Greg Jarrell is a writer, ordained minister, jazz musician, and BNG contributor living in the intentional QC Family Tree community in Charlotte, N.C.’s, Enderly Park region — which one Reddit thread describes as noisy because of airplanes and gunshots. But…
Our Trespasses explores Urban Renewal and church history
Against all odds, Abram and Annie North rose up from slavery to own a home in Charlotte, N.C., that stabilized their family for generations. After Urban Renewal forced their descendants off their property, the most prominent church in town bought…
Fear of dancing and the courage to be serious
On May 2, 1963, more than 1,000 students walked out of class in Birmingham, Ala. They gathered at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church to march downtown as part of the ongoing Southern Freedom Movement, of which Birmingham was the epicenter. Children,…
For this intentional Christian community, seeking the world’s healing means battling gentrification close at home
Enderly Park is blistering under an unseasonable September heat, and Frank Byers saunters across Tuckaseegee Road to the rec center where he likes to play cards with his neighbors. He doesn’t use the crosswalk, but in many ways he’s earned…
Destroying our own neighborhoods
The recent uprising in Baltimore has occupied our screens and dominated our conversations for more than a week now. Protestors there pricked the consciences of the nation in their cries for justice for Freddie Gray. At some point, a small…