Civic Dinners: Inclusion and Belonging (Nov. 2020)
Important Remarks Made At Sandy Springs Rally for Racial Justice
Editor’s Note: Sandy Springs Together periodically publishes letters or comments from community members who raise a concern we feel should be considered by the broader community. Whitaker Swann is an impressive rising Junior at Westminster School in Atlanta. On June 6, he organized the Sandy Springs Rally for Racial Justice. The event drew in more than 300 people, along with several dignitaries, including State Senator Jen Jordan and Keith White, Director of Multicultural Affairs at Holy Innocents School. The Mayor of Sandy Springs also announced that he wanted to start holding community conversations about race, and also that he would be asking the council to change Lake Forrest Drive to Lake Forest Drive.
Please let us hear your thoughts.
By Whitaker Swann
Before we start, I would like to have a moment of silence for the following people:
- George Floyd
- Breonna Taylor
- Ahmaud Arbery,
- Terrence Crutcher
- Pamela Turner
- Alton Sterling
- Philando Castile
- Laquan McDonald
- Sandra Bland
- Natasha McKenna
- Stephon Clark
- Corey Jones
- Botham Jean
- Eric Gardner
- Tamir Rice
- Trayvon Martin
and the many forgotten black men, women, and children killed by police officers here and around the world.
After my exams were over, my family and I went to the beach. While there, I decided for the first time in a while that I would check my Instagram. This was the day after George Floyd was killed. I don’t think it was a coincidence that I checked my Instagram to wake up and see on everyone’s story a police officer with his knee on someone’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
I think I was meant to see that, and meant to bring everyone here. That night, I cried. I didn’t know what to do, how to do it, or if I should do anything at all.
But, I thought to myself: Why is it fair that I can feel safe going on a run at night? I remembered, Ahmaud Arbery didn’t. Why is it fair that I can feel safe in my own house when Breonna Taylor was murdered in her own house? I don’t have to constantly look over my shoulder when so many people do.
Like so many of you, I saw the outrage over the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud and Breonna. I still see anger over Emmett Till. That is what has caused me to raise my voice and give others a chance to raise theirs.
I was very rarely vocal on the topic of racial discrimination because I didn’t know if I should get involved. But now I do. Every time I turn on the news, I see these shadows. I see a journalist getting arrested. I see peaceful protesters turning violent. I see policemen smashing their own cruisers. I see national guard troops moving peaceful protesters out from in front of the White House, the people’s house.
I thought to myself, where are these shadows coming from? Where is the origin of this tension? Then I remembered a quote that I had seen from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only love can do that.”
This tragedy has caused us to light our metaphorical candle, which in turn may have cast some of these shadows. But, if we light more candles, if every single one of us lights their candle, you’ll spread more of our light, and we can cast out this darkness to bring a new age of social justice and fairness, and show the rest of the world that all men are created equal, like it says in the Constitution of the United States of America.
We must do more to protect our Essential Workforce, now and always
We’ve all heard a lot lately about just how essential our front-line workers are to the on-going functioning of our society and our economy. We‘ve come to understand that, in this world of COVID-19, front-line workers are not only first responders, nurses, and doctors, but also the EMS, medical technicians, hospital housekeepers, grocery store cashiers and stock clerks, sanitation workers, pharmacy technicians, senior caregivers, bus drivers and delivery personnel.
This additional group of workers, many of them our neighbors, have literally become OUR human resources. WE are relying on THEM to be there for us, and to help us in a variety of ways get through this difficult time and beyond
But, how can we be sure that they will remain here? As we’ve said before, it’s only getting more and more difficult for them. When housing costs rise, and they have to pay more than half of their income on rent costs, they either have to look for a second job, which many of them have already done, or they need to move out of Sandy Springs for more affordable housing elsewhere.
Back in 2013, Georgia Tech and the Boston Consulting Group conducted a study for The Essential Economy Council in Georgia. In their analysis, they say that “…we saw that the goods and services provided by these occupations are basic and essential to our economy and our way of life, hence the term Essential Economy.”
