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table of contentsWINTER 2014EMPOWERMENT

MAGAZINEPromoting Financial, Community & Self Awareness

Cover Photo by Matti House

The Dream of FairHousing

2

3Welcome

EMPOWERMENTMAGAZINE

Contributors:Antionette Kerr

Executive Director, Lexington Housing CDC

Kassaundra S. LockhartIndependent PR/Marketing Consultant

Ken LackFair Housing Advocate

Jonathan BushCity Planner, City of Lexington

Ryan JonesLHCDC Board Member

Courtney RollerJuris Doctor, Elon School of Law

Ja’Quez TaylorStudent Body President - Thomasville High

Emily Kepley MossDesigner, Smoky Mountain Living Magazine

& Smoky Mountain News emilykepleymoss@gmail.com

LHCDC StaffAntionette Kerr, Executive Director

Margaret Strickland, Bookkeeper

Olivia Gaddy Fisher, Housing Program Coordinator

Keith McCurdy, Director of Construction & Repair

Phyllis Oliver, Housing Program Coordinator-Thomasville

Lexington Housing Community Development Corporation

lexingtoncdc.com(336) 236-1675 p • (336) 236-9408 fax

The Lexington Housing Community Development Corpo-ration’s Empowerment Magazine serves as a resource ofknowledge, information and empowerment for David-son County. The magazine features articles and briefssuch as but not limited to housing, financial literacy,community development, revitalization, foreclosure, ed-

ucation, self improvement, community champions and up-coming events. We seek to always provide the citizens of

Davidson County with the most current and accurate infor-mation that is available.

5 CommunityChampion

6 CIS FinancialQuestions

11 Spotlight on the Future

HOPEing for Change8Upcoming Events9

10Depot District

Plans Underway

Erlanger Village

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In Memory of Ronald F. ReidCommunity Champion and loyal

supporter/board member of LHCDC

Antionette Kerr, Executive Director, Lexington Housing CDC

“The function of education is to teach one tothink intensively and to think critically. Intelligenceplus character - that is the goal of true education.”

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dear Friends:

Education and access to education were consisten t themes of the Civil Rights Movement andare still echoed in our community today. In this second issue of Empowerment Magazine, wehonor the history of the great civil rights leaders in our past, present and future. This is an op-portunity to celebrate this moment in local history as a victory and acknowledge the legacy ofDr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with commemorative signage. Congratulations to the many communitymembers who have contributed to seeing the official renaming of Raleigh Road in Lexington.

Over the years, we have all been inspired by the words of Dr. King and I would like to sharefive of his most empowering quotes:

1. “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importanceand should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”

2. “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light ofcreative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfish-ness.”

3. “The time is always right to do the right thing.”

4. “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’tsee the whole staircase.”

5. “No person has the right to rain on your dreams.”

As generations come together to commemorate the life andand legacies of individuals, organizations and agencies further-ing civil rights; our agency will continue collaborating in edu-cation, advocacy and empowerment. Always remember thedream!

With anticipation,

Antionette KerrExecutive DirectorLexington Housing Community Development Corporation

4

open housing in a community” but indicated it was only“the first step in a thousand mile journey.”

Two years later, while standing on a balcony at theLorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. King was as-sassinated, inadvertently furthering the push for housingequality. Prior to his death, legislation had been stalledfor almost two years. In order to subdue the rage thatensued throughout the nation after Dr. King's death,President Lyndon Johnson urged congress to pass TitleVIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, better known as theFair Housing Act. On April 11, 1968, exactly one weekafter the assassination of Dr. King, President Johnsonsigned it into law.

Decades later, it took urging from grassroots organi-zations (fair housing agencies) and activists across thecountry to convince Congress to amend the Fair HousingAct with stronger protections and for the government tobetter enforce the law. These things came to fruitionthroughout the late 1980s. The US Department of Hous-ing and Urban Development, the US Department of Jus-tice, and non-profit fair housing organizations across thenation now have resources available to investigate alle-gations and assist the victims of illegal housing discrim-ination. State and local governments also assist inenforcing fair housing laws as well as adding additionalprotections.

