A Challenge to My Fellow Planners & Community Organizers

Where else in the USofA is there a multi-ethnic community that identifies diversity as its core strength? That is what Silver Spring (Maryland) does. What I’ve found here in Silver Spring is that all segments of our community – the political, civic, business, faith, and residential communities – celebrate our multi-ethnicity and diversity.

I know there are plenty of places that have minority-majority and are rightfully proud of their achievements. These include my own fellow Cuban-Americans in Miami; my African-American friends in Atlanta; the Asian community in San Francisco; the Arab-Americans in Detroit; my Mexican-American cousins in San Antonio; and our Salvadorian friends in L.A. – just to name a few.

In all these examples – great as they are – there is a prominent minority that has risen to the occasion and established a thriving, healthy minority community. In most of these, however, ethnic strife continues; racial tensions prevail; the traditional white power structure remains weary of the change and reluctant to share power.

In Silver Spring, the multi-ethnicity is real: Ethiopians, Salvadorians, Guatemalans, Eastern-Europeans, Middle-Easterns, Nigerians, African-Americans, and European Whites are all here in substantial numbers. None are a majority. The generational diversity is also real. The youth is a constant element – if not always at the table – in community dialogues and decision making arena. And so is the socio-economic diversity, tenure diversity. We also have a healthy mix of home-owners vs. renters, a topic persistently considered and discussed.

The established power-base, while not numerically balanced, is increasingly reflective of the general population. More importantly, the establish power-base includes a core of leaders that regardless of their ethnicity or socio-economic status are legitimately committed to promoting multi-ethnicity and diversity as a – no, the – main asset of Silver Spring. The consensus is clear that this multi-ethnicity and diversity is the driving force for economic development, entrepreneurship opportunities, and the force that will gives Silver Spring a competitive advantage as a thriving community and a place where businesses can succeed.

Silver Spring is one heck of an experiment! I am not sure this has ‘worked’ anywhere else in the USofA – or in the world for that matter. Being part of the team that is committed to making this experiment work is exhilaratingly exciting!... But, it will be tough; there will be setbacks; there will be nay-sayers when a youth concert goes bad at the end, or when there are no brown faces at a community meeting… Nonetheless, we know we are trying; we know we will be relentless in our efforts to make it work.

So, I challenge my planner and community organizers friends to identify other such communities. We are looking for communities that are intentional about celebrating their multi-ethnicity and diversity as a key asset. And - more importantly - all segments of the community (particularly the public, civic, business, and residential leadership and grassroots) are equally excited about working together for the greater good.…

I am sure there are out there – and we’d love to connect. Chime in!

Good bye to my amigos at NeighborWorks

HERE'S WHAT I SHARED WITH MY PEERS AT NEIGHBORWORKS WHEN THEY WERE GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO DO A GATHERING FOR ME

I don’t want to bore you with a tear-jerking good bye, but I will.

I promise it’d be brief… But remember that I am the guy who’s been known to have facilitated two three hour conference calls back to back.

You know, if I try to thank everyone that has taught what it means to be ‘neighborworks’, we’d be here a long time… So, I’ll just try to share some of the collective wisdom I’ve gained through the years by sharing with you one very simple technique I use to connect to the people we serve.

Almost everyday, but certainly when I travel – and God knows we do that enough – I try to ‘get in the mood’ of our work by imagining that the people I share whatever space I am in are the people we serve… Here’s what I mean:

The folks in the train; the entertainers at Metro station; our homeless friends on G Street; the cab-driver; the guy that checks our baggage at the airport; the lady that checks our i.d.; the young person that works at the fast food joint; the dude that cleans the airplane; and, most personally connected to me: the housekeeping crews at the hotels we stay and the crews that clean our tables and serve our meals… When I see these folks, I visualize them as homeowners, renters, and neighborhood residents of the communities we serve… I always make it a point to share with them a sincere ‘thanks’ – or just as often, ‘gracias’… It is these amigos that are struggling to make ends meet, to get that downpayment together… Indeed, I all too well remember that when my brother bought his first home in 1982 he was short for his downpayment by about $350. Geraldina (my wife) lent him the money she had saved up to buy her college books for the upcoming semester… [Come to think of it, I am not sure he ever paid her back… But that is another story.]

