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Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams
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In the wake of the death of George Floyd, I was led to gather community leaders together—our city manager, chief of police, county mayor, county sheriff, three African American leaders, pastor/leader of the ministerial association, a member of Athens Thrive, and myself—and have a conversation about race relations in our community. This two-hour Zoom conversation led to planning a bigger conversation with our community.
A diverse group of approximately 400 citizens came together on Thursday, June 11 (while practicing physical distancing) to listen and to share for three hours on the grounds of historical J.L. Cook Memorial Park, which is the landmark of the former African American school. Then we walked/marched peacefully from Cook Park to downtown, around the courthouse and back, filling the approximately 1.5 miles with chanting, singing, talking, laughing and believing that our community is “Better Together.”
This ONE peaceful conversation and demonstration is transforming our city! The impact of this conversation brought an awakening to many of our community members about things they were not aware of, and it has encouraged our Black community members to join forces and become more knowledgeable of the opportunities that are available in the community. Together, we are taking a seat at the table to bring about change for the betterment of all.
As a result of the June 11 event, several Black community members met for a brainstorming session in Downtown Athens at Market Park Pavilion on June 22. The purpose of this gathering was to determine how we can become more involved in the community and work peacefully with police officers, city, and county leaders, and become more hands-on so that we can impact the development of our community for generations to come.
We then took it a step further and met with the City of Athens Police Chief, an officer, the city manager, and two city councilmen at J.L. Cook Memorial Park on June 29. This meeting allowed for a more intimate public discussion with approximately 40 citizens. It allowed the community to ask and get answers to tough questions that had been on the hearts and minds of people for years. From this conversation, walls of communication were torn down and an open door was extended from the city officials for citizens to freely walk through if they had a problem or concern that needed to be addressed. At this meeting, we agreed that we don’t have to wait for a group to fight our battle for us. We can be our own advocate and take our personal concerns to city hall and allow them to be reviewed individually.
The community of Athens, Tennessee, meeting at J.L. Cook Memorial Park. Photo credit: Alan Armstrong (Local freelance photographer)
The community advocate group is meeting on a regular basis, and as a result, our first task is to assist with voter’s registration and to encourage the citizens of the community to register and then GO VOTE! Our vote is our voice and we should all use our right to make changes.
We are also working hard to continue to build strong partnerships and strengthen connections between our past and present. For example, our community advocate group, along with the City of Athens Parks & Recreation Department, is working with our THRIVE team—a subcommittee of Main Street Athens—to develop an educational walking tour for J.L. Cook Memorial Park. This will consist of historical markers placed on the walking trail at Cook Park. These markers will explain the history of the school and preserve this information for generations to come. The THRIVE team has an opportunity to connect this tour to the already existing historic walking tour that was created as a partnership of Main Street and a diverse group of local historians. This effort is grant funded and is inclusive of a combination of men, women, and youth of various racial ethnicities.
The collaboration of these two walking tours makes a connection between our downtown art and heritage district which are being established as a result of Main Street Athens' networking with THRIVE Regional Partnership, Tennessee Arts Commission, Southeast Tennessee Development District and the Lyndhurst Foundation.
New mural by artist Sam Welty painted on the side wall of White Street Market, one of Downtown Athens' newly renovated buildings. Photo credit: Main Street Athens
Centennial of Women's Suffrage. On August 20, 2020, we celebrated the unveiling of a beautiful mural that commemorates the 100-year anniversary of women’s suffrage. Harry T. Burn, the gentleman that cast the final vote giving women the right to vote in 1920 was from Athens. This mural was placed on a revitalized building that is located at the entrance of our Main Street district and is seen by many on a daily basis as not only a transformation in our nation but in our community.
Thank You to Police Officers. On August 28, 2020, a private ceremony was held at Athens City Hall to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the last time a police officer was killed in the line of duty. In a season of unrest, we are taking the time to say “Thank You” to our police officers. For the next 100 days, yard signs and window decals were placed in businesses within the Main Street district and throughout the city that read, “We Support Our Police.” This campaign was sponsored by Main Street Athens and the Council Advisory Committee. Business owners were happy to participate in this campaign.
National Black Business Month. In celebration of Black Business Month, Main Street Athens did a live video recording of the only African American business within the downtown business district. Salon 214 was located in one of the buildings downtown, but had to move in 2019 due to maintenance issues in the building. Because the owner, Marsenia Smith, liked being in the downtown area, she moved to another location within the district. We promoted her reopening on August 31. From this promotion on social media, Salon 214 gained more public awareness, and Marsenia's business has increased.