If you feel you are a victim of housing discrimination,you can file a complaint directly with the US Departmentof Housing & Urban Development. I would recommendthat you first get in contact with a local fair housing or-ganization to assist you with investigating your case andfiling a complaint. Non-profit, fair housing agenciesgenerally do not charge for their services and are trainedto gather evidence that could be crucial in substantiatingyour allegation. You can find your local fair housingagency by going to the National Fair Housing Alliancewebsite: www.nationalfairhousing.org or call LexingtonHousing Community Development Corporation for additional information. You can also email me at KenLack@mail.com.

Ken Lack

The Dream of FAIR HOUSING

Imagine finding the perfect condominium complex to live in and theagent is touting all the benefits of the community. Then, after arriving withyour child to see the place, you are told you can't live there because of ano children policy. Imagine a college professor making a six-figure incomebeing denied the opportunity to buy a house because of skin color. Imag-ine your landlord evicting you because you are a victim of domestic vio-lence. Imagine being a veteran suffering from PTSD and you finally findthe perfect, affordable place to live only to be told that your service animalis not welcomed. Imagine banks making it harder to get a mortgage orpaying more for homeowner's insurance if you are not white.

It seems when I mention fair housing, many don't understand exactlywhat it is and how important it is to each of us. If you or someone elseis denied a housing opportunity because of discrimination, you are pro-tected under the law. The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to denyhousing due to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status,or disability. The law further assures equal opportunity in regards tohousing sales, rentals, mortgage lending, and homeowner's insurance.

The idea of putting equal housing opportunity into law began with theCivil Rights Act of 1866. For the next century, many other pieces of leg-islation and court rulings continued to strengthen fair housing protection.However, they lacked the mechanisms needed to ensure enforcement ofthese laws would be effective.

We are familiar with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's involvement with theMontgomery Bus Boycott and the March On Washington but many aren’tfamiliar with his important contributions towards advocacy for fair hous-ing. In 1965, Dr. King began to bring the issue of “open housing” (nowreferred to as fair housing) into the public forum. In those days, segre-gation in housing was common throughout the country. Housingproviders, including our government, were complicit in actively keepingneighborhoods segregated. The issue gained national attention whenveterans returning from Vietnam begun being denied housing due totheir race. Dr. King was asked to participate with peaceful protests inChicago to encourage equal housing opportunity for all. His passion forthe cause grew and he moved there in 1966. Of course, his new Chicagoresidence was located in a segregated neighborhood.

One particular protest involved marching through an all white com-munity. The peaceful protesters were met with violence. It was then thatthe mayor, Richard Daley, agreed to meet with housing advocates (in-cluding Dr. King) and agreed to take affirmative steps towards assuringequal housing opportunities. Although this was a monumental step infair housing history, the promises that the Chicago Housing Authoritywere supposed to implement didn't really come to fruition. Dr. King wasquoted as saying, “Never before have such far reaching and creativecommitments been made and programs adopted and pledged to achieve

Ken Lack is afair housing advocate, andtrainer

When Robert Curlee returned to his hometown of Lexing-ton in 2010, he had no idea what the future would entail. “Ihad a yearning to come back home and I’m glad I did. I’venever regretted it.” It is no secret that upon his return, Curleewent straight to work. The disabled Vietnam Veteran whohas a passion for children embarked on a quest to motivatestudents in Lexington to do their best.

The result of this desire was the formation of the JacketAcademic Booster Club (JABC) in 2012. The JABC wasformed to encourage academic excellence and to help Lex-ington City Schools become “the premier academic systemin the county, area, state, the world. It can be done!,” Curleesays with enthusiasm. Throughout the year, the JABC sup-ports numerous academic endeavors and enrichment com-petitions in the form of monetary awards. Currently the JABCprovides awards for the Debate Team, the Elementary andMiddle School Oratorical Contests, the Lexington SeniorHigh School Literary Competition and two LSHS Art Com-petitions.

