Daily Archives: August 6, 2021

Anthony Murphy is the head of Town Watch in Philadelphia. During the press conference, he said instead of shying away from officers, city residents should give police a chance to speak, give them a drink of water. He said the relationship between police and the community is improving every day, and neighbors reaching out to police helps to build community policing.

Rev. Chauncey Harrison, of the Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia, said this is the first National Night Out event his church at Broad and Venango streets will be hosting.

Its an opportunity for us to come together as a unit, for hope, optimism, for a safer, more vibrant city of Philadelphia, Harrison said.

Commissioner Outlaw said that at a time when the number of police has decreased from decades past, there is a need for police to work more closely with residents, especially in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

You have to use a wide net, Outlaw said. It has to be spearfishing. There are unintended consequences of disparate policing and some communities being over-policed because of that. She says policing has to be done in a strategic and intentional way.

Outlaw said, Oftentimes, residents know who the folks who are doing the graffiti We can bring them home to their parents and it nips crime in the bud.

She added that the police plan to have a presence at hundreds of parties throughout the city that are designed to strengthen the police-community bond, which has been the aim of the night since it began in the Philadelphia region, and has since spread to a nationwide effort.

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An excuse to be neighborly: Philly officials call for unity on National Night Out - WHYY

When Arif Rachmatullah 21PHD was earning his masters degree in South Korea, he had the opportunity to become involved in several research projects. It was during this time that he came across a variety of papers published in top-tier journals and authored by faculty members in the NCState College of Educations Department of STEM Education.

Reading these studies, he knew that the College of Education would be the best place to earn his doctoral degree in Learning and Teaching in STEM in the science education program area of study and reach his goal of becoming an education researcher.

I knew that working with faculty members who are actively doing this research would help me develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes I would need to achieve my dream to become a successful education researcher, Rachmatullah said.

The doctoral programs in the College of Education aim to prepare scholar leaders who produce high-impact research, influence policy and lead change at local, state and national levels to solve critical problems in education through a future-oriented mindset.

During an overhaul of the programs five years ago spearheaded by Dean Mary Ann Danowitz, D.Ed., who was serving as interim dean at the time, faculty in the College of Education took an intentional approach to the programs to ensure that students were able to think broadly and integratively while also developing content knowledge and skills in a specialty area.

We wanted to create structures that enabled us, working with our students at the highest level possible, to address authentic problems that we face in education broadly in North Carolina, the U.S. and the world, said John Lee, Ph.D., associate dean for faculty and academic affairs. Most important problems that we face do not fit neatly into academic categories, so we wanted to be able to configure ourselves in such a way that we would be able to support and activate our students to address those authentic problems.

Preparing graduates to address interdisciplinary problems meant blurring the lines that existed around traditional academic structures and disciplines and recharacterizing the colleges five Ph.D. programs into three broad and integrative programs: Learning and Teaching in STEM, Teacher Education and Learning Sciences and Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development.

Within each doctoral degree program are several program areas of study that allow students to focus on a specific subject within their broader degree.

By having program areas of study and not formalized concentrations, it allows faculty to change, adjust and grow the degrees as needed and to change and adjust as the future goes on, said Professor and STEM Education Department Head Aaron Clark, Ed.D., who helped lead the implementation of the redesigned doctoral programs.

The redesign, Lee said, led to more coherent Ph.Ds with students in each department now taking a series of common courses related to their degree, leading to a community of scholars. In addition, the college introduced two new courses required for all Ph.D. students: Diversity and Equity in Schools and Communities and Systemic Change in Education and Society.

These two courses, along with several research methods courses, are taken with students from all degree programs, allowing scholars from multiple disciplines to learn and share ideas with one another.

Educational problems are, by their very nature, interdisciplinary. By designing a program that is intentionally engaging doctoral students in interdisciplinary problem solving, we are preparing them for real-world issues that they will be facing as they enter the job market, said College of Education Associate Dean, Friday Institute for Educational Innovation Executive Director and Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor of Literacy Education Hiller Spires, Ph.D., who helped lead the implementation of the redesigned Ph.D. programs.

James Smiling 22PHD, a student in the Learning and Teaching in STEM mathematics and statistics education program area of study, said that the interdisciplinary courses helped to enrich his understanding of the ways in which policy plays a significant role in educational inequities experienced by students both locally and nationally. The courses also gave him the tools and resources to become an active voice in seeking change and challenging difficult problems in education.