From this promotion, I realized that we need to be more intentional about supporting our African American community; therefore, Main Street Athens is partnering with our downtown entrepreneurial center—The LITE House—and the Small Business Development Center of Cleveland, Tennessee, to develop programs that are geared towards minorities in business (women, African American, Asian American, etc). Due to COVID-19, these programs will not kick off until January 2021.
The negativity that has impacted our nation has also impacted my role as a Main Street director, but in a positive way. My day-to-day role is not just working to transform buildings and public spaces, but it is about transforming the heart and mindset of people. In order to have a better community, it starts with the individual. I realize instead of talking about change, I must “BE” the change that I want to see for my community. The motto for Athens is, “The Friendly City,” and my desire is that we become who we say we are.
Recently, a vacant seat became available on our city council, and according to the charter, it had to be filled before the November election. I have never had an interest in serving in a political role. However, my heart shifted within three days of the vacancy, and I became interested in serving in this capacity. Although this interim term is for only four months, I felt in my heart that serving in this role as a city council member would give me the opportunity to learn more about our city government, and in turn, city leaders would learn more about me and my role as the director of an organization that is the driving force for change in the downtown district. I felt it was a win-win. I put my name in the running and was nominated for the position by two of the councilmen and received a unanimous vote from the council. On August 18, 2020, I became the first African American woman to serve on the Athens City Council. I just made history!
In this historical moment, I am still just a citizen, working daily in my various roles to help my community become better in the midst of a chaotic nation.
As the Director of Main Street Athens and active in various other positions in the community, and mainly a concerned citizen, my desire is that we walk in love, unity, and respect and bring about change for the ENTIRE community, creating a safe haven for the betterment of ALL races and all ages. I truly believe in my heart that we are better if we work together. I hope we can be a catalyst for positive change, a small spark that lights a fire throughout the nation, and hearts will have a burning desire to be at peace with one another.
Little ole’ Athens, Tennessee, with a population of less than 15,000, is being proactive in this fight against racism and social injustice. ONE conversation is transforming our world. “It started with the one in the mirror!"
Main Street America is pleased to announce the launch of a $1.8 million sub-grant program as part of our partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Thriving Communities Program.
Beloit, Kansas © Shane Hampton
Erin Barnes spoke to Frances Jo Hamilton at Heritage Ohio about the importance of stepping up for our communities.
It is important to make sure that the growth of your community does not result in displacement or marginalization. Putting equity at the core of your transformation strategy helps you work towards measures of success that benefit everyone.
Creating real change in business ownership starts with local communities leading the way, backed by strong partnerships and collaborations.
MSA President and CEO Erin Barnes explores how a holiday market in a public park brought a new focus on growing humanitarian needs in downtown city centers.
Learn how Main Street America's work with the DOT's Thriving Communities Program is supporting transformative efforts with community partners like the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe.
Learn how Pikeville Pride partners with Pikeville Main Street to fostering a welcoming and inclusive community in their rural Kentucky town.
May is Jewish American Heritage Month! We collected ideas and resources to help you explore Jewish American history on your community and work toward a more inclusive Main Street.
At Fort Vancouver in Vancouver, Washington, Native Hawaiians played a critical role in the success of the Hudson Bay Company. Today, Vancouver’s Hawaiian history and heritage plays a crucial role in efforts to reenergize the city’s historic downtown.
Urban Impact Inc., harnesses strategic investments and collaborative efforts to foster a vibrant and sustainable future, from visionary adaptive reuse ventures to transformative development grants for small businesses and property owners in Birmingham, Alabama's historic 4th Avenue Black Business District.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $20B in federal Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) awards distributed to eight national non-profit consortiums. Main Street America looks forward to partnership and engagement with awardees and local programs to identify projects and expand impact throughout our network.
Hillsboro, Oregon © Alicia Gallo
Main Street America Program Officer encourages communities to advance equity for women to grow a more inclusive Movement.
Learn how this Louisiana town has used an accessibility-first approach to build a welcoming and inclusive community.
Downtown Ruston, Louisiana. Photo by Henry McCoy.
Tasha Sams, Manager of Education Programs, shares highlights of phase one of the Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (E3) in Rural Main Streets Program and the biggest takeaways from the workshop experiences.
In this video, learn more about the Williams’ family story, how the business is helping to revive downtown Helena, and the impact they’re having on a national level.
Learn how Main Street Now 2024 host city Birmingham, Alabama, is deepening their commitment to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment.
