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Programming Updates

Transportation 

  • Thanks to Councilmember Rudy Metayer, TxDOT hosted a meeting with BLC to explore how to make the IH-35 Capital Express Program more equitable. Yasmine Smith sent over a demand letter in February. Demands can be found HERE. 
    TxDot has responded to the demand letter. CLICK HERE to read TxDot's response letter. 
     

  • We've charged TxDot with contracting Huston-Tillotson University with consulting on the project. Dr. Burnette has connected with TxDot and connected us with Dr. Hirsch who will be assisting with the TTI report.

 

Education 

  • BLC and other black leaders in Austin have been meeting with AISD superintendent, Dr. Stephanie Elizalde, bi-monthly to move equity and accountability forward within the school district. We are currently working on Disciplinary Practices. Our next standing meeting is set for August 24 @ 5 pm. If you'd like to join this team and meeting, please email us at leadership@blackleaderscollectiveatx.com  
    Thanks to Pam Benson Owens, Dr. Pierce-Burnette, Dr. Courtney Robinson, Fatima Mann for their continued leadership on this.  
    Click HERE to read our last requests and prep docs for the next meeting. 
     

  • AJC member and BLC collaborator Asha Watts put together a scorecard for holding AISD accountable. It identifies quantifiable measures that are already out there, utilizing E3 Alliance, and clearly outlining the ambassador process to identify stories in the community and other important indicators.   

 

Health 

  • The African American Men's Health Clinic is tentatively set to open in September thanks to BLC collaborators Larry Wallace Sr, Shannon Jones, and Michael Lofton. BLC is helping to compile current data from health orgs and entities in order to understand all reasons for high morbidity rates among African American males. CLICK HERE  to review the brochure.  
     

  • The African American Men's Health Clinic will be hosting a fundraising event on (need date) to help fund the creation of the clinic. CLICK HERE for the brochure link. BLC is extremely excited to support the African American Men's Health Clinic.  This will be the first of its kind.  Learn more about all the resources under one roof and in our health care network.  Our services will include family wrap-around services for the entire family such as Mentoring, Group Mentoring, Employment Assistance, STEM Programing, Dell Tech Certification Program, Mental Health Counseling, Trauma-Informed Care Programs, Substance Use Intervention, Full Physician Clinical Services, Scholarships, Cradle to Contributor (C2C) Family Programing, COVID Vaccinations and much more. On Sept. 25th, 2021, Please plan to come out and meet our Service Providers!    Location: Austin Achieve Public School, High School GYM, 7424 Hwy 290 East, Austin Texas, 78723  -  Doors Open at 6 PM, Event Time:  7:00 PM to 9:00 PM   For information about Tickets, Table Sponsorship, Sponsorship Levels, please send email to mrlofton@aayhf.org and or call Michael Lofton at (512) 585-6696.   Donations can be made at www.aayhf.org/donate. Thank you very much for your consideration of our request. 
     

  • Central Health's 2022 budget includes significant investments in health care delivery - like expanded specialty care, health care for the homeless, behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, and more. If you live in Travis County, your tax dollars help fund these services for people with low income and no insurance. Join us for a Community Conversation to learn more.  
    Thursday, August 26, 2021 | 11:30am-12:30pm. Please consider signing up to speak, and/or send a Letter of Support to the Central Health Board of Directors and ask them to Support the African American's Men's Health Clinic in 2022. CLICK HERE to RSVP   
     