I say that I particularly relate to the housekeeping and banquet folks because many of my aunts and uncles did this work as they became established; and my own father was a janitor for years… As he got old, I’d go help him in the wee hours so he wouldn’t have to work so hard… And, I myself did my fare share of flipping Krystal hamburgers and even did a short stint as a day laborer…

So, I can never ever forget where I come from… Because it is my aunts, uncles, cousins and amigos – and countless others like them - that we now serve… And, it is simply a joy – indeed, sometimes I wonder “I got paid for this”? – it is a joy to be part of the NeighborWorks familia… I pray – yes I do that – that this institution will forever remain committed to having a staff team that ‘gets it’… A staff team that looks – and most important, feels – like the communities we serve…

May our stories continue, and see you in Silver Spring,

Gracias, enJoy & God Bless.

Transition / Transición

Transition / Transición
[1 of 2 posts related to this personal journey]

Life happens. And that is a good thing.

As of July 20, 2009 I'll be the Director of the Silver Spring (MD) Regional Center. And - not but - I'll still be Reemberto Rodriguez :-)

NeighborWorks America is the 'N' in my DNA. The values I've learned from our Network and our partners will be forever with me. Key among these: partnership and collaboration; inclusion and diversity.

For over 20 years I've had the incredible good fortune of being part of this amazing 'experiment' that is NeighborWorks. From the day I became the City representative on the board of the Atlanta NHS (circa 1988) to recent involvement with innovative approaches to 21 century community organizing, NeighborWorks has been my personal passion as well as my professional pursuit. This journey has taken me through the world of 'field service officers'; 'program review officers'; 'organizational assessment specialists'; and, 'training managers'. Working with peers here at NeighborWorks and that wonderful motley crew of consultants, faculty, trainers, and facilitators, I've engaged with over100 communities throughout the USA and Puerto Rico.

From the church basements in Savannah, GA to the one-room city halls of rural Mississippi; from the reconstruction efforts after Andrew to the continuing efforts after Katrina; from the hallways of the NTIs to the experience of the CLIs, I've learned so much from others along the way... But, I've learned most from the residents and partners of the communities we serve. It is in their dreams that I found my calling. It is in their commitment that I got my strength. It is their determination to make their communities a better place to live that planted the bug in me to return to my roots and be part of local efforts to improve my own community.

OK, I'll admit it: I've fallen in love with my neighborhood, Silver Spring, Maryland. I've fallen in love with my neighborhood so much so that when asked to pursue this opportunity, I had no choice but to say a resounding 'Yes I will'. I can't deny that I've been infected by the 'bug' to 'give back locally' - I think I may have even drank the kool aid :-)

Being nominated by the Montgomery County Executive and approved by the County Council to take on this new position is truly an honor - and an awesome responsibility... Foolish, maybe. Risky, definitively. Fun, absolutely! "La vida es un carnival", says the song by Celia Cruz... And so it is: "Life is a carnival."

Someone once said "relationships are the essence of life... After all is said and done, it is relationships that nourish the soul." [Actually, I just made that up. But surely someone else must have said it before :-) ] My relationships within and beyond NeighborWorks I will always cherish and treasure... And like any good treasure, these relationships will continue giving fruit for a long, long time, regardless where life takes us.

If you are one of my peers, consultant, or practitioner that just started here at NeighborWorks recently, beware - this place is contagious and grows on you! (Working with good people will do that to you.)... And to you: Thanks for helping me grow by helping me see 'what is possible'.

If you are one of my peers, consultant, or practitioner that's been here a while, beware - there is no remedy once NeighborWorks gets embedded in you! (Working with good people will do that to you, too.)... And to you: Thanks for the stories and wisdom you've shared that helped me 'catch the spirit' of NeighborWorks.

Finally, deep down inside I know that in so many ways, I am not really leaving NeighborWorks; I am taking "neigborworks" with me!

'Till our paths cross again, and may it be soon,

Reemberto
p.s.: In the meantime, see you in Facebook - or better yet, see you at: www.leadersforcommunities.org