A workshop series making its way across the country is stopping in Columbus this weekend.
New Black City, which looks to reimagine local government in a way that more directly involves its citizens, will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at Friendly City Books on Fifth Street South.
Most municipal governments, Columbus included, operate Mayor-Council systems of government. Others use a Council-Manager system. In either case, a small group of elected officials oversee general administration and have legislative power.
A large part of the New Black City event will be considering what liberation for marginalized communities may lie in a system of democracy that gives direct power to community members in deciding how tax dollars are spent. This is called participatory budgeting, a process that engages residents more directly in working with elected officials to generate ideas, develop proposals and vote on how to invest in their communities.
“It’s an opportunity for us to visualize change at scale, and build a blueprint that we can work forward to for Black and brown liberation, and an opportunity to think about what the outcome of community led decision making is,” Shari Davis, co-executive director at The Participatory Budgeting Project, a national nonprofit, said.
Davis has traveled to communities across the United States, aiming to build a collective story of what a “New Black City” could look like.
“The reality is that many folks can’t imagine it. Because the systems that we’re in now don’t really allow for that. And that’s the conversation that I have across the country,” Davis said. “How do we create environments where people can experience it, see the vision, and then build forward to that?”
Attendees can expect to participate in a fun and engaging workshop where they will learn about what participatory budgeting is and build a shared vision through the creation of a comic book.
“Davis’ workshop offers a chance to envision new possibilities for our community. Ideas that help us think about new ways to increase public participation in local government are always valuable,” said Chuck Yarborough, U.S. history teacher at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.
Both Yarborough and Davis are recipients of the Emerson Collective Fellowship, which is a fellowship for visionary individuals who are pursuing revolutionary, new projects across different areas. Yarborough helped coordinate the Columbus stop for New Black City.
“This is a great opportunity to hear from, and brainstorm with, a national figure with engaging ideas that may resonate in a smaller community like ours,” he said. “… Participatory Budgeting offers an opportunity for people who wouldn’t normally participate in local government to participate. Any time we can increase participation in local government, our communities undoubtedly will become stronger.”
The event is free to attend. Registration is available on Eventbrite.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.