I learned a valuable lesson while I ran my nonprofit, the Sweet Potato Project. Its mission was to teach urban youth how to become entrepreneurs in their own neighborhoods by growing produce (sweet potatoes) and turning their yield into viable, marketable products. We sold sweet potato cookies.
The young people eagerly adopted marketing, branding and promotional theories. They saw themselves running their own businesses and serving customers who looked like them.
They latched on because they were exposed to something they inherently understood, their talent and ingenuity. It was something they could control and do now.
Many impoverished kids are incarcerated because they do what they think they understand. They’ve seen “the game” outside their doors, or in movies, TV or hip-hop videos.
Despite stereotypes, most urban kids want to be productive. They want legitimate success. They want to give back to their communities. They want to create opportunities for siblings and relatives. They just don’t know how.
This is a missing component in President Joe Biden’s attempt to woo young, Black voters. He can tout his achievements in providing educational resources, eliminating student loan debt, funding HBCUs and helping Black entrepreneurs and potential homeowners access funding.
But can Biden point to any policy specifically created to help young, low-income urban youth succeed despite academic proficiencies or institutional dependence? Has he done anything to inspire these kids to believe they can do something lucrative on their own while reclaiming their communities?
A template is in the making in St. Louis. Mayor Tishaura O. Jones is keeping her promise to bridge the racial wealth gap in the city by investing much of the $150 million in American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds in North St. Louis. There is investment in neighborhood stabilization, housing, construction and rehabilitation, small business development and more.
The mayor’s plan includes a $6.5 million investment for “year-round” youth jobs. Her administration, along with St. Louis Development Corporation Board (SLDC), has invested in a Northside Economic Empowerment Center that will provide several small business and entrepreneurial services including certification workshops for minority-and women-owned businesses, digital training and resources and procurement education.
The appointment of Neal Richardson as executive director of SLDC gives hope that these programs will empower Black youth. Richardson was co-founder and president of “Dream Builders 4 Equity,” a nonprofit that hired and trained students to refurbish dilapidated North City homes.
I haven’t interviewed the mayor or Richardson about plans to activate young Gen Z’ers (ages of 20-to-30) but I can imagine a subsidized plan that invites them to gain building skills, own new homes, and become entrepreneurs and responsible stewards in a “grand do-for-self” endeavor to revitalize North St. Louis.
It could be marketed to young people through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. It should embrace St. Louis rappers including Nelly, Chingy, Sexxy Red and Metro Boomin, as ambassadors. It should include training geared to bust the mysteries of business ownership.
With the right messaging, young people will understand that this is something they can do – now, today, not after college or vocational training. If the city provides the resources, young people can quickly become empowered players.
President Biden can develop a similar template. There are Black entertainers preaching about “reclaiming the hood” who should be invited to the White House. Mike Epps, Queen Latifah, TI, Akon and others rebuilding Black neighborhoods.
To add historic and marketing relevance, the Biden Administration could invoke Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1965 plan that called for a $50-billion federal investment in metropolitan areas so people can rebuild their own communities.
Donald Trump can only offer Black people the illusion of unattainable wealth. Mayor Jones has developed a tangible, innovative template for do-for-self community revitalization. With a well-funded, highly marketed and “hip” federal program aimed at inspiring young Black people to do something lucrative and productive in their own neighborhoods, Biden just might ignite a movement that entices more of them to the polls.
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow and author of When We Listen: Recognizing the Potential of Urban Youth.