Additionally, he believes that taking these classes with students who come from different educational backgrounds enhanced his learning experiences.

Our discussions were taken from multiple perspectives and our lived experiences added richness and depth to understanding the complexities of systemic challenges we face, he said.

Folks come into the college with such different life and career experiences and I believe that engaging with others perspectives helped us all to learn more meaningfully and grow as educators and researchers, added Casey Holmes 21PHD.

Holmes, who recently accepted a tenure-track position as an assistant professor of education at Drake University in Iowa, said her experiences as a doctoral student in the College of Education have thoroughly prepared her for her career.

While earning her degree in Teacher Education and Learning Sciences in the social studies education program area of study, Holmes had the opportunity to work with peers on an interdisciplinary research project that was published in the Journal of Social Studies Research and presented at multiple conferences.

She also won several awards for her work as a doctoral student, including the 2019 National Technology Leadership Initiative Award for her work on a project with Associate Professor Meghan Manfra, Ph.D., and the NCState Graduate Student Association Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching for her role as an instructor of record in the undergraduate middle grades English Language Arts and social studies education program.

Holmes is one of many doctoral students in the College of Education to receive recognition for their work. Most recently, Danielle Moloney 24PHD became the sixth student to receive a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation, Regina Aayala Chavez 23PHD received a fellowship from the Climate Adaptation Science Center and Jessica Vandenberg 21PHD was selected as a 2021 Computing Innovation Fellow.

The Computing Innovation Fellowship program sponsors two-year postdoctoral research opportunities in computing, while offering career development and cohort building activities in an effort to provide a career-enhancing bridge experience for recent Ph.D. graduates.

These students are among 260 doctoral students who were enrolled in the College of Education as of the Spring 2021 semester, many of whom are able to receive support from the college as they complete their studies.

Lee said about 120 doctoral students are able to work for the college through graduate student assistantships, with over $2 million invested in supporting them.

It has enabled us to do things that we were never able to do before. Our students are working in our departments alongside our faculty, participating in research, teaching classes, out in the field supervising internships and supporting us on innovative projects, he said. Everywhere you look in our college, we have doctoral students working. Weve really invested in it and its made a huge difference.

Chelsea Smith 22PHD said the vast amount of support and abundance of resources the College of Education dedicated to helping graduate students be successful was one of the reasons she chose to earn her doctoral degree at NCState.

For the past three years, she has had the opportunity to work as a graduate assistant for the higher education program area of study, which she feels has helped to give her a more well-rounded experience.

I get to work alongside current students, alumni, prospective students, campus partners and faculty. I get a glimpse of the day-to-day life of running a graduate program in an award-winning college, the experiences of faculty at all levels and program engagement, said Smith, a student in the Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Developments higher education opportunity, equity, and justice program area of study. I have been able to teach, plan events and work in my field at the national level through professional associations with this position. I cannot think of better career preparation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the College of Education was also able to support doctoral students who faced unexpected obstacles in conducting their dissertation research due to remote learning and the inability to conduct face-to-face interviews through Dissertation Research Continuity Grants, funded by the College of Educations Excellence Fund and the NCState Graduate School.

Rachmatullah was one of eight doctoral students to receive a grant and said that without this funding, which allowed him to collect the necessary data to complete his dissertation, and his overall experiences in the College of Education, he would not currently be working as a STEM and computer science education researcher at SRI International in California.

I would not have been able to get this job if it was not for my education and experience at the NCState College of Education, he said. My experience with working as a graduate research assistant on STEM and computer science education research and my interaction and collaboration with faculty members and students during my Ph.D. studies are the most significant period that has prepared me for my dream job. I feel fortunate and grateful for that.

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'I Cannot Think of Better Career Preparation:' How the College of Education is Helping Doctoral Students Become Scholar Leaders to Tackle Pressing...

With the amount of hesitancy we are seeing surrounding COVID-19 vaccines Gov. Reynolds needs to look into how to incentivize vaccinations.

While the number of people getting vaccinated has slowed in Iowa, the number of COVID-19 cases has not. If we continue down this road, we will likely have to take drastic measures to protect people.

We need to have measures in place to mitigate the spread of the virus, as students begin to come back to the University of Iowa campus from all over the country and world. Gov. Kim Reynolds needs to focus on finding ways to incentivize and increase vaccinations in Iowa.