© Mayor Randall Woodfin
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Derrick Braziel, owner of Pata Roja Taqueria and co-founder of MORTAR, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Learn how micromobility can increase access, equity, and inclusion in your Main Street with examples from local programs across the network.
Learn how Albany, Georgia, recognizes their civil rights legacy and supports the African American community today.
Celebrate this traditional Mexican holiday with Gardnerville, Nevada.
Gardnerville, NV © Main Street Gardnerville
Tasha Sams shared their experiences at this unique Appalachian cultural festival.
Learn how this community in Oklahoma celebrated Dia de la Independencia with a big festival.
Tulsa, OK © Kendall Whittier Main Street
Learn how Rio Grande City is building a welcoming and inclusive city for both Mexicans and Americans.
Rio Grande City, TX © Rio Grande City
Learn how the Little Santo Domingo neighborhood of Miami is working with the Truist Foundation to strengthen pathways to small business ownership.
© Allapattah CDC
Learn how this Massachusetts community uses their farmer's market to increase access to fresh food.
Every year, H2BE holds their Juneteenth Mobility Stroll and Roll in Dearborn, MI, which celebrates Black Americans and improves local connections. Learn more about the event and why Juneteenth is important to this community.
Dearborn, MI © H2BE
Do you want to support the next generation of Main Street leadership! Start a youth board! Learn how Historic Downtown Clinton set theirs up and how your organization can benefit from one.
The Main Street Movement is a proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community. We spoke to Main Street leaders about how they support the LGBTQ+ community during Pride and beyond.
Steps you can take to engage your local Jewish community and make your Main Street feel welcoming for individual Jewish locals or visitors.
On May 9, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2023 which included a cultural district located within a designated Main Street America community.
Miami, FL © NTHP
The annual Cinco de Mayo Parade and Fiesta in the Mexicantown Main Street district offers a great example of collaborative partnerships that honor the community’s cultural heritage and support local businesses through events.
Meet Kavi, the first Indian American Girl of the Year doll and a (fictional) resident of 2023 Great American Main Street Award winner Metuchen, New Jersey!
Metuchen, NJ © Lauren Beischer Photography
Community Development Block Grants are powerful tools for Main Street programs. Learn more about how CDBG's can be applied to our work and how you can advocate for the program
Main Street America was awarded $5.9 million to support 20 communities in the Main Streets Community of Practice through the Department of Transportation's Thriving Communities Program over the next two years.
We spoke to Debbie Ho, Executive Director at Chinatown Main Street, to learn about the history of women in Boston Chinatown.
Boston, MA © Kyle Klein
Meet the newest recipients of this grant program to build stronger, more prosperous small towns and rural communities
Learn the unique history of Folsom, New Mexico, and how they are working with New Mexico MainStreet today.
Learn how this community is honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and telling the stories of Black leaders in their community.
Dublin, GA © Visit Dublin GA
Learn about the City of Boston’s efforts to invest in economic equity.
Downtown Sheridan Association partners with the Crow Tribe to host the annual First People’s Pow Wow event during the WYO Rodeo Week.
We spoke to three women who were awarded Inclusive Backing grants to learn more about their passions, their businesses, and their advice for other women.
Wixom, MI © Carissa Serylo
Storytelling is a critical part of the placemaking work that we do in Main Street districts. But are we sharing every story equally?
Jonesborough, TN © Jay Huron
Main Street Franklin is leading the way in showing how women business owners can be a powerful force for change in their communities.
Anette Landeros, President and CEO of Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, shares the importance of supporting Hispanic business owners and communities.
#EquityRising, Old Algiers Main Street Corporation's new job training program, seeks to combat rising cost of living by helping residents train for careers that will allow them to stay in their neighborhood.
We spoke to three Black business owners who were awarded Backing Small Businesses grants from Main Street America and American Express to better understand their challenges, successes, and the kinds of support that have helped them the most.
Camden, AR © Kimberly Moore Davis
June is Pride Month. Learn how Erie, PA, Emporia, KS, Frederick, MD, Macon, GA, and Billings, MT, celebrated the LGBTQ+ community.
Erie, PA © Dave Tamulonis
Stockbridge Main Street has made significant strides in exploring and sharing the story of Martin Luther King, father of civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr.
Stockbridge, GA © Stockbridge Main Street
Juneteenth is the anniversary of the final emancipation of enslaved people in the US. Here are five examples of examples of community celebrations from Main Streets across the network.
