How this nonprofit aims to spur business growth in Raleigh and Whitehaven
An organization committed to closing the racial income and wealth gap in U.S. cities has started a three-year initiative to help spur growth for businesses owned by people of color in the Southeast, including in Memphis.Daniel Marshall, senior associate for Living Cities, said the organization’s Breaking Barriers to Business (B3) is a multiyear project focusing on five cities: Memphis, Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami and Nashville.In each city, Living Cities is focusing on three commercial corridors. In Memphis, those are in Raleigh, Whitehaven and Klondike-Smokey City. Marshall said the effort in Klondike-Smokey City is still in the infancy stages, while work in the other two communities is further along.Through the program, the Raleigh Community Development Corporation and RESPECT The Haven Community Development Corporation will each receive $75,000 for operational support, or $25,000 for three years, and a $50,000 grant for a physical project or program/initiative in their business corridor. The funding is provided by Living Cities through a partnership with the Truist Foundation and Main Street America for the Breaking Barriers to Business initiative. Living Cities is also working with the City of Memphis Office of Business Diversity and Compliance in providing $100,000 total in catalytic capital.“We know that this is not a large amount, but it is catalytic in a sense that we hope the organization (City of Memphis Office of Business Diversity and Compliance) can turn around and attract matching funds and much more money from governmental entities, private entities and other philanthropy,” Marshall said.Santiago Carrillo, assistant director for business ownership at Living Cities, said the work the organization is doing through Breaking Barriers to Business supports community-led efforts across the U.S. to drive systemic-level business growth and job creation in cities like Memphis that have faced disinvestment or displacement in “commercial corridors of color.”“This work helps unlock the necessary financial capital needed to build wealth within communities like Klondike-Smokey City, Whitehaven and Raleigh that strengthen the character of Memphis’ neighborhoods and drive economic growth,” Carrillo said.How RESPECT The Haven is impacting WhitehavenLiving Cities came to Memphis in late September for its national Collective Action 2024: Centering Inclusive Capital event at the Renasant Convention Center. As part of the event, Living Cities representatives and others toured Raleigh and Whitehaven and had panel discussions with business owners in each area.Jason Sharif is the founder and executive director of RESPECT The Haven CDC. The grassroots organization was founded in September 2021 to serve the predominantly Black disinvested and underserved community of Whitehaven.Sharif grew up in Whitehaven. After moving away, he came back home in 2019 to help take care of his elderly grandfather. However, when he saw how things had gone down in Whitehaven, he decided to establish RESPECT The Haven CDC to assist and coordinate with community stakeholders in helping with revitalization of the area.RESPECT The Haven CDC has a RESPECT Black Business Initiative through which it supports and promotes Black-owned businesses. This initiative led to it getting connected with Living Cities and being part of the Breaking Barriers to Business project.MEMPHIS BUSINESS NEWS:Epicenter names Anthony Young as its new president and CEOSharif said RESPECT The Haven is putting together a “business council” of about 10 Black-owned businesses to help come up with an idea for a project to put the $50,000 toward. The goal is to have an idea by the end of the year and to start the project in 2025.Sharif noted that the more capital that can be put into small Black-owned businesses in Whitehaven, the more barriers that can be eliminated that hinder their growth.”It just puts them in a better chance to be more sustainable,” he said. “We’re really hoping once we come up with our project to take that $50,000 and really leverage it to shop it around to other banks to try get those to match that money as well. Hopefully, the goal is to grow that $50,000 seed money into $500,000, if we can get nine to 10 other banks to match it. It would be a huge economic investment in the community.”‘Whitehaven is really the tale of two cities’Whitehaven is a notable and historic community in Memphis that includes many well-known landmarks including Graceland, Methodist South Hospital and Southwest Tennessee Community College’s Whitehaven Center, along with dozens of neighborhoods with a mix of working-class folks, middle-income residents and the affluent. The community’s 38,000 population is 93% Black.Although the neighborhood still has a solid retail-and-service core, that retail presence is a shadow of the Whitehaven of 20 years ago. Some residents say they drive a few miles to Southaven, across the state line, to get some basics they would prefer to buy in Whitehaven. The area has great potential, however, and is filled with residents who are committed to making Whitehaven a community of choice.