For Curlee it is importantto encourage youth to dotheir best in school. “I didnot get a lot of supportwhen I was in school,”Curlee confesses. “I got myinspiration and motivationfrom my teachers.” He alsocredits the desire within tonot become a product ofhis environment as a moti-vational factor as well.While some people mayfrown upon the monetarygifts, Curlee sees it assomething “...we all can re-late to.”

When Curlee is not busy championing for the youth of ourcommunity, he is busy with numerous other commitments.He serves as the Chairman for the Scholarship Committeeat his church, Files Chapel Baptist, and for the DavidsonCoalition of Violence. Curlee is also a member of the Lex-ington City School’s Board of Education, the Lexington Hous-ing Community Development Corporation (LHCDC) boardand the American Legion Post 255.

On cue, when our conversation turns to talk about vets,Curlee lights up when he gets a chance to discuss the way hechooses to honor fellow vets on Veterans Day. As he was driv-ing down Highway 52 one night, he had a revelation. Heneeded to do something to honor fellow veterans in the com-munity. “What is it we can do for Veterans?”, Curlee thoughtto himself. “We (veterans) often wonder if anyone rememberswhat we did.” To show his fellow veterans that they had notbeen forgotten, Curlee, along with a few friends, visit localnursing homes and pass out baseball caps to veterans. Thecaps are adorned with the logo that represents their branchof service. If the veteran is disabled, the cap will reflect thatas well. “This is the biggest day of their (nursing homes) year,”Curlee states with a twinkle in his eye.

An avid supporter of LHCDC, Curlee became familiar withthe organization upon his return to Lexington. With the helpof LHCDC, Curlee was able to purchase a home in the newlyrevitalized Erlanger community. “I’ll always be a dedicatedsupporter of CDC. I don’t think I could’ve gotten the assis-tance I got (anywhere else),” says Curlee, convincingly.

As Curlee continues his journey in this thing called life, hewants to continue to be an asset to the community. “What-ever I can do to help our community and our children pre-pare for the future, I’m gonna do it,” Curlee states. For nowhe will continue the work he has been doing and enjoy life.“I woke up one day and realized I have everything I need.I’m loving my life as is.”

By Kassaundra S. Lockhart

Soldier

AcademicBooster

Historian

Empowerment Magazine | WINTER 2014 5

Kassaundra S. Lockhart is anIndependent PR/Marketing

Consultant.

At CommunitiesIn Schools of Lex-ington/Davidson

County our stated mission is dropout prevention.What we really hope to accomplish goes far beyondthat. By matching students with caring adult mentorsand by placing plugged-in site coordinators at 24schools in Lexington and Davidson County, we hopeto equip the next generation with the tools they needto become good citizens and successful individuals.We want to eliminate the barriers that keep our kidsfrom achieving all that they have the potential toachieve. One major barrier we strive to help studentsovercome is the cycle of poverty; an unfortunate re-sult of limited resources, limited education, and lim-ited opportunity. We know that to give our kids anyhope of breaking this cycle we need to intervene. Weneed to show them what being fiscally responsiblelooks like; we need to make sure they’re hearing thesound financial advice that many of us don’t realizewe have taken for granted in our own lives. The firststep is giving students the opportunity to ask ques-tions.

We asked CIS student, Ta’Quar-tney – a college-bound senior atLexington Senior High School – totell us what he worries about mostwhen it comes to money. Kassaun-

dra Lockhartwas eager toaddress hisconcerns

1. What qualities do you look for in abank and how can they help you savemoney?

With so many banking options, it can be hard to deter-mine which one will meet your needs. The first thing youneed to do is decide why you want a bank account. If it justabout saving, then research which banks offer you incentivesfor “housing” your money at their bank. Some offer checkingaccounts to go along with your savings account. There arealso banks that have special packages for youth. Check withthe local financial institutions to see which bank offers youthe best “bang for your buck.” Typically, most banks offer amoney market account option with rates that tend to behigher than those of regular savings accounts.

