Empowering black futures in Cincinnati neighborhoods

By Russell HairstonExecutive DirectorAvondale Development CorporationandRobyn JudgeSenior Vice PresidentCommunity Impact Territory ManagerFifth Third Bank.Cincinnati has seen remarkable progress and innovation in recent years. At the same time, the heart of many of our neighborhoods is at risk. Large-scale investment can lead to intentional and unintentional displacement of low-income residents who have helped build and shape the city for decades. Ensuring legacy residents are part of a neighborhood’s growth is possible, but it takes organizations stepping out in a visionary way to understand what residents seek, aspire to, and embrace before making plans to address what is missing. It requires communication, collaboration, and co-design of related community plans and neighborhood programming.Too many communities have endured years of wealth extraction and income disparities due to racial inequities and a lack of basic services like grocery stores and pharmacies. In turn, these structural inequities create an influence vacuum where residents feel socially, economically, and politically isolated and abandoned by the decision makers and institutions that can impact the community’s direction. Structural inequities also lead to disassociation and apathy, which may be viewed as non-commitment to growth opportunities.& Robyn Judge, Senior Vice President Community Impact Territory Manager at Fifth Third Bank. Photo providedStrategic, resident-driven...