Focus St. Louis unites leaders through social scene
By Bill Beene
Of the St. Louis American
“Party over here, party over there, there’s a party everywhere,” goes a popular African-American party- and club-hyping deejay chant.
That chant also describes the segregated way much of St. Louis gets its party on: (black) party over here, (white) party over there. Others, largely, party elsewhere.
Those are the breaks on most of the city’s social and nightlife scenes. That is, unless there’s a St. Louis Rams party or one thrown by the likes of St. Louis-bred Nelly or Cedric The Entertainer. Then, blacks, whites – everybody – are in the house partying together.
Racial diversity at such gatherings isn’t the plan as much as it is an incidental result.
Diversity, however, is the planned result for Focus St. Louis’s Leadership program, Bridges [Across Racial Polarization].
Bridges is an innovative program that builds increased communication and understanding among its members, which consist of groups of eight to 12 people from a mix of racial and ethnic backgrounds.
The groups meet on a regular basis to examine racial issues. And as a result of long-term interaction, participants get to know people from other races whom they might not otherwise meet, increase their awareness and understanding of racial issues and provide a sounding board for one another on challenging and divisive issues.
Participants commit to attending all group gatherings and serve as either co-hosts or attendees. Co-hosts coordinate group meetings and serve as the group’s central contacts.
Attendees contribute to the group process by being active participants in addition to bringing refreshments or hosting gatherings in their homes.
The home is actually where Bridges began.
Late award-winning journalist Greg Freeman and his friend Dan Schesh, who founded Bridges in 1993, began with what they called “racism weekends.” They would invite black and white friends and candidly discuss racism and interracial dating.
Since then, Bridges has taken many avenues to bring different races together. One of the more recent ventures has been very successful – Bridges Happy Hour, meant to get young professionals involved.
Along with its member groups, Bridges merged with others organizations to get the parties started. The participating groups are Stress-Free Fridays, Metropolis, River City Professionals, P.O.W. (Professional Organization of Women) and Business Diversity Initiative.
“We decided to combine our efforts to get more people involved so people can not only network and get their party on, but meet each other and get signed-up with Bridges,” said Bridges Community Policy Director Reggie Williams.
About four Bridges groups (nearly 400 people) have been formed out of the happy hours, according to Williams, who said the quarterly happy hours have been a success. The next happy hour is set for October 13 at a currently undetermined location.
“With the racial divide in St. Louis we will never be the city we can,” said Mario Wayne, executive director of sales and marketing for Hill Brewing Co. and co-founder of Stree-Free Fridays with Mark Jones.
“I saw mostly black people and that’s alright, but with me being a entrepreneur and a young professional, I know there’s so much more going on than what’s in my own community.”
Wayne said Stree-Free Fridays, a weekly happy hour, often choses venues in Chesterfield, Creve Coeur and Clayton where blacks aren’t regulars.
Debra Hollinsworth, vice president of external affairs at AT&T, who became a Bridges member nearly two years ago, said some of her best experience have been on field trips.
She named the Holocaust Museum, a Chicano art exhibit and her favorite, last year’s blockbuster movie Crash.
“We had a very rich discussion about what we saw,” Hollinsworth said. “The thing we talk about openly over meals builds bridges with people on every level, and we work on issues throughout the year.”
To learn more about Bridges, visit www.focus-stl.org.