Another thing to consider is location. Some banks onlyhave locations in the city you live in and surrounding areas.Using a local bank can make it difficult to withdraw moneywhen you are away from home. Lastly, ask your parents fortheir input. They may have great insight into what type ofaccount you need and what bank you should use.

2. What is the best way to get started as faras saving money for college? When shouldyou start saving money for college?

As a student, it is hard to save for college. However, if youare in a position to earn money while in school, you can seta certain amount of money aside from each paycheck tohelp with the cost of books, food and minor expenses. An-other way to save is the old fashioned way: get a piggybank. You will be amazed by how much change you cansave in a year.

In addition to saving on your own, you will want to main-tain good grades and keep your GPA up. You will set your-self up to be in a position to apply for scholarships when thetime comes around to start applying for college.

Breaking the cycle of poverty

Ryan Jones is a LHCDCBoard Member

By Ryan Jones

Empowerment Magazine | WINTER 2014 7

If you've lost your job or have had certain other hardships, you may qualify for mortgage

help while you look for work or retrain. For more info contact us:

15 E. Second Ave., Lexington, NC 27292

(336) 249-0234The N.C. Foreclosure Prevention Fund™

is offered in partnership with the N.C. Housing Finance Agency using funds from the U.S. Treasury.

WWW.DCCOMMUNITYACTION.ORG

OFFERING MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE &FORECLOSURE PREVENTION

3. Will minimum wage ever be suitablefor the cost of living? especially if yourhousehold operates off a single income.

It is extremely difficult to live off minimum wage, es-pecially when your income is the only one in the house.With the cost of living increasing, it will become evenmore difficult to live off of minimum wage. A lot ofpeople who work minimum wage jobs typically work apart-time job as well.

4. What are the pros and cons fordebit and credit cards?

Debit cards are convenient. They eliminate the needfor you to have to carry cash everywhere you go. Moststores accept debit cards so you rarely have to be in-convenienced by going to the bank every time to with-draw funds. If you plan to use your debit card a lot, itis important for you to keep a record of how much youare spending. If you do not keep up with your spend-ing, you run the risk of overdrawing your account. Youalso run the risk of being charged fees if you use yourdebit card at an ATM machine that is not at your bank.It is always good to keep a little cash on you.

Just like debit cards, credit cards are convenient. Theydo not require you to carry cash and they can be usedalmost anywhere. Many credit cards now offer incen-tives for you to use your credit card. Incentives rangefrom frequent flier miles to discounts on vacations, au-tomobiles, home goods, etc. Credit cards, when usedproperly, also help you to establish good credit. Goodcredit is a necessity when it comes to things such as pur-chasing homes and automobiles.

There is a flipside when it comes to credit cards. Typ-ically, most people that end up in credit card debt getthere by overspending. Credit card limits are oftenhigher than what the user has in their bank account.Instead of only purchasing items on their credit cardthat they can pay back in a reasonable amount of time,some users purchase items knowing they may struggleto make the payments.

It is never too early to start practicing good financialhabits. If you start now, you will put yourself in a goodposition for the future.

MENTORS WANTEDIf you would like an opportunity to share with a young person

some of the life skills and wisdom you’ve gained over the yearsplease consider becoming a mentor with Communities InSchools of Lexington/Davidson County. Just one hour a weekwith a mentor is enough to shift a student’s life in a positive direction. Right now approximately 150 kids in Kindergartenthrough 12th grade are hoping to be matched with a caringadult from their community.

Call 242-1520 or visit CommunitiesInSchools.com

for more information.

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At a time when politicaldissatisfaction and economicinsecurity is widespread, onegroup is bringing HOPE to the

citizens of Lexington and Davidson County. Members of Helping Or-ganize People Effectively, or HOPE, held their founding conventionon November 16 at Freedom Tabernacle Family Worship Center inLexington.

