This week I had the opportunity to join leaders from across the country at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta for the Flourishing Neighborhoods Conference, hosted in partnership with Georgia Tech’s Center for Urban Research. I was honored to join the “Visions for Flourishing Neighborhoods” panel alongside Courtney English from the City of Atlanta, Jonathan Ippel of Amplify GR, and James Fritze of NewTown Macon, with Monica Evans facilitating the conversation. We talked about neighborhood revitalization, economic mobility, trust, and what it actually takes to create communities where children and families can thrive. And throughout the conversation, I kept coming back to one thing: This work starts with people. Not assumptions. Not top down solutions. People. The lived experiences of residents should shape the work. Our job is to listen, build trust, respond, and help create the conditions for communities to flourish. What was beautiful is that the conversation did not stay in Atlanta. I came home and watched it unfold in real time throughout Birmingham, and specifically in Woodlawn. The very next day, we hosted Women’s Empowerment: Her Hour in partnership with Girls Girls. And honestly, the event felt less like a program and more like a reminder. A reminder that Woodlawn has always been rooted in strong matriarchal leadership. Women in this community have carried families, blocks, churches, schools, and neighborhoods for generations. They have held things together when resources were limited. They have stretched, sacrificed, nurtured, organized, and led often without recognition. Her Hour created space for women to pour back into themselves while also pouring into one another. It was about wellness, connection, entrepreneurship, leadership, and community. It was about reminding women that they deserve to be supported too. Because when women are supported, communities are supported. And this week, I kept seeing that truth over and over again. I watched Selena open her business while raising a daughter connected to i3 Academy and other community programs shaping the next generation. At the ribbon cutting, her daughter Allison had a pop up gelato stand, and I immediately thought, “We need an ice cream shop in Woodlawn.” Not just because of the ice cream. Because of what it represents. Walkability. Connection. Families gathering. Kids laughing. Neighbors running into each other. Community. I looked at Allison and thought, “Now I’ve got to find you a building.” That moment stayed with me because it represented something bigger than a small business idea. It represented belief. Ownership. Possibility. It represented a young girl seeing herself as someone who could create something in her own neighborhood. And then today, I left another closing table. Cinnamon, another dynamic woman in our community, purchased her first home. As we sat waiting for the final documents to process, her dad looked around the table and said something simple but powerful: “I’ve just got to acknowledge all these women at the table.” And he was right. Besides him, the table was filled with women. Women helping guide the process. Women building wealth. Women supporting one another. Women creating stability for their families and future generations. In that moment, I started reflecting on the entire week. The panel at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Her Hour. Women opening businesses. Women mentoring daughters. Women buying homes. Women building community. There is something intentional happening right now. There is a dynamism among women in this city that feels impossible to ignore. Not performative. Not transactional. Transformational. Women are not just participating in the growth happening in Birmingham. In many ways, they are helping shape it. And what excites me most is that this momentum is happening in community. People are supporting one another. Sharing resources. Showing up for each other’s businesses. Creating spaces where people feel seen and connected. That is what flourishing neighborhoods look like. Not just buildings. Not just development. Not just investment. But relationships. Trust. Ownership. Belonging. Vision. The energy is here. The momentum is here. Now we have to match it with long term investment and intentionality. We cannot keep doing surface level work. We have to bring real capital into communities, trust residents and business owners, and build alongside the people who have been holding neighborhoods together all along. Birmingham still has an opportunity to grow intentionally. To grow in a way where existing residents and new residents can thrive together. Neighborhoods are the units of change. And flourishing takes trust, vision, investment, and people willing to believe in what is possible. This week reminded me that the people already doing the work in our communities are often the blueprint. Especially the women.