  • After Winter Storm Uri, Black Leaders Collective worked with local restaurants and foodservice providers to provide hot meals to people living in Austin, Pflugerville, Manor, and Georgetown. An organization, called GoodWorks Austin Community Kitchen (GWA) works with restaurants that want to provide freshly prepared meals for Austin's food-insecure communities. Funding comes either from City, Federal or private sources.  Reimbursement differs for different projects from $5-$8 meals depending on volume and meal requirements. Currently, the GWA Community Kitchen Program is averaging almost 25,000 meals per week. These meals are procured with care by partner restaurants then distributed through local city partners. This program is responding to Austin's unprecedented need for food accessibility and continuous work to allow for our Austin-based business to survive and evolve. We currently have the following restauranteurs and food trucks enrolled in our Feeding the Village program: Bobbie Mack (Wife) and Bobby Mack (Husband) owners of  Tater Que, Jon Blake and Shell Dawson owners of  The Avenue, Jermaine and Jahmaal Dumes owners of Down South CaJJun Eats and Harvey Merida and Ted Gifford of Let’s Eat Healthily.  This program is helping to provide delicious and culturally proficient meals to the needy, while creating a sustainable revenue stream for black restaurant and food truck owners. Many thanks to Clarence Guidry for leading this initiative and to Joi Chevalier for your direction and assistance. If you or someone you know may be interested in this program. Please email us at leadership@blackleaderscollectiveatx.com 
     

Housing 

  • The BLC hosted its 2nd Housing Panel series on Affordable Housing on July 13th, panelists included:  

    • Carl Richie - Chairman, Housing Authority of The City of Austin

    • Quincy Dunlap - Austin Area Urban League, CEO 

    • Nefertitti Jackmon - Community Displacement Prevention Officer for City of Austin  

    • Patrick Howard - Housing Authority of Travis County, CEO 

    • Mandy De Mayo - Officer, Housing & Community Development of The City of Austin  

    • Greg Smith - Austin Revitalization Authority  

    • MODERATORS:  

      • Yasmine Smith., ESQ. 
         

  •  The 3rd Housing Panel series will be held early September on Reentry. 
     

  • Mueller Homebuilders are preparing to sell a new collection of affordable and market-rate homes. Families of four who earn up to $78,100, couples who earn up to $62,500, and individuals who earn up to $54,700 are eligible to purchase an upcoming affordable home. Wednesday, August 18th from Noon- 1 pm Zoom link: The session will conclude with a live Q+ A! You can learn more about the program here.  If you can, please share (Social, Newsletter, Email) with anyone within your group who might be interested in purchasing an affordable home here in Austin. 

Public Safety/Criminal Justice 

  • 10K Fearless First Responders will be meeting with Interim-Chief Chacon this week to help bridge the relationship between the community and the police force. More updates on this to come.  
     

  • Thanks to the leadership and direction of 10K Fearless First Responders and the Austin Area Urban League, BLC is consulting with world-renowned Design-Thinker Calvin Mays to put together a holistic approach to disaster preparedness. Winter Storm Uri revealed that we were neither prepared nor have we implemented preventative measures for the future. BLC wants to ensure that we are in a much better place for the next disaster. If you are interested in contributing, please email us at leadership@blackleaderscollectiveatx.com. 


Economics + Workforce Development

  • Priority 3 of our Action plan pertains to getting BLC collaborators and black business owners of Austin MSA to be involved with the disparity study being conducted by the City of Austin. Travis County is conducting a Disparity Study of its Historically Underutilized Businesses (“HUB”) program. The County is conducting this research to ensure that HUBS have equal access to contracting opportunities and that the County’s current program remains legally defensible and administratively successful. We invite you to participate in the study through an online small group interview of business owners. These important sessions will provide an opportunity to relate your experiences with doing business with the County as a prime or subcontractor on County projects, or your attempts to do so, and any barriers that you have encountered. Your insights and experiences will help identify potential Travis County HUB program improvements and encourage increased collaboration while promoting economic growth for all segments of our community. Meetings will be held: August 17 through August 25, 2021. Please click here to register for an online meeting. You will be taken to a two-question survey to allow us to direct you to the appropriate meeting. 
     

  • Thanks to BLC collaborator Meme Styles and Measure, we’ve completed and compiled data on the non-profit survey taken by 35 black-led non-profits. View the results HERE.  
     