As of July 30, Iowa is sitting at number 29 in the country for total COVID-19 cases per 1 million of the population, and 14 for number of active cases. We can only ignore these numbers for so long before Iowans start experiencing more devastating losses.

Right now, we are facing rises in the death rate because of COVID-19. Additionally, most people who are hospitalized or dying are unvaccinated. According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 99 percent of recent COVID-19 deaths were unvaccinated people.

Reynolds has continually proven herself unwilling to make rational decisions during the pandemic. With the inability to require vaccines or even masks it is even harder to progress and move away from large losses due to the pandemic.

Instead of carelessly avoiding the issue, we should be looking at how to incentivize vaccines for Iowans. While a vaccine lottery may not be the answer since it has proven to be somewhat ineffective there are other initiatives we should look into.

Education is a major factor in increasing the number of people vaccinated. Data suggests that the newfound fear surrounding the Delta Variant has caused a 14 percent increase in vaccinations.

Another effective way to increase numbers of vaccinations is to incentivize community members to talk to each other about getting vaccinated. Alarmingly, about half of American parents and adolescents are hesitant toward the COVID-19 vaccine, as previously reported by *The Daily Iowan.*

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson started conversations in communities, and the rate of vaccinations in the state increased 40 percent. Similarly, Washington, D.C., has implemented a COVID-19 Ambassador Program, paying people to go door to door and encourage members of their community to get vaccinated.

Clearly, incentivizing people to encourage their peers and community members to get vaccinated through personal anecdotes and conversations is effective. Rather than aimlessly pointing fingers at immigrants, Reynolds should put more effort into protecting Iowans by creating these programs statewide.

It is unfortunate to see so many Iowans have yet to get vaccinated while millions of people across the globe are eagerly waiting their turn. We are at a point where the vaccine is the best safety measure we have to protect against the virus.

In the U.S., we have a significant advantage, as most people have access to the vaccine. Data has shown around 43 percent of people who have had at least one dose of the vaccine are from higher income countries. Further, 37 percent of that were Europeans or North Americans.

Currently, Iowa is sitting at 49 percent of the population being vaccinated. Considering the trends we are seeing in COVID-19 deaths, and cases rising with the Delta variant, this is alarming. When you couple the increased takeover of COVID-19 with the elimination of other measures like mask mandates, we are going down a potentially dark path in Iowa.

Although the vaccines are not the end-all, be-all in moving on from the pandemic, they are the best way we can protect ourselves from having severe symptoms. This is especially important with the Delta variant.

Data shows one in four Americans would not get the COVID-19 vaccine if offered. With this amount of hesitancy, there is the possibility of never being able to reach herd immunity.

We are all eager to get away from the angst the pandemic has brought. If we do not pay attention to where we are now, we will regress even further. We need to start being more intentional about getting Iowans vaccinated.

Columns reflect the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board, The Daily Iowan, or other organizations in which the author may be involved.

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Opinion | Iowans need to get vaccinated to stop the spread of COVID-19 - UI The Daily Iowan

Kansas Citys newest Black woman-owned, brick-and-mortar bookstore in Midtown has opened its doors, but customers shouldnt judge the operation by its cover, owner Cori Smith said, revealing an additional first for the metro that has heads and pages turning.

Theres a technological aspect paired with each book, explained Smith, owner of BLK + BRWN Kansas Citys first smart bookstore, designed to empower Black and Brown communities through literature, love, and conversation; three things that make the self-proclaimed local book pusher tick with a technological twist.

BLK + BRWN

You can scan any QR code and itll pull up a different experience paired to the book, Smith continued, detailing curated components that range from playlists and interviews with authors to book reviews and historic lectures.

Speeches from Fred Hampton, wine tastings with one of the few Black sommeliers [in the world.] I just want it to feel like an experience because technology isnt going away and its not necessarily a bad thing, Smith continued, offering her philosophy on the modernization of literary consumption.

I think giving people an opportunity to get a little bit of information and then go down their own rabbit holes is how we can continue to share stories.

Click here to follow BLK + BRWNs story on Instagram.

Smith opened BLK + BRWN to much fanfare in June at104 1/2 West 39th St., more than a year ahead of the timeline shed initially laid out for herself.

Back in 2019, I was like, I think I want to have a bookstore one day, she recalled, noting she got involved with programming offered through Entrepreneur Business Basics soon after, committed to the idea of building out a steady side hustle while she worked as a project director for Legal Aide of Western Missouri and in between her head volleyball coaching duties in the Kansas City Kansas Public School District.

