Restorative Justice CLT, Two Year Reflection

401 North McDowell Street,Charlotte NC 28204

22 August, 2021

Description

Restorative Justice CLT, (www.restorativejusticeclt.org) is organizing a gathering to acknowledge the two years of advocacy. Food & Music! Charlotte, NC - a tale of two cities.  According to US News1, Charlotte, NC is the 20th best place to live - particularly for young professionals2 . However, The City of Charlotte ranks dead last (50th out of 50) among America’s largest cities in Upward Mobility . How can this be the case?  How is upward mobility so severely lacking for the black community as opposed to Charlotte overall?  In May of 2020, the murder of George Floyd served as a catalyst to hyper-examine this issue. Pertaining to Charlotte, government lead initiatives such as Urban Renewal (also known as "Negro Removal", a term coined by activist James Baldwin) throughout the 1960s decimated black wealth in Charlotte.  Up until this point, the trajectory of the Black financial economy in Charlotte had been trending upward. However, due to urban renewal, over 200 black-owned businesses were destroyed, obliterating any foreseeable chance of passing on this stream of wealth to future generations.   As the roar from the bulldozers increased, the propensity for Black generational wealth decreased - never truly emerging again.   What if Brooklyn had been allowed to flourish? What if the 200 businesses in Charlotte remained intact?  We are calling for a renewed Commitment!!   Restorative Justice CLT seeks to enact transparent, accountable, and sustainable projects to redress the history of discriminatory practices and policies in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. We strongly believe in the healing and restoration that must occur to redress the legacy of injustice done to Black Charlotteans.