HOPE is a non-partisan, interfaith,multiracial community power organi-zation that is dedicated to addressingissues of economic development, jobcreation, education, voter engage-ment and veteran’s issues impactingthe community. More than 100 peo-ple attended the founding convention- representing a wide range of organ-izations and non-profit groups.

“I am thankful that we as a commu-nity have made a conscious decisionto come together and work togetheron these issues,” said Rev. KeithCurry, Ph.d, during his closing re-marks at the convention. “We intendto speak as one on these issues.When we work together we can getso much accomplished.”

Curry is a founding member ofHOPE and the President of the Lexing-ton chapter of the National Associa-tion for the Advancement of ColoredPeople (NAACP). Members from theNAACP were in attendance alongwith representative of several otherfounding institutions including: Amer-ican Legion Post 255, Files ChapelBaptist Church, First Baptist Church,New Faith Full Gospel Fellowship Center, New Life Worship Centerof Lexington, Old Smith Grove View Baptist Church, On the Wingsof a Dove Community Church and Freedom Tabernacle Family Wor-ship Center. Representatives from each of these groups were askedto sign a covenant agreement and pledge their support of HOPE.

Encompassed in HOPE’s dedication to economic development is acommitment to housing reform and neighborhood revitalization, saidHOPE Executive Director and lead organizer, Constance “Connie”Russell. In fact, some of the most visible work conducted by HOPE ishousing related, such as the two public neighborhood audits con-ducted by members. Findings from these audits identified 127 prob-lems in a 65-block radius, including inadequate street lighting,abandoned properties and broken windows.

“Ninety-five percent of those con-ditions were addressed by our citygovernment,” said Russell. “We arecurrently developing strategies to ad-dress our community’s needs for acompetent home weatherization pro-gram, fair utility rates and to rebuildand invest in our neighborhoods.” Inaddition to these projects HOPE haslaunched a non-partisan voter en-gagement campaign and developedplans for the creation of an intergen-erational recreation center in Lexing-ton.

While the founding convention of-ficially marked the group’s establish-ment, Russell and members of HOPEhave been initiating change in theLexington area since 2008, underthe name of Citizens for Change. By2011, what started as a 8-personcollective had grown into a nearly200-person delegation. That yearthe organization received 501(c)(3)public charity organization statusand voted on an official namechange to HOPE.

Organizers view HOPE’s broadrange of issues and dedication to

multiple revitalization projects as bridges connecting many differentgroups through the shared goal of a better quality of life for the citi-zens of Lexington and Davidson County.

“When you partner with other organizations you may not haveeverything in common,” Curry said at the convention. “But, we ought

HOPEing for ChangeGroups pledge dedication to community power organization, Helping Organize People Effectively, at founding convention.

By Courtney Roller

Courtney Roller is a recent graduate ofElon University’s School of Law.

Capt. Robby Rummage-Lexington Police Department, Roy L. Jones-ElectriCities, Matt Schull Electricities,Jim Myers-Lexington City Council (At Large), Beth Wood (State Auditor), Rev. John W. Cade (Pastor,Files Chapel Baptist Church.

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UPCOMING EVENTSProgram Info Session

Thursday, February 20, 2014 • 6-8 pmThomasville Public Library

14 Randolph St, Thomasville, NC 27360

To submit an event, email empowerment@lexingtoncdc.com

Empowerment Magazine | WINTER 2014

Committed to making Lexington City Schools a

“System of Achievers.”

to work together on the things we do have in common because itmakes for a better Lexington and a better community.”

Additional speakers and distinguished guests included:

Beth Wood, North Carolina State Auditor; James B.Myers, Lexington City Councilor; Dr. Herbert Miller, II,Lexington City Councilor, and HOPE co-chair; RobbyRummage, Lexington Police Department Captain; MattSchull, Chief Operating Officer for ElectriCities of NorthCarolina; Jeannine Woody, Vice President of Programs& Academics at Davidson County Community College;Phyllis Oliver, Lexington Housing Community Develop-ment Corporation; Gerald Taylor, senior staff at Indus-trial Areas FoundationI and HOPE Supervisor; AlgenonCash, Managing Director at Wharton Gladden; RickCisneros, of Rick Zebra Designs; Sean Gallimore, of RickZebra Designs; DeLisa Anderson, of Old Smith GroveView Baptist Church; Gloria Cross, of On the Wings ofa Dove Church and HOPE co-chair; Dennis Clodfelter,of New Life Worship Center; Lisa Hill, of Freedom Tab-ernacle Family Worship Center; and Barbara Walser,of Lexington Deliverance Tabernacle.