  • Thanks to Meme Styles and Measure, BLC and I Live Here I Give Here has partnered to bring more equity to Amplify Austin Day.  Pamela Benson Owens will be the lead on this initiative. CLICK HERE to review the terms of the partnership.  
     

  • BLC and the Small Business Resources Enterprise are working on a 7-part series lecture here is the program outline:  

    • (1) How to get started as a small business (NP / FP)→ Joy Miller 

    • (2) How to Become a Vendor → Reve Crayton 

    • (3) How to do Business with the City (FP vs. NP) → Elton Price 

    • (4) Keeping up with your taxes → State Comptroller's office 

    • (5) Current Solicitations on the City of Austin’s Austin Finance Online → Reve Crayton 

    • (6) How to Write a Proposal →  Joni Foster // Curtis Mohler or Linda 

    • (7) How to Submit a Proposal (depending on who you're doing business with – Primes, Government, Private Sector) → Curtis Mohler or Linda Gjergji 

    • (8) How to report [What does it look like after getting the bid?]Thank you to Tyra Clark, Michael Ward Jr., and Janice Omadeke for their leadership and for adding their expertise to the series. 


Culture, Arts + Entertainment 

  • Thanks to the support of the Carver Museum, Six Square, Austin Area Urban League, and Soulciti, BLC is moving full steam ahead with the creation of a children’s book that will highlight Black Leaders of Austin that came before us. Illustrations are nearly finished, and we’ve started the process of content creation. We are currently in the fundraising phase. If you are interested in sponsor opportunities, please reach out to us via email at leadership@blackleaderscollectiveatx.com. 
     

  • BLC is committed to helping to build, bridge and deepen relationships between collaborators through the practice of Constructivist Listening also known as Collaborator Chats. Be sure you are reaching out to at least 2 collaborators a month to hold a 10-min Collaborator Chat. BLC also commits the first 10 min of every general body meeting toward the initiative.  
     

  • Here is the framework:  

    • Each person has equal time, about 4 min each 

    • Listen without interruption while listening. You can nod or verbalize affirmation, but do not interrupt, even if the speaker finishes earlier than the allotted speaking time.  

    • Maintain confidentiality, these conversations are sacred 

    • Do not criticize or complain 

    • Here are the questions we ask you to cover: 

    • What is your 'why' for joining BLC? 

    • What is weighing heavy on your heart and mind? 

    • What gives you hope?  
      *Use the BLC BLACK BOOK to meet new collaborators.   
Announcements & Kudos
  • SAVE THE DATE: The next BLC general body meeting is  Wednesday, September 8th @ 5 pm 
  • We are grateful for each of our BLC collaborators. To show our appreciation, we'd like to gift you a BLC t-shirt. To obtain your t-shirt, please contact us at leadership@blackleaderscollectiveatx.com  
 

  • Our next Learning Experience will be hosted by Dr. Angela Ward, please stand by for the date and time. 
     

  • Congratulations to BLC collaborators Ryan Coaxum and Mayor Larry Wallace Jr. on their 40 Under 40 nominations. Show your support by purchasing tickets to the awards ceremony HERE. 
     

  • St. Johns Redevelopment Plan has been unanimously approved by City Council, under the leadership of Councilmember Greg Casar. Casar reached out to BLC collaborators Cherelle VanBrakle and Terry P. Mitchell to testify in favor of the passing of the plan. Casar's proposed direction for the negotiation agreement would see an additional focus on housing with commitments both to affordable homeownership and the expansion of affordable housing options on-site. Based on Greystar's initial bid, half of the 560 total units would be listed as affordable, or available to earners of 50% to 70% of the median family income. Casar also requested the potential for permanent supportive housing for the homeless.
     

  • Congratulations to Dr. Colette Pierce-Burnette and the Huston Tillotson University Class of 2021! First United Methodist Church of Austin gifted the University by paying more than $450,000 in student debt for the HBCU's graduating students! 
     