“I tell people all the time Whitehaven is really the tale of two cities in Memphis,” Sharif said. “On one side, we have the highest Black median income, the most Black-owned businesses, the most registered Black voters and the most Black homeowners. We are a solid middle-class neighborhood, but at the same time we have our challenges. We have 30% poverty and we have crime. …”We talk about how we spend so much in Mississippi and send all of our money down to Southaven and Goodman Road. Not only are we taking money out of the neighborhood, but we are taking money out of the city and state.”Sharif also noted residents moving to DeSoto County among the challenges Whitehaven faces.How Raleigh CDC is looking to drive economic growthRonald Meredith has been executive director for Raleigh CDC for a little more than a year. Dedicated to spurring economic and business growth in the area, the Raleigh CDC has long been a staple in the community, having been established in 2002.Among the organization’s focus areas are job creation and the creation, development and expansion of small businesses. Meredith is a small business owner himself. He owns and serves as president of The Financial Center, an insurance agency in Cordova. He noted the heart of any community is small or family-owned businesses.“The Raleigh CDC through Living Cities, we’re focusing on how can we create economic opportunity for the small businesses we got,” Meredith said. “Everybody has heard the horror stories or the work stories that we can’t get this or we can’t get that. We’re saying, ‘How can we bring these pain points together?’ Living Cities has helped us in creating the access to make certain we can help solve some of these problems.”Meredith said the organization is still coming up with a project idea for the $50,000, but whatever it is will likely assist 25 to 30 small businesses in the Raleigh community.MEMPHIS SUCCESS STORIES:How this ‘kid from Raleigh’ became a star on Memphis’ food scene and what’s next for him“We’re still developing and coming up with some concepts of what we would like to see and the objective is getting each one of those businesses to the point where they can hire with whatever assistance we offer,” Meredith said.“If we can create strong small businesses and give strong small businesses an opportunity to survive, then they in turn can pay a living wage. If they can pay a living wage, then that’s going to help the family. If that helps the family, then that’s helping the community at large and creates stable neighborhoods, families and business community.”Signs of growth in Raleigh, from banks to new homesMeredith highlighted some of the economic activity happening in the area that some may not be aware of. He also noted how Raleigh is being impacted by the more than $1 billion development happening from a nearby Memphis suburb.Meredith said more notable financial institutions have relocated or looking to come to Raleigh. He noted Pinnacle Bank has plans to move into Raleigh, while Chase Bank recently opened a branch as well as Patriot Bank and Truist Bank.”Raleigh is changing before your very eyes,” he said. “With so much development happening in the Millington area that is close enough to Raleigh and is spilling over to Raleigh. We have banks that are moving to Raleigh. I been around long enough that if you see a bank moving into an area, then something is happening.”And Meredith is seeing more that just banks move to Raleigh. He noted the public-private partnership between Raleigh and the City of Memphis has led to the completion of an amphitheater at Raleigh Springs Civic Center, the former site of the Raleigh Springs Mall. He said the amphitheater should be able to seat 75 to 100 people when it opens. The city is currently putting the finishing touches on the amphitheater, with the Raleigh CDC planning to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to present the amphitheater to the community in early 2025, according to Meredith.Meredith also said the Raleigh CDC has plans to have the first on-site food truck park along with a permanent farmers market at the Raleigh Springs Civic Center. The farmers market/food truck park will resemble a park-like setting that will allow the residents to enjoy food in family-type atmosphere at little or no cost, according to Meredith. He noted the food truck park is scheduled to break ground in spring 2025 and is expected to be completed in June.”We are hoping to get as much support for the venture as possible,” Meredith said. “The hope from the CDC is that this will be well received by the community.”Meredith also pointed to new housing construction. He had a meeting with a developer in September who wants to build 170 new houses, while more than 100 new homes are currently being built on James Road. Meredith noted another new development of 92 single-family, three- and four-bedroom homes being developed by Lyons Realty Group LLC are planned to be built in the Tyler Hills Neighborhood in Raleigh.“One of the main things is price of land is affordable,” he said. “(Raleigh) has a strong political commitment from the (Memphis) City Council, (Shelby) County Commission and state representatives. The area is very well represented politically and the people (of Raleigh) care about the area. So, there is a lot going on in Raleigh, and the area is kind of like Whitehaven.”It’s a stable area and it’s not a lot of fluctuation and most of the homeowners have been there for awhile. It’s not a transient community, so I think it’s part of the reason why people are starting to give Raleigh a different look.”Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at [email protected] or 901-293-1610.