Ted & Tricia Royster In honor of Mr. & Mrs. Jerry BlackwelderSara & Bill Delapp In honor or Mr. & Mrs. Fred Adkin

In honor of Mr. & Mrs. Don StricklandFred McIntrye In honor of Mr. & Mrs. W.A. Reynolds

In honor of Dr. & Mrs. James BurkeIn honor of Mr. & Mrs. Guy Smith

Joni Walser & Andrew Church In honor of Sylvia WalserByerly, Shoaf & Co. In honor of Mac & Beth ParrottRebecca Jo Peoples In honor of Julia EnglandAntionette Kerr In memory of Ronald ReidHarvey Dick In memory of Catherine Dick

Homes for the Holidays Year End Contributors 2013

On behalf of our Board of Directors, staff and clients, we thank you for being a part ofessential local financial support given to Lexington Housing Community DevelopmentCorporation’s Homes for The Holiday’s Campaign throughout the years.

Talmadge H. SilversidesRobert & Hun LoweDavid & Elizabeth InabinettLexington Chiropractic & WellnessHugo & Sue HodginAnn Holbrooks

James MyersJames & Tricia SlymanPeggy HinkleKen & Debbie AumanKivi & Edgar MillerGaston Penry, Jr.Robin Team

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DEPOT DISTRICT PLANS UNDERWAYFormer furniture factories are slated for mixed use development

with a passenger rail stop being the focal point

Spanning nine blocks, adjacent to an activerail line, and over one million square feet, TheDepot District is one of the city’s greatest as-sets. What once was home to Lexington Furni-ture Industries (LFI) for more than a half acentury, known by locals as Dixie Furniture, ispoised for mixed use redevelopment to includea passenger rail stop providing over 700,000citizens in the Yadkin Valley Region access topublic transit.

The City of Lexington took a bold step to re-define the future by purchasing the aban-doned LFI buildings when they closed in 2005.The City hired Shook Kelley, Inc as the lead ar-chitecture and planning firm who is partneringwith the NCDOT Rail Division, DavidsonCounty, Piedmont Authority for Regional Trans-portation (PART), Piedmont Triad RegionalCouncil/Rural Planning Organization, and

NCDOT Highways Division to bring this bold,adaptive reuse venture to life. The City of Lex-ington has also worked continuously to securereestablishment of a passenger rail service,which is now set to begin in 2015. Rail servicehas been nonexistent in the county since 1976when Southern Railway discontinued the lastpassenger train serving the county.

The district will provide a significant returnon investment to local citizens and the Pied-mont Triad Region. It will also provide a plat-form to ensure Lexington will thrive and secureits position as a major economic player in theTriad Region. The Depot District was the resultof public visioning surveys and workshops forthe Depot District, which called for sustainable,pedestrian and transit-friendly urban environ-ments with a wide range of housing choices,multi-modal transportation options, green jobsand an abundant use of low-impact, energy-efficient design elements. Once complete, thedevelopment will accomplish several successfuloutcomes including:

• Facilitate completion of North Carolina’sRaleigh-Charlotte Passenger Rail Corridor.

• Increase the impact of existing federallyfunded projects.

• Increase functionality of local and re-gional bus service, taxi service, bicycle and

pedestrian facilities.