In 2017, according to a report by the Atlanta Regional Commission, there were 17,000 JOBS in Sandy Springs that fall into the Essential Economy categories. In addition, a Georgia Tech report explains that there are 6 areas into which the Essential Economy can be grouped based on type of job and skills needed to perform that job.
The workers of the essential economy are vital to our community. They are our neighbors and contribute in many ways to our vitality. We know that now, with the Coronavirus, more than ever. The Georgia Tech report also points to three additional values these workers bring to our economy.
- Employees
The Essential Economy provides jobs and employment for people who have limited choices and options in a U.S. economy that is driven by technology, science and research. While more needs to be understood about the upward mobility and sustainability of these jobs, there is no doubt that a very significant number of workers rely on the jobs, salaries and economics of The Essential Economy.
- Consumers
The goods and services provided by The Essential Economy are basic and fundamental to our society, supporting our individual choices and options for the way we live and work in the modern world. We could not maintain our lifestyles or businesses without The Essential Economy infrastructure.
- Economies
The aggregate financial value of The Essential Economy is material and significant to our local, state and national economies: a fact that has been substantiated by our research in Georgia.
So when we talk about housing that is affordable for our essential workers, keep in mind that these are our neighbors performing jobs and tasks that benefit ALL of us. There is not a person among us that does not need groceries or a clean hospital room or an on-time delivery. Let’s work together to make sure they can live where they work.
ICYMI: Elected officials in Atlanta call for rent control
Editor’s Note: The following blog was written before the current COVID-19 outbreak. Many of our neighbors are finding themselves unable to pay their monthly rent. The impact this will have to our schools, our businesses and our community is yet to be seen, but it will be devastating to our community if these residents are forced out. We applaud the city’s support of the Community Assistance Center in the March 17th council meeting, and hope that there is more that our community can do. Once this crisis is over, however, our need for sustainable rent affordability will still be there, and here is how the City of Atlanta is addressing the issue.
The affordable housing crisis is impacting cities and communities around the country, and our very own Sandy Springs surely isn’t exempt.
Different cities have offered and implemented various solutions to solve this growing problem, and one thing is clear: there is no “one size fits all” solution.
A (New?) Solution for Atlanta
The news crew over at 11Alive is back with another great segment about affordable housing, this time focusing on efforts made by Atlanta city council members to protect existing affordable housing through calls for “rent control” to state officials.
“We’re in dire need of rent stabilization to keep our residents in their homes,” said Atlanta Councilmember Antonio Brown in an article published by the AJC.
He’s right. Whether or not rent control is the solution, Brown correctly points out the dire need for rent stabilization, a problem that is impacting working families in Sandy Springs, too.
A Step in the Right Direction
In the same AJC article, Georgia State University professor and housing expert Dan Immergluck points out that rent control is a step in the right direction, but not an end all solution.
The bottom line: rent control does help to stabilize rent, but does little to nothing in the way of helping to decrease long-term housing costs.
Furthermore, Immergluck “pointed out there are other potential consequences to rent control that the city likely can’t avoid,” such as an inability for a city “to stop landlords from converting rental units into condominiums and offering them for sale at high prices.” But…even this alternative can have advantages by offering more affordable home ownership options than new construction would offer.
Is This Right for Sandy Springs?
By our estimation, this is absolutely something the city government should consider along with other policies that might be a better fit for our city.
We aren’t going to endorse this solution. We’re simply here to highlight what solutions other cities are calling for and attempting to implement, provide analysis on both sides of the argument and start a dialogue among community members.
But at the end of the day, it’s imperative that public input be at the center of the decision making process. Without this key step, public trust will decrease and we are worse off in all regards.
We are stronger when each of us are heard, and seen, in the process. If you’re interested in staying up to date on all the details, including important announcements of events where you can raise your voice, follow us on Facebook and join our community of dedicated citizens.
Does Sandy Springs value tree preservation over affordable housing for working families?
This question becomes more and more important as the city moves forward with plans to conduct a housing Study, as was approved in the City Council meeting on March 17.
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