Then COVID happened. The plan after that was June 1, 2020. I was like, Im going to be ready to launch the business, and then hopefully grow it into a retail space.

But the COVID-era kept writing new chapters, Smith added.

[As the pandemic continued] I was like, I dont know, Ill wait, we dont know what the world looks like. But then the world seemed to just kind of open back up a little bit and people were finding themselves in literature and other coping mechanisms for COVID.

I was just kind of like, The time is coming. So I gave myself a date Feb. 22, 2022, she said, adding yet another twist in her entrepreneurial tale was just a flip of the page away.

I stay in the Midtown area and I happened to be driving one day and looked over and saw this space and it was literally the one. It had all the things I wanted, Smith said, detailing ins and outs that made the 39th Street storefront the perfect home for her to pen history.

It was weird because I drive down that street all the time and [had] never bothered to look. I never bothered to see this area, but things worked out.

From there, Smith quickly shifted her plans, readying the store as quickly as possible, hoping to tie its grand opening to another milestone: the first Juneteenth holiday to be formally recognized by the federal government.

[BLK + BRWN] is the first of its kind. There arent any other existing smart bookstores. So, on a day of history, I wanted to be as Black as possible.

Such a mission carries itself out well beyond the holiday, Smith continued, offering insight into what she hopes the retail space can become and what it can accomplish in Kansas City.

BLK + BRWN

I go off of my spirit. Thats how I pick the books out, thats how I place the books where I place them. Blackness as a whole is art to me, she explained.

Theres usually about 100 different titles in the store at one time and maybe 40 percent of it Ive actually read all the way through either on my own or for school or something thats really made an impact on me or for me. The other half are books that I want to read.

Inventory selections are also intentional in their representation and celebration of Blackness, Smith said.

From the dark history of medical and health-related trauma and racism to the autobiography of Gucci Mane or The Marathon Dont Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle, she said, explaining the importance of the stores inventory and the intention with which its curated.

Click here to learn more about BLK + BRWN or to shop online.

BLK + BRWN

I dont want to miss anybody because all of it matters, Smith said, quick to emphasize that Blackness has its own, unique and distinct meaning to each individual experiencing it.

I try to get a little bit of everything. I have poetry; I have autobiographies; I have cookbooks; I have childrens books the whole gamut.

In all the different ways that we see art, whether its a painting on a canvas or a quote from a book, a lyric in a song its all art. And I want us [as Black people] to feel like were valuable. Art galleries are expensive. This is a piece of our Blackness that is valuable and you can take it home with you. People should have access to things that are valuable. So thats the intention. Its always about access. I always want people to have access.

Click here to read about another Black-owned bookstore in Kansas City, Willas Books and Vinyl, or here to read about entrepreneurJahna Rileys plan to bring her pop-up, Aya Coffee + Books, to a permanent home on Kansas Citys east side.

Cori Smith, BLK + BRWN; Startland News photo

As the story of BLK + BRWN is written, Smith hopes to extend her efforts into community-focused work, ramping up her additional work with Codys Homies a mentorship program she founded for Black youth, built to honor the legacy of her late brother, Cody, the victim of a 2019 motorcycle accident.

Cody was many things to many people, Smith said on the programs website.

He was a son, a brother, a father, a nephew, a dancer, a tattoo artist, a chef. He started a bike club, [and] even dabbled in music. It was important for me to pay homage to the person I credit with sparking my creative interests [and] being my point of reference to follow my passion.

The loss of her brother helped her better understand the importance of space making in her community, Smith said. Shes hopeful the effort will provide a safe space for kids and adults, allowing them access to learning opportunities theyve been historically denied.

As she works to create space for the Black community at various seats at various tables, a tea shop, community center, performing arts studio space, and an art gallery are all outlets Smith hopes to bring to life through BLK + BRWN in years to come, she told Startland News.

To be here in this position every single day, I wake up and I get to be my most authentic self. I get to be excited about what I do and I get to do advocacy and community work and education [work] in a way that makes sense to me and in a way that feels impactful to me, Smith said.

I feel amazingly free, she added, noting the feeling comes amid mounting pressures of the COVID-era and talks of additional lockdowns and mandates things that could easily scare a new business owner out of pursuing a dream endeavor.

Every day I get to come into the store and I get to talk to people that I would never have had access to or been able to talk toand thats the most rewarding part of it. That alone, thats it. Thats all I need. Its amazing. [And its] amazingly scary.

