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Community can also be described as a feeling, a mutual connection, or even an<br />
emotional space where one feels at home. Because community can also be<br />
intangible, the process of creating PLACE (Purpose, Leadership, Access, Choice<br />
and Engagement) can be as complex as building a nest. At some point, though,<br />
seemingly unrelated experiences can be woven together to make a safe and<br />
welcoming place for people to live and learn.<br />
An empty nest however conveys the<br />
exact opposite and evokes a sense of<br />
loss. Yet, it can also represent changes<br />
in the environment or changing<br />
seasons in life. Sometimes seasons<br />
require staying put and other times,<br />
seasons require moving elsewhere.<br />
Migrations occur because of<br />
environmental changes whereby the<br />
current conditions aren’t suitable for<br />
living. It’s the perpetual coming and<br />
going that makes it possible for a bird<br />
to determine the ideal location and<br />
materials with which to build its home.<br />
Image Credit: Junie Lee: Africana Book<br />
Nests are temporary residences. Once the eggs have been laid and hatch, the<br />
nest is often abandoned. 81 The advent of mandated desegregation with the Civil<br />
Rights Act of 1964 82 prompted massive societal migrations. Many of the homes<br />
that were built by Blacks, financed by Black banks and occupied by Black<br />
families were quickly abandoned. The same also held true for businesses, parks<br />
and schools. Highways were cut through the middle of predominantly or<br />
exclusively Black neighborhoods in the name of progress. Although a new-found<br />
freedom began to emerge, engagement took on a new form and many places in<br />
the Black community wound up being empty nests.<br />
ROAR! IT’ S BEEN SAID THAT HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF; HOWEVER,<br />
“<strong>THE</strong>RE IS NO REASON TO REPEAT BAD HISTORY.” 83<br />
ELEANOR H OLMES NORTON<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>TIGER</strong> & <strong>THE</strong> <strong>TORCH</strong> Page | 57