to leave her story up through the remainder of the day today and all day tomorrow, January 23.
Kashia represents thousands of precious children who live in the areas where we work. Talk about an asset to our city!
We cannot afford to fail to invest in these promising, incredible young lives.
Sorry about the foul up on my first attempt at this post.
Please, do try again! Just scroll down to the post just below.
Take it from me, this is more than worth your time. So, I intend to leave her story up through the remainder of the day today and all day tomorrow, January 23.
Kashia represents thousands of precious children who live in the areas where we work. Talk about an asset to our city!
We cannot afford to fail to invest in these promising, incredible young lives.
Sorry about the foul up on my first attempt at this post.
Please, do try again! Just scroll down to the post just below.
Kashia
Things stay real around here almost continually.
Since 2000, Central Dallas Ministries has been operating what we call our "After School Academy." The after school, exploratory learning and homework center is nestled right in the middle of the Turner Courts community in South Dallas.
If you've been here over the last week, you've seen several photographs of this neighborhood, a community in real crisis. If you haven't seen the photos, I suggest you run back through my recent posts to catch a glimpse.
To be frank, the neighborhood is about as bad as it gets for Dallas.
Average annual family income is at or below $10,000. The housing stock is worse than deplorable. Crime is a real problem, especially the violent kind that so often accompanies drug use and trade.
Tough, tough neighborhood. Hard place for little children to grow up and maintain hope.
Kashia is a 9-year old girl who is enrolled the After School Academy,
Click twice on the "play" button below to watch her story! I think you will be impressed and inspired.
Since 2000, Central Dallas Ministries has been operating what we call our "After School Academy." The after school, exploratory learning and homework center is nestled right in the middle of the Turner Courts community in South Dallas.
If you've been here over the last week, you've seen several photographs of this neighborhood, a community in real crisis. If you haven't seen the photos, I suggest you run back through my recent posts to catch a glimpse.
To be frank, the neighborhood is about as bad as it gets for Dallas.
Average annual family income is at or below $10,000. The housing stock is worse than deplorable. Crime is a real problem, especially the violent kind that so often accompanies drug use and trade.
Tough, tough neighborhood. Hard place for little children to grow up and maintain hope.
Kashia is a 9-year old girl who is enrolled the After School Academy,
Click twice on the "play" button below to watch her story! I think you will be impressed and inspired.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Bears, Saints. . .I love this game!
So, the Chicago Bears are on to Super Bowl XLI!Hard to believe, but the last time the Bears played in the NFL Championship Game was 21 years ago following the 1985 season. Talk about time flying!
The last time the Bears made it to a Super Bowl Ronald Reagan was President.
Remember Buddy Ryan's amazing defense? Remember how William "Refrigerator" Perry was a household word? Or, how about the slashing tackling of Mike Singletary, the Bear originally from Baylor University? How about head coach Mike Ditka, the quintessential Bear up until then.
But the Bears of 2006 put it together in an equally impressive manner. They dominated the NFC with lesser known players. Notably, Lovie Smith will become the first African American head coach to lead a team to the Super Bowl. Smith kept his team together all season in spite of all the controversy and second guessing centered on Bear quarterback Rex Grossman.
Then, there are my beloved New Orleans Saints! Last year the team posted a 3-13 record. This year new head coach Sean Payton led the team to the NFC Championship Game and a 11-7 record. Reggie Bush, Duece McAllister and Drew Brees, along with the entire team represented their beloved and beleaguered city about as well as anyone could have imagined. One of the great things about the Saints is how involved they have been in the life of this still struggling city.
The game itself was a good one until the fourth quarter when the Bears, who never trailed, finalized their domination.
I know this game and this team meant a lot to both cities.
I am just happy the teams and the communities got to face each other.
I love this game!
Until Easter. . .
My Sunday mornings between now and Easter will bring me to Southlake, Texas.
The Southlake Boulevard Church invited me to speak each Sunday during their two morning services through the first three months of 2007.
Southlake, Texas is located on Highway 114 just past (northwest of) DFW International Airport and on the road to Roanoke, Rhome and parts beyond.
Over the last two decades or so, this community has gone through an amazing metamorphosis.
The new home construction continues to boom, along with the population. Retail outlets spring up everywhere. The schools are expanding rapidly. Folks are employed at jobs that pay more than a livable wage. I am sure that Southlake is a great place to call home.
On the surface of things, Southlake seems a world apart from where I live and where I spend most of my time. Just about every category of growth that characterizes Southlake is not true of inner city Dallas.
East Dallas, at least parts of it, is growing with new home starts and a few new retail opportunities. Of course, nothing like Southlake. The pace is much slower and the problems associated with driving low-income families out of rebounding areas continue to challenge us.
South Dallas is the polar opposite of Southlake in terms of economics, growth, resources, investment and opportunity.
Beneath the surface of things though, down at the human level, I find so much that is the same.
The folks in the church where I am speaking confess many of the same fears, have many similar personal and family issues with which to contend and depend on their faith to make life workable. Like in so many East and South Dallas churches, the worship at Southlake Boulevard Church is lively, engaging and motivational.
While my impression is that the economic differences are great when I compare the communities, the spiritual resources are likely more nearly equal. I wouldn't be surprised if the low-income faith communities of Dallas don't have a bit of an edge in terms of faith and spiritual resourcefulness and opportunity.
Great, good people in both parts of the Metroplex--that is very clear to me.
I find myself wanting to get everyone together! I know such an experience would be mutually beneficial. What affects one part of the city affects every other part. If one person or neighborhood is diminished, all are diminished.
Segregation is never good.
So much is lost when people are kept apart. So many possibilities missed. So many solutions unrealized. So many friendships never forged.
The Southlake Boulevard Church invited me to speak each Sunday during their two morning services through the first three months of 2007.
Southlake, Texas is located on Highway 114 just past (northwest of) DFW International Airport and on the road to Roanoke, Rhome and parts beyond.
Over the last two decades or so, this community has gone through an amazing metamorphosis.
The new home construction continues to boom, along with the population. Retail outlets spring up everywhere. The schools are expanding rapidly. Folks are employed at jobs that pay more than a livable wage. I am sure that Southlake is a great place to call home.
On the surface of things, Southlake seems a world apart from where I live and where I spend most of my time. Just about every category of growth that characterizes Southlake is not true of inner city Dallas.
East Dallas, at least parts of it, is growing with new home starts and a few new retail opportunities. Of course, nothing like Southlake. The pace is much slower and the problems associated with driving low-income families out of rebounding areas continue to challenge us.
South Dallas is the polar opposite of Southlake in terms of economics, growth, resources, investment and opportunity.
Beneath the surface of things though, down at the human level, I find so much that is the same.
The folks in the church where I am speaking confess many of the same fears, have many similar personal and family issues with which to contend and depend on their faith to make life workable. Like in so many East and South Dallas churches, the worship at Southlake Boulevard Church is lively, engaging and motivational.
While my impression is that the economic differences are great when I compare the communities, the spiritual resources are likely more nearly equal. I wouldn't be surprised if the low-income faith communities of Dallas don't have a bit of an edge in terms of faith and spiritual resourcefulness and opportunity.
Great, good people in both parts of the Metroplex--that is very clear to me.
I find myself wanting to get everyone together! I know such an experience would be mutually beneficial. What affects one part of the city affects every other part. If one person or neighborhood is diminished, all are diminished.
Segregation is never good.
So much is lost when people are kept apart. So many possibilities missed. So many solutions unrealized. So many friendships never forged.
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