This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.

For more information, visit http://www.kauffman.org and connect at http://www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdnandwww.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn

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BLK + BRWN debuts KC's first smart bookstore with a twist: 'I wanted to be as Black as possible' - Startland News

Environment | News releases | Research | Science

August 2, 2021

The Cedar Creek fire burns in Washingtons Methow Valley in late July 2021. Lucky Jim Bluff, near Mazama, is seen behind.Jessica Kelley

Exceptionally hot and dry weather this summer has fueled dozens of wildfires across the western U.S., spewing smoke across the country and threatening to register yet another record-breaking year. More than a century of fire exclusion has created dense forests packed with excess trees and brush that ignite and spread fires quickly under increasingly warm and dry conditions.

Scientists largely agree that reducing these fuels is needed to make our forests and surrounding communities more resilient to wildfires and climate change. But policy and action have not kept pace with the problem and suppressing fires is still the norm, even as megafires become more common and destructive.

Seeing the urgent need for change, a team of scientists from leading research universities, conservation organizations and government laboratories across the West has produced a synthesis of the scientific literature that clearly lays out the established science and strength of evidence on climate change, wildfire and forest management for seasonally dry forests. The goal is to give land managers and others across the West access to a unified resource that summarizes the best-available science so they can make decisions about how to manage their landscapes.

These two images show the same landscape in Washington state the top taken in 1936 and the bottom in 2012. The top photo shows a landscape with less tree cover, maintained naturally through frequent historical wildfires. The bottom photo shows how forest cover has densified and expanded in the same area under policies of fire exclusion.John Marshall Photography

Based on our extensive review of the literature and the weight of the evidence, the science of adaptive management is strong and justifies a range of time- and research-tested approaches to adapt forests to climate change and wildfires, said co-lead author Susan Prichard, a research scientist in the University of Washingtons School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.

These approaches include some thinning of dense forests in fire-excluded areas, prescribed burning, reducing fuels on the ground, allowing some wildfires to burn in backcountry settings under favorable fuel and weather conditions, and revitalizing Indigenous fire stewardship practices. The findings were published Aug. 2 as an invited three-paper feature in the journal Ecological Applications.

A low-intensity prescribed burn to reduce fuels in a forest accustomed to wildfires.John Marshall Photography

The authors studied and reviewed over 1,000 published papers to synthesize more than a century of research and observations across a wide geographic range of western North American forests. The analysis didnt include rainforests in the Pacific Northwest or other wet forests where thinning and prescribed burning wouldnt be advised.

The substantial changes associated with more than a century of fire exclusion jeopardize forest diversity and keystone processes as well as numerous other social and ecological values including quantity and quality of water, stability of carbon stores, air quality, and culturally important resources and food security, said co-lead author and UW researcher Keala Hagmann.

This ambitious set of articles was inspired by the reality that under current forest and wildfire management, massive wildfires and drought are now by far the dominant change agents of western North American forests. There is an urgent need to apply ecologically and scientifically credible approaches to forest and fire management at a pace and scale that matches the scope of the problem, the authors say.

This collection of photos shows the same forest with different treatments, clockwise from top left: No thinning (untreated); after thinning; spring after prescribed burning; summer after burning.John Marshall Photography

Part of the solution involves addressing ongoing confusion over how to rectify the effects of more than a century of fire exclusion as the climate continues to warm. Land managers and policymakers recognize that the number and size of severe fires are rapidly increasing with climate change, but agreement and funding to support climate and wildfire adaptation are lagging.

To that end, these papers review the strength of the science on the benefits of adapting fire-excluded forests to a rapidly warming climate. The authors address 10 common questions, including whether management is needed after a wildfire, or whether fuel treatments (thinning, prescribed burning) work under extreme fire weather. They also discuss the need to integrate western fire science with traditional ecological knowledge and Indigenous fire uses that managed western landscapes for thousands of years.

An aerial photo showing untreated forestland (left) near Winthrop, Washington, across the road from an area that has been thinned (right).John Marshall Photography

Although climate change brings with it many uncertainties, the evidence supporting intentional forest adaptation is strong and broad based. The authors clearly demonstrate that lingering uncertainties about the future should no longer paralyze actions that can be taken today to adapt forests and communities to a warming climate and more fire.

