Posts by Dr. Akilah Watkins-Butler
Community Progress Announces Juneteenth Closure
Dear Partners, This Friday, June 19th, the Center for Community Progress will be closed in celebration of Juneteenth. As our staff and team enjoy the day as a paid holiday, we encourage all who regularly commemorate July 4th that marks the independence of our nation to join in celebrating this important day of freedom for Americans.
Read MoreLife Should Not be Determined by a Person’s Race [the Death of George Floyd]
We at the Center for Community Progress are enraged and grief-stricken at the loss of yet another Black life at the hands of police. Since 1619, the compounding symptoms of a problematic culture have systematically disenfranchised people of color in America. The unjust, preventable murder of George Floyd was one of a series of recent…
Read MoreAbout Tomorrow…Giving Tuesday
Dear Progress Makers, Your support matters. While the debates and data continue to evolve around our current public health crisis, there are at least two things we know: First, our households, streets, and world will never be the same. And second, we can’t leave the future of our communities to chance.
Read MoreA Word From Our CEO
Dear Fellow Impact Makers, We are in a pivotal moment. Too often in our history, crises like the current COVID-19 pandemic have been followed by profound inaction and avoidable missteps that we only acknowledged and addressed in retrospect. Yet, we know better. We know that the collaborative spirit of communities, nonprofits, and funders drove innovation…
Read MoreCommunity Development Is Crucial in This Moment
The pandemic is highlighting the crucial necessity of community developers’ work. Here’s what the field will need to play its part in the recovery. One month ago, when I began the first draft of this article, the world was drastically different. Well before we became part of this new reality, I felt an urgency to reflect…
Read MoreA Love Letter to the Next Decade of Community Development (from Shelterforce)
I’m in love. When you wake up every day knowing that what you do helps improve people’s lives and where they live, it’s one of the best feelings on earth. After witnessing years of hollow promises from political and business leaders who promised to “make communities better,” I get a deep satisfaction from being a…
Read More