Like many of our neighbors we’ve been reflecting on the brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police and the protesting that has since erupted globally. The expressions of anger, mourning, hurt, and resistance speak to what we’ve known for a long time: change is necessary.
Over the past two years, inspired by our social service community members, Campus District has worked diligently to practice trauma-informed community development. This framing asks us to set aside our expectations for how individuals should or shouldn’t behave and invites us to consider that each person we meet is an amalgamation of their experiences—some joyous, some painful, and some traumatic. It challenges us to make the space for each person’s individual humanity.
Unfortunately, in our current reality to be black in America is to experience trauma—at the hands of police, exposed to a dangerous virus while working in an essential business, through historic and current governmental policies. American social psychologist, Mindy Fullilove, uses the phrase “root shock” to describe the way these racist policies contribute to the destruction of cities—physically and to their “emotional ecosystems”. In the past, people living in neighborhoods of the Campus District experienced shock when the interstate ripped through the community in places where streets and homes once stood; we see it now as 600 individuals experiencing homelessness flow into our shelters every night while housing prices increase, and wages stay stagnant.
Our entire city suffers when we ignore the systems that oppress its residents and until we recognize everyone’s humanity, especially people of color, things will remain the same. Campus District is committed to working towards an equitable reality and healing the damage at our roots. We’re doing this through using art as a means of connection and conversation, advocating for the elimination of physical barriers, outreach, and creating spaces to lift-up the voices of our community members.
We stand with the artists in the Superior Arts District who express themselves through their work, we stand with our social service agencies, clinics, and hospitals that heal visible and invisible wounds, we stand with our educational institutions that arm people with knowledge, we stand with our businesses, residents, and employees who use their voices for growth and change.
Let’s continue to work together to build something new. We’re here and we’re listening.