  • The City of Austin will be hosting two community meetings next week to introduce the finalists for the Chief of Police position. Final candidate names and meeting details will be announced later this week. Wednesday, August 18, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm and Thursday, August 19, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
    Background: There were 46 applications received for the position, which opened April 26, 2021. The Chief of Police will oversee 1,809 sworn officers and 734 non-sworn professional staff and has aFY 20-21 budget of $309.7 million. Like many major cities in America, Austin is reimagining how it provides public safety services. Austin is approaching this process in a methodical and strategic approach, and the next Chief of Police will begin their duties during a period of intense change for the Austin Police Department (APD). The challenges and opportunities related to this initiative alone are many. The Chief of Police will help APD and the City adapt and emerge from reimagining law enforcement in a manner that improves public safety for all who visit, live, and work in Austin.  Thanks to Yasmine Smith for keeping BLC in the loop. 
 

  • For decades, people in historically underserved areas of the city have been most impacted by large infrastructure projects yet have received fewer opportunities to build wealth as a result of those projects. What can the City of Austin do to strengthen and create family- and community-owned businesses and invest in local talent, jobs, and community assets that increase asset ownership, ensure economic stability, and further community control?  Community Powered Workshop, an Austin-based nonprofit organization that connects and amplifies the voices of systemically underinvested communities to create powerful places, is working on a Community Investment and Wealth-Building project and is convening Focus Groups to evaluate community investment and wealth-building strategies for areas impacted by Project Connect, the City’s comprehensive transit plan. Focus Group members will receive a $75 participation incentive. The primary role of the Focus Group is to discuss and provide input on community investment and wealth-building strategies that can be potentially implemented in Austin. The Focus Group will meet virtually for a 2-hour meeting during September. Will you help us spread the word on the opportunity for participation? Attached is a flyer with an application form. The deadline to apply is August 27th. Please reach out to Shavone Otero at shavone@cp-workshop.org or call (512) 220-4254 with any questions. 
     

  • On July 21st, BLC collaborator Larry Wallace Jr emailed all of us regarding his campaign for Congress. We also received messages from his campaign team on why they joined him in his fight to bring servant leadership back to the U.S. House of Representatives. How you serve others is everything to BLC. That’s why we couldn’t be prouder of Larry’s call to serve the people of Texas’ 10th congressional district. With Larry’s service history as a combat retired U.S. Army veteran and the first African-American Mayor for the City of Manor, he possesses the courage and perseverance to influence positive change as evident throughout his accomplishments. Read his bio HERE. Larry can’t do this alone. We’re committed to standing with him and given how these races work - without grassroots support from people like you, rich politicians will always have the upper advantage. Join our fight for change by rushing a contribution today with contribution amounts as low as $15.  CLICK HERE to make a contribution.
  • Thank you to Joyce James for the "Tearing Down the Fences" Learning Experience. "Oftentimes when we take on the work to change our community, we think about it in terms of creating programs or access to resources. What this training highlighted for our leaders was we needed to go a step further by tearing down the needs for the programs to exits in the first place. We called it Tearing Down the Fences"  -Shuronda Robinson. Joyce James is considered the ‘godmother’ of racial equity work in Texas.  In this intensive, she laid out an understanding of upstream decisions, policies, and practices within systems and institutions that affect our work as leaders.  The Groundwater Analysis training allowed us to take a deep dive into the influence and impact of institutional racism. The session helped us identify pitfalls and address strategies to disrupt racist systems.
 
  • Do you have an announcement to make? Send it to us via email to be included in the next newsletter and general body meeting: trpierre@gmail.com 

Sent with love,  

 

Terry P. Mitchell + Shuronda Robinson  
Black Leaders Collective  
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About Black Leaders Collective

BLC formed in July 2020 against the backdrop of the killings of George Floyd and Mike Ramos, and widening racial disparities in wealth, health, education, and justice in Austin and surrounding cities. 
www.BlackLeadersCollectiveATX.com


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