Last night, I received a message from Mariohn Michel, Executive Director of Breakthrough Birmingham. She invited me to join her and the summer fellows for a visit to Equal Justice Initiative and its National Monument to Freedom. At first, I wasn’t sure I would make it. My schedule has been full, and the morning was creeping in fast. But I had given my word—and I believe in honoring my word. So this morning, I got myself together, cleared my mind, and joined them. And I’m so glad I did. Every summer, Mariohn leads an incredible program that brings college students—freshmen through seniors—from across the country to Birmingham. These fellows serve as mentors and teachers to rising seventh, eighth, and ninth graders, helping them avoid the all-too-common summer learning loss. Some of these fellows are from places like DC or Chicago, but many are products of our own Birmingham City Schools. They’ve left for college, but there’s something about this program, about this city, that draws them back. I had the opportunity to sit next to Brielle on the bus. A proud graduate of Ramsay High School (go Rams!) and now a political science major at American University, she represents the best of what’s possible when our students are nurtured and supported. As we talked, she asked whether she should consider a dual degree or minor in economics. Without hesitation, I said yes. I shared with her my belief that to shape a better future, especially for Black and Brown communities, we need to prioritize four things: people, place, policies, and economics. Too often, we’ve been left out of the rooms where decisions about business ownership, generational wealth, and homeownership are made. If we’re going to shift that, we need more leaders who understand how those systems work—and who are willing to disrupt them for good. As our conversation continued, I told her about my recent visit to Harvard and our discussions on walkable cities. Her eyes lit up—she’d already been researching walkable cities on her own time. She talked about what she loved about DC: the walkability, the access to culture, the freedom to move and connect. When I asked what it would take for her to return to Birmingham after college, she said, “That’s a loaded question.” I didn’t need the answer right then. What mattered was planting the seed. Because rebuilding communities doesn’t just happen from the top down—it’s co-curated. It’s shaped by people who left and are willing to return. But we have to ask: what are we bringing them back to? Throughout the day, I also met two young women from Jamaica and Nigeria, both students at Talladega College. They came to the U.S. because they wanted an HBCU experience—and they chose Alabama to find it. Their global perspectives add such depth to our local conversations, reminding me that leadership doesn’t always start at home, but it often finds its way there. After walking through the Sculpture Park, Mariohn gathered us in a circle and asked each person to share a word or phrase that captured what they were feeling. No repeats. The words filled the air: legacy, seen, powerful, inspired. And standing in the middle of that circle, I realized—these young people are not just learning to lead. They are leading. So today, I want to say thank you. Thank you to Mariohn Michel for your leadership, vision, and commitment to nurturing the next generation. Thank you to Breakthrough Birmingham for creating a space where students don’t just return—they rise. And thank you to the fellows. Your brilliance, your questions, your courage to come back home (or make this place your own) gives me so much hope. The future isn’t waiting—it’s already in motion. And it looks a lot like the bus ride I took today: full of passion, promise, and purpose.      

When people ask me what success looks like in Woodlawn, I often point to the simple things—the everyday moments that might go unnoticed but speak volumes about how far we’ve come. Just last evening, I sat on my front porch, enjoying the cooling Alabama air, watching families stroll down our streets, children’s laughter echoing off the historic homes that line our neighborhood. These moments aren’t captured in statistics, but they tell our story better than any numbers could. Yet, our community was recently reminded of how fragile safety can be with the tragic loss of Gerald Lomax, a young life taken far too soon. This heartbreaking event underscores why our mission to build a safer Woodlawn is more urgent than ever. It’s a stark reminder that safety isn’t just about lowering crime rates; it’s about ensuring that every resident—every child, parent, and neighbor—feels secure and supported. As CEO of Woodlawn United, I’ve seen firsthand how far we’ve come. Through partnerships with the Woodlawn Business Association, Woodlawn Neighborhood Association, Alabama Power, and the Birmingham Police Department, we’ve made significant strides, achieving a 36% decrease in crime from 2021 to 2023. But the real success lies beyond these numbers. It’s in the small victories: homes where residents feel secure enough to let natural light stream through their windows; children walking confidently to i3 Academy; and elderly neighbors who can once again tend their gardens in the evening hours. These are the quiet triumphs that define our community. But we know safety can’t be achieved through technology or policing alone. It’s the result of a collective effort, with residents taking ownership of their neighborhood—whether that’s joining neighborhood watch programs, attending community meetings, or simply looking out for one another. This sense of shared responsibility has created an “ecosystem of security” that is foundational to our progress. The recent $8 million CRISI Railroad Grant we secured is another important step. Improving hazardous railroad crossings isn’t just an infrastructure upgrade—it means safer routes for families, better connectivity, and enhanced emergency response times. All of these changes contribute to a Woodlawn where people feel safe, connected, and proud to call home. Perhaps what makes me most proud is the return of front porch culture. In many urban areas, fear had driven people indoors, behind closed doors. But in Woodlawn, porches have become spaces for connection once again—places where neighbors chat, where children play, and where the rhythms of community life are embraced. The recent tragedy reminds us that the journey to building a safe and vibrant community is ongoing. It’s not just about reducing crime; it’s about fostering a place where every child, senior, and family can thrive. That’s the Woodlawn we’re building—one front porch, one conversation, and one moment of community at a time. – Mashonda S. Taylor, CEO of Woodlawn United Mashonda S. Taylor is the CEO of Woodlawn United and a proud Woodlawn resident. Under her leadership, Woodlawn United continues to work towards its vision of a safe, vibrant community where everyone can contribute to the growth of Greater Birmingham.

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