Sister Maxine Nicholas , a Pleasant Hope Baptist Church member since the 1950s , working in Maxine ’ s Garden , which was named after her . Photo courtesy of The Black Church Food Security Network
and their communities reap the benefits .
One new community-serving , income-generating idea came from The Rev . Dr . Heber Brown III of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church of Baltimore , Maryland . A visionary and solution-based leader , Rev . Brown looked around his community and observed the many health problems ( diabetes , hypertension , high cholesterol ) many people of color face due to a paucity of fresh , affordable nutrient-dense food in their neighborhoods . So , instead of relying on the usual channels to feed his community , he conceived of a bigger idea that continues to empower his community and support economic growth more than a decade later . Thinking and touching the fertile soil beneath his feet , Rev . Brown reimagined how the same land that supports the physical building of his church could feed and sustain not just the people who attend his church but those in the broader community .
Today , the thriving urban garden of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church has grown more than 1,200 pounds of food , from potatoes to tomatoes .
Brown founded the Black Church Food Security Network , a new approach to “ feeding the hungry ” which is catching fire , giving him an opportunity to work with other churches nationwide . He teaches them how to develop their land , grow healthy food to feed the community , and support economic development and prosperity by engaging and employing more black farmers as the program builds and expands . His innovative approach offers an example of how congregations can look at assets in new ways and push past the obvious financial and systemic barriers many communities and their members experience to give birth to new solutions that affect massive , meaningful change for all .
The conversations also addressed complex subjects such as neighborhood gentrification . Economic development will happen in many communities over time , but as boutique coffee shops and yoga studios move in , many people of color struggle with the adjustments that come with gentrification . A recent Stanford study conducted by sociologist and assistant professor , Jackelyn Hwang , showed that residents in predominately non-Black gentrifying neighborhoods have more housing options and opportunities to move to wealthier neighborhoods in the city and suburbs . In contrast , people from historically Black gentrifying areas were relegated to less advantaged communities , and many had fewer housing options . Most of the choices available to African Americans displaced by gentrification are other poor Black neighborhoods in the inner city or immigrant-populated areas , exacerbating neighborhood inequality by race and class ( Stanford University Study : Gentrification Disproportionately Affects Minorities , 2020 ). Hwang and study co-author Lei Ding of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia suggest that more needs to be done . Cities with gentrifying neighborhoods must make sustained and ongoing investments in non-gentrifying neighborhoods to combat the housing inequities people of color face , while developing policies that connect them to more resources and opportunities for present and future generations .
While there are differing opinions on how to address gentrification , the faith leaders participating in the convening do not want to stand in the way of progress and economic growth . Their growing concerns for the members of their community stem from a basic understanding of what supports wealth creation and what keeps people impoverished . For Rev . Richie Butler
Unity Estates is a planned community of 300 single-family market-rate homes primarily developed by the African American Pastors Coalition in Dallas , Texas . Photo courtesy of Keren Carrion , KERA News
6 SACRED PLACES • SUMMER 2021