• Increase utilization and functionality oflocal bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

It is also important to note that a project ofthis size will also provide job creation andnear term economic activity in a distressedarea. Based on standard estimation method-ologies using the project capital cost, construc-tion job creation is estimated to be 317 jobsover the 33 months of expected design andconstruction activities. For the first time, localeconomically disadvantaged citizens, manywithout access to vehicles, will be able to af-fordably access regional jobs centers andmedical facilities, as well as local shoppingareas, public service facilities and recreationalopportunities.

The project will also support economic de-velopment initiatives in close proximity to thestation. The Depot District serves as a powerfulreminder of LFI job losses that resulted in urbanblight and local economic stagnation. Havinga station within the Depot District and adjacentto the former Lexington Furniture Industriesproperty will spur redevelopment of thisbrownfield site into a mutually beneficial tran-sit-oriented activity center, creating a vibrantlive/work/play community.

Jonathan Bush is a Lexington, NC City Planner.

By Jonathan Bush

Around Town

Erlanger Village has a long history ofbeing a strong, working class neighbor-hood just north of Uptown Lexington. His-torically a mill village built by the Erlangerfamily to produce fabric for Erlanger’s BVDfactory back in Baltimore, Erlanger Millswas one of Lexington’s largest and mostproductive textile manufacturing opera-tions. Nearly all of the workers at the plantlived in Erlanger’s mill village which in-cluded not only housing but churches,recreational areas, schools, a general store,post office, barber shop, nurse’s office, bil-liard room, and community showers amongother amenities.

Over the years, modernization of theplant and the introduction of different tech-nologies have eliminated the need for manyof the jobs at the plant. Once employingnearly 1400 employees, the plant was soldin 1971 to Parkdale Mills Inc. of Gastoniaand today the plant employs barely a frac-tion of what it used to. By the mid 2000’s,much of Erlanger Village was run down,many of the houses were in need of repairs and the neighborhood wasexperiencing declining property values. Many of the amenities offeredin the village closed or moved. Most of the houses were converted torental units and the lack of maintenance furthered the decline of theneighborhood.

To combat this downturn, the City of Lexington along with the Lex-ington Housing Community Development Corporation (LHCDC) part-nered together to help jump start the revitalization of this once greatneighborhood. With the help of a $1 million grant received from theNC Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Assistance re-ceived in October 2007, Erlanger Village, composing of nearly 300homes built between 1913 and 1929 on roughly 85 acres, was givena much needed helping hand to restore the neighborhood back to itsformer glory.

After much consideration, the decision was made to focus on themost blighted structuresin the neighborhood.The purpose was to cre-ate enough momentumin an area that it wouldeventually, and natu-rally, spread throughoutthe neighborhood creat-ing a self sustainablegentrification of thearea. House by house,the City of Lexington

and the LHCDC would either restore or re-build these historic mill houses while follow-ing the historical requirements set forth bythe state. By the end of the project the cityused grant funds, local resources and vol-unteers to rehabilitate and rebuild 23homes, demolish the blighted Park CircleApartments, build a neighborhood park,and focus on infrastructure improvementsincluding sidewalks and street lights. Withthe help of LHCDC, potential buyers wouldbe eligible to purchase one, two, and threebedroom houses ranging in size from 662to 1,345 square feet and prices rangingfrom $39,900 to $59,900.

Encouraging home ownership and edu-cating residents on the importance of main-tenance and curb appeal go a long way inkeeping a neighborhood intact. This wasimportant to the impending success of Er-langer Village. Applicants for any of therehabilitated houses at Erlanger were re-quired to partner with the LHCDC and com-plete classes dealing will all aspects of

home ownership. The LHCDC provides homeowner assistance alongwith workshops and classes to help encourage people to becomehomeowners. Their mission is “to educate, enable and affirm individ-uals and families to achieve homeownership, to develop new afford-able housing, and improve existing housing in the Lexington area.”