Charles Town, WV © Elizabeth Ricketts
Learn how Downtown Florence has partnered with local Francis Marion University to provide opportunities for both students and local small businesses.
Learn about The Bottom, a historic African-American community in Thomasville, Georgia, and efforts to preserve it's history and share it's story.
Thomasville, GA © City of Thomasville
Learn how four Main Street communities celebrated Black History Month.
Oklahoma is home to the headquarters of nearly 40 federally recognized Native American tribes, and many of their offices, cultural sites, and museums are located close to or within Main Street districts.
El Reno, OK © El Reno Main Street
Kendall Whittier is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in an ever-diversifying Tulsa. Learn how they are making efforts to engage their large Hispanic community.
Tulsa, OK © Kendall Whittier Main Street
We spoke with two Black entrepreneurs in UrbanMain commercial districts: L. May Creations in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago and The Four Way in south Memphis, Tennessee.
Memphis, TN © Four Way
Heart of Biddeford shares the strategies they developed to support Black-owned businesses in their community.
Biddeford, ME © Heart of Biddeford
This May marked the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre in the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. We explored the impact and legacy of this tragic event.
Tulsa, OK © Dr. Tiffany Crutcher
Main Street communities across the nation are celebrating Juneteenth, the oldest national commemoration of the ending of slavery in America and the nation’s newest federal holiday!
Learn about the various programs and initiatives that Fremont is using to promote inclusive economic development.
Fremont, CA © Fremont Economic Development
From small business owners to public artists to local leaders, join us this month to amplify the impact of the LGBTQ+ community in your Main Street district.
San Luis Obispo, CA © Downtown SLO
Brooksville Main Street’s Women Leading the Way Campaign celebrated the legacy of the trailblazing women who made history in their community.
Brooksville, FL © Brooksville Main Street
For Black History Month, we want to recognize and celebrate the Black business owners and entrepreneurs who have overcome challenges and obstacles in launching and running their own businesses, thanks to resilience, creativity, and hard work.
In remembrance and in honor of Dr. Marin Luther King Jr., over 900 streets in the United States were named after him. Many are located predominantly in African American communities.
Milwaukee, WI © Historic King Drive BID
Downtown SLO has kept the magic of their holiday lights installation alive by evolving their winter wonderland into a dual celebration of Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year.
San Luis Obispo, CA © Downtown SLO
Main Street programs around the Network have created engaging and COVID-safe ways to honor and celebrate the histories and lives of Black Americans in their commercial districts.
Meet some amazing women business owners!
Learn how the Allapattah Collaborative in Miami, Florida, implements a range of initiatives to expand equitable development and ensure current businesses can not only remain in the corridor but also flourish.
Read the results of our survey aimed at understanding how business owners are managing the recovery from COVID-19 and responding to recent protests and social unrest related to police violence against Black Americans.
Our research team dug into some of the data about the state of Black-owned businesses on Main Street, the structural challenges they face, and how Main Streets can support them.
Since 2013, Try This West Virginia has sought to improve health environments in local communities as a collaboration of organizations working together to combat the health challenges facing West Virginians.
Supporting new and existing small businesses, and the entrepreneurs who run them, represents a vital aspect of the revitalization of downtowns and neighborhood business districts.
The Equitable Economic Development Fellowship is a two-year, one million-dollar effort funded by the Surdna Foundation and the Open Society Foundations to help equity, transparency, sustainability and community engagement become driving forces in local economic development efforts.
The Zuni Pueblo MainStreet is the nation's first (and so far, only) Native American Main Street community.
As part of the Edward Jones Placemaking on Main Challenge, Downtown Brattleboro created a pop-up, mobile mini-museum.
History and architecture play an active role in educating and immersing the next generation of preservationists in Le Mars. From museum visits, scavenger hunts, to "show and tell," involving the youth and senior communities is a priority for this Main Street.
Across the county, communities are embracing the arts as a catalyst for revitalization—of buildings, businesses, and local culture.
From walkability and transportation connectivity, to access to nature and availability of fresh food, place is inextricably linked to achieving positive health outcomes in rural America.
Appealing to mobility-challenged shoppers yields benefits beyond the store.
Main Street America is committed to helping build inclusive communities. Homelessness is an increasingly important issue facing Main Street communities big and small, urban and rural.
To understand the role that immigrant business owners play in Boston’s small business ecosystem, you need only to walk through any Boston Main Streets district.
New arrivals have made Shaw more diverse.
Preserving diverse populations, not just buildings.
