It is an old adage that change must come from within. Whether a person is trying to change a bad habit or an entire community is the motivation must come from within. The same is true for any social movement. The body desiring motion must create or sustain the movement themselves. Otherwise, an external motivation will eventually lack the sustainability for a lasting difference. CHAT is using this social knowledge to effectively complete community development.
While CHAT was started by Percy and Angie and has a board of twelve members, the real hope is that members of the Church Hill community will play the largest role in serving Church Hill. That is why most of the board members have decided to live in Church Hill and actively participate in “being neighbors.” However, even more than being neighbors, indigenous leaders must rise to the occasion to create change in Church Hill. That is just what is occurring this summer. CHAT has not only hired four college interns to play an integral part of what CHAT attempts to accomplish but has also hired four high school interns called “street leaders” to help CHAT this summer as well. They have each participated in CHAT for several years and shown capabilities to become effective leaders.
It is so powerful to me to see Rashad, Stuart, Imani, and Monique’s personalities and envision their capabilities in the future to creatively, effectively, and passionately change Church Hill. As we were riding to a VBS training meeting, the four of them pleaded with Gordon to play one of their favorite songs. It is a song done by Twista and Faith Evans that is incredibly inspiring especially to see the four high school interns raised in Church Hill who are now working for community development of their own neighborhood to be singing. In verse 1 Twista raps…
We will never break, though they devastate, we shall motivate,
And we gotta pray, all we got is faith.
Instead of thinking about who gonna die to day,
The Lord is gonna help you feel better, so you ain't gotta cry today.
Sit at the light so long,
And then we gotta move straight forward, cuz we fight so strong,
So when right go wrong,
Just say a little prayer, get ya money man, life go on!!!
Let's HOPE!
It is their eye for the area, the relationship with the people, and their drive for their land that will make them amazing community developers of this area this summer and for the rest of their life.
Faith Evans continues the song with these lines…
Cuz I'm hopeful, yes I am, hopeful for today,
Take this music and use it
Let it take you away,
And be hopeful (hopeful) and he'll make a way
I know it ain't easy but that's okay.
cause we hopeful
It is that hope that these four embody. They are the hope for this area and for other areas like Church Hill. It is so easy to come into this summer thinking that since I have worked on some community development projects in the past, faced race struggles, and studied sociology that I have the answers to what this community needs. But studies after studies have shown the true power of indigenous leaders. They are the ones able to radically shift an area or community. It is through people like these high school interns that change can happen. They embody the hope of community development and as they sang this song over and over it was as if they were speaking truth over themselves and Church Hill without them even being aware of their own doing. I am so looking forward to see the ideas, hopes, and dreams of the four street leaders this summer and in the years to come.
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