I’ve developed an obsession as of late. A hobby, shall we say. I, Erin Royce, am addicted to documentaries. Political, social commentary, historical- you name, I love it. Someone asked me recently what I like to do for fun and my answer was “eat cheese and watch documentaries.” They kind of looked at me strangely. But, no matter, to me there is nothing more fascinating. You should see my Netflix list! Nothing but docs as long as the eye can see… My favorite kind are the really gritty, dark and depressing ones because no matter how sad and painful they are to watch, they leave me with hope and a feeling of purpose. I enjoyed watching documentaries before I started my graduate work at Eastern but the habit really kicked in after watching Rize during our residency for Christ and the City. Even though I’ve never been a fan of David LaChapelle, (I’ve always found him too “Hollywood”) I thought the documentary was stunning. As a journalism undergrad, I’ve always been interested in using documentary to tell a story to the public that has meaning and send a message that needs to be told. So lately, I’ve been studying all types of docs, learning how they form the stories, the images they portray and subject matter they choose. My goal now is to shoot a feature length documentary on a little-known subject and bring it to the public’s attention.
The other day I was driving on West Lancaster Avenue, through West Philly, when on my left-hand side I saw a building with a sign that said West Philly Neighborhood Revitalization Group. I wondered to myself, Who are they and what are they doing for the neighborhood? All around me, I saw abandoned row homes with boarded up windows, trash littering the streets and empty lots where buildings once stood. The only thing “revitalized” that I saw was across from the organization’s building- a small grass plot with a bench and several flower bushes. It was nice, but was certainly not enough for what the poor neighborhood needed. Two blocks later, it was like coming out of a war zone, when I drove through the area surrounding St. Joseph’s- beautiful, with oak trees lining the streets and old stone mansions on every corner. So I thought to myself again, Why is one neighborhood literally located only a few blocks down so much worse for the wear than another one that seems to have everything? How does one community get developed to survive while another is forgotten and abandoned? This is a question asked by countless scholars, researchers, governments and non-profit workers and the subject of my entire graduate study at Eastern University. What is community development and what makes it work or fail?
I used to feel scared when driving through a rough urban neighborhood. Now I just feel sad. Because I know what the people there need, but no one seems to be able to bring it to them. As Jesus said in Mark 7:14, “The poor will be with you always.” Since most Christians agree with that statement, they feel that it is not their problem to help one person when there will always be another one right behind them. The problems seems endless and often, hopeless. People begin to fear the cities and those with money flee to the suburbs and disconnect themselves from the reality of what’s happening in the city. Fortunately there are people who see the problems, have hope and stay in order to create change in their neighborhoods. They are community developers and they see the block as much more than a couple liquor stores, burnt down row homes and drug dealers.
No comments:
Post a Comment