This collection represents a blending of scientific voices across the entire disciplinary domain, said co-lead author Paul Hessburg, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service and affiliate professor at the UW. After reviewing the evidence, it is clear that the changes to forest conditions and fire regimes across the West are significant. The opportunity ahead is to adapt forests to rapidly changing climatic and wildfire regimes using a wide range of available, time-tested management tools.

Co-authors on this special report are from University of Arizona, University of British Columbia, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Merced, University of Idaho, University of Montana, University of New Mexico, Northern Arizona University, Oregon State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Utah State University, U.S. Forest Service research stations (Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southwest, Rocky Mountain), U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, The Nature Conservancy, R.W. Gray Consulting, Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research and Spatial Informatics Group.

This research was funded by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy of Oregon, Conservation Northwest, The Ecological Restoration Institute, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Forest Service (Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest Research Stations), and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

For more information, contact Prichard at sprich@uw.edu, Hessburg at paul.hessburg@usda.govand Hagmann at hokulea@uw.edu. (Note: Prichard is unavailable for interviews the week of Aug. 2)

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New report: State of the science on western wildfires, forests and climate change - UW News

Matthew Gilberts great grandfather, Dr. Lee Burton Furgerson, is an Iowa legend. He was one of the first Black doctors in Waterloo. He contributed to the Iowa Bystander, the states leading Black publication. He joined prominent civil rights attorney Milton Fields and Judge William Parker in co-founding a Black bank in 1947 called Blackhawk Savings and Loan Association.

In the late 80s, the building that housed that bank was demolished.

They tore it down and turned it into a parking garage, Gilbert said. Whats in place of it is a mural, but it doesnt speak to the story.

We talk about the power of place and the power of belonging, and often Black and brown people dont really have that experience, even just walking through their own neighborhoods.

Gilbert is a licensed attorney, the chair of the Economic Development Committee for the Des Moines NAACP, president of the nonprofit Iowa Center for Opportunity Resources & Equity Inc. and CEO of MRG & Associates LLP, among other nonprofit, private sector and public service positions.

But Gilberts dedication to Iowa history is put to work on the Waterloo Historic Preservation Commission, where he feels a responsibility to preserve more than just architecture.

More importantly, [were] helping communities find a voice at the table when it comes to planning and the protection of buildings, properties and neighborhoods, he said in an interview with Little Village.

Its really important to help Black and brown Americans understand and see themselves as a part of American history.

Some answers have been edited for length and clarity.

How did you become involved with historic preservation efforts?

The history of Iowa has been such a huge part of my life and my journey of discovering who I am. A lot of my family has been very integral as pioneers of Iowas history, especially through civil rights here in Iowa. Part of it was a passion and a love, and another part of it was being trained with the skill sets to really navigate this arena for the voices that are often unheard.

What are some of the things you have learned since joining the Waterloo Historic Preservation Commission?

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One of the first things I learned is how much influence and power certified local governments (CLGs) really have. Secondly, I learned that I have to be an advocate in this role, otherwise Im doing many communities a disservice. Being an advocate really means showing up, not just for my own interests but to show up for the interests of those who may be unable to show up making sure I found a gateway so the community had a sense of historic preservation literacy and language, but is also in the know about whats going on, good or bad.

What would you like to tell the readers of Little Village about the significance of historic preservation efforts and why it can help lead to a more just and equitable future?

This historic preservation movement is not new, but there is new thought capital that is being added to historic preservation, especially after going through a pandemic and then the racial reckoning that weve been having since the murder of George Floyd. To really find a more inclusive narrative, the historic preservation movement is paying more attention not just to the buildings but who the buildings serve, what the buildings uses are.

Sometimes its ugly when it comes to city planning, local government. White wealth and privilege oftentimes shows up in the tax subsidies on the public side and it shows up in philanthropic or generational wealth on the private side. What ends up happening is well take private wealth, mix it with subsidies, and well spend all that money to restore and preserve the buildingthe structural elementsbut leave no money for the underlying programming. Im thankful to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the African-American Cultural Heritage Fund, because theres been a lot of shift to not just caring about the structures but also how the structures are being used. Now its challenging developers and government officials to think deeper when it relates to historic preservation projects.

What are some of the historic sites and landmarks you are involved with that youre passionate about?

The historic Walnut Street Baptist Church in Waterloo is an exciting architectural structure, and also a potentially big catalyst opportunity for the city. The property is already listed on the National Register, but for a 10-year period was unoccupied until a developer in the area came in and wanted to see the property preserved. Theyve been putting together efforts for the last two years and brought me in to navigate some of the community discussion.