It has now been six years since the city of Lexington was awardedthe grant to help revitalize Erlanger Village. Many of the houses thatwere rehabilitated have been sold and what was once a crime riddenapartment building is now a community park. The key now is to seeif the rest of the neighborhood will follow suit, to see if the momentumcreated will continue to envelop the surrounding area. The success ofErlanger will greatly influence how the City of Lexington precedes withits upcoming neighborhood revital-ization plans. More importantly, weshould not have to rely on thesegrants to jump start neighborhoodrevitalization, the key to a successfulneighborhood is its residents andhow they take pride in their neigh-borhood. Creating a neighborhoodassociation, adding a fresh coat ofpaint to the exterior of your house orjust walking around the neighbor-hood picking up trash and talk-ing to neighbors goes a longway in creating a desirableplace to live.

Erlanger Homeowner, retired teacher Margaret Berry (left)pictured with Housing Counselor Olivia Gaddy Fisher.

Erlanger Mill Village: The Transformation of a Neighborhood

Before and after on Park Circle

Josh Monk

Josh Monk is a Lexington,NC City Planner.

My name is Ja'Quez Taylor. I am a senior and the StudentBody President at Thomasville High School. After gradua-tion, I plan to attend North Carolina A&T State Universityto major in Elementary Education with a minor in AfricanAmerican studies. It is my hope that as an educator, I willbe able to change lives inside and outside the classroom.By educating inside of the classroom I hope to touch achild's life that seems to be struggling with a subject. Out-side of the classroom, I hope to bring parents and commu-nity leaders together.

Growing up in Thomasville has really been a wonderfulexperience. One of the benefits of growing up in a smalltown is that you know everyone. My greatest memories ofgrowing up in Thomasville are attending the Christmas pa-rade, being a student and seeing different changes happenthroughout the years. I have seen Thomasville go throughsome tough and rough stages. I am referring to the commu-nity still hurting from our furniture industry shut down. A lotof citizens lost jobs, homes, cars, etc as a result.

My goal is to finish college in 2018, upon which I plan toreturn to Thomasville not only to give back but to serve as aleader in city hall. I've found a passion to love Thomasville.There are so many things I see happening in the future forThomasville if we get more community involvement. I wouldhope to start a non- profit organization in Davidson Countyentitled Community. Leading. Schools. (CLS). I am a strongbeliever in education and in order to educate the next gen-eration we have to start a movement that will require every-one in the community to help train up a child and make surethey are doing well in school. The world of education ischanging rapidly and with the new State Standard CommonCore Curriculum, it's requiring everyone to help a child

along the way. In order to start my movement, I will needsupporters and prayer warriors behind me 1000%.

This summer, I was afforded the opportunity to intern atLexington Housing Community Development Corporation(LHCDC) through my selection for the North Carolina Com-munity Development Initiative-SummerYouth Leadership Pro-gram. Recently I was asked to represent LHCDC at aconvention. The convention centered upon bringing organ-izations in the community together to brainstorm ideas forthe upcoming year. The convention was sponsored by HOPE(Helping Organize People Effectively). When I was at theHOPE convention with city leaders of Lexington, I asked my-self a question. Why doesn't my hometown join the move-ment or do something similar? The convention gave me suchgreat ideas for my future plans for Thomasville. HOPE reallyis going to be great for Lexington and Davidson County.Every organization, school, business, church, etc., is comingtogether to make a difference in the county. One thing Ifound inspiring at the convention was that inside the pro-gram there was a form asking everyone in the audience tochoose from three different things they would like to be in-volved with for the 2014 year. The three items were voterregistration, Lexington City Schools, and volunteering. Be-fore anyone could leave they had to turn in the form. Ithought that was a great idea to get the community involved.Progress is beginning to take place. We just need the com-munities to do their part and everything else we follow.Change doesn't happen overnight. Change comes withprocess. In order to go through a change we have gothrough the beating, pressing, and shaking. As Jekayln Carrstates in her song, greater is coming! As a community, wecan do all things through Christ!

By Ja’Quez Taylor

SPOTLIGHTON THE

FUTUREA Shout Out From Mr. Ja’Quez Taylor

Ja’Quez Taylor is Student Body President ofThomasville High School and aspires to be ateacher who cares for community change.