Another project is the Furgerson-Fields landmark designation. Dr. [Lee Burton] Furgerson and attorney [Milton] Fields were prominent African-American leaders in the Waterloo area. Dr. Furgerson passed away in his early 40s, so he didnt get a chance to see his legacy all the way through. As a result of that, they wanted to name a park after Dr. Furgerson, who shared an office with Milton Fields. What were doing is storytelling, because that story is so deep, especially for the Waterloo and Black Hawk County area. Im excited about getting that park designated as a national landmark to tell the story of Furgerson, Fields and [Judge William] Parker.

What is the status of that effort?

Were still at the early stages of that project. In 2019, a colleague of mine, Amanda Loughlin out of the Kansas City area, worked on an Iowa Civil Rights inventory between 2017 and 2018 and was able to put together a multi-property designation application which proved to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Parks Service that there is a significance for Iowas civil rights history. We need to tell not only the story of places, we need to tell the story of events and the story of significant people that were involved with this history. It offers us a broad approach to identifying multiple properties, whether it be recreational properties or structural properties that relate to this history. Often these are grassroots efforts, such as the Dunsmore House, which is one of the first structural buildings in Waterloo. It has gone through a bit of damage and destruction. We want to coordinate a shared group to plan the reuse and purpose of this property.

What do you consider to be some of the biggest barriers in trying to achieve this movement in historic preservation?

It starts from local policy and development practices. Sometimes we are in favor of demolishing buildings before we have even done a historic analysis of the property. Its easier for a city council to sign off with a developer who comes in with a big bag of money and says, Hey, I want to do this, and the council says, Yeah, we like that idea. Bring us your money, before they do the inventory and the heavy-lifting it requires to understand more about buildings and structures in a particular locale.

Some of the standards and practices around surveying properties still perpetuate exclusion of Black and brown heritage, especially here in Iowa. Weve allowed cities and governments and developers to tear down buildings without requiring them to do some level of cultural or historical assessment. We do environmental studies before we build on a property for liability purposes, so we could approach this the same [way]: to make developers hire local historians to help them better understand the narratives and require them to report that as part of their underlying project.

The process of nominations and designations is a hard one and expensive that requires extensive resources. Having this historic land as well as the current lack of capital, communities are restricted from preserving their own history and taking advantage of opportunities for more equitable developments. We can use historic tax credit incentives, but for smaller and locally driven projects, its really difficult.

Beyond just the grassroots work that folks like myself are drumming up, there is still a lack of outreach and education around preservation and its impact and what programs and resources are available. A lot of communities, especially Black and brown communities, have yet to understand the significance of preserving their history. The other barrier keeping this stagnant is the lack of diverse representation with developers and local government. Its really hard to navigate cultural heritage and resources when you dont have those cultural human assets that help support your narrative and amplify your voice.

Are these barriers a statewide issue, or does it vary from city to city?

I definitely think it is a statewide issue, because we have a hard time preserving our cultural resources and assets in Iowa, especially African American history and culture. It doesnt just belong in a museum. People have to see it, live it, be part of it. We often put a namesake on a building while offering no cultural value otherwise.

On the local level, its really hard to get excited about a project and in turn have to convince the community to shoulder a heavy debt burden to see the project through. At the state level, we not only need incentives like grants, but we also need intentional efforts to carve out specifically designated areas and zones throughout various communities to be designated for preservation.

That doesnt happen at the state level. Were not doing a good job preserving our cultural contributions today, yesterday or at any point.

The challenge with that is we face things like a pandemic where we have to go through so much loss of life. Were not just losing lives, were losing these stories, these narratives. Were losing this history. Iowa cant wait. With an aging population, we have to tell these stories now, and we have to make sure these stories are in the hands of our youth. If they see themselves in these stories and continue to carry them forward, the storytelling element really brings the significance of a building full-circle.

What would you recommend for people who are interested in getting involved with historic preservation efforts such as the ones you have worked on?

First off, I encourage you to stay informed, reading and digesting content and stories like this one from Little Village. Its so important and Im glad you are doing this regularly. Secondly, its important for you to make a commitment to advocacy and action. I also encourage you to find your certified local government, find out who is leading the commission or that organization and reach out to them to let them know your interests in this work. There are a ton of opportunities to get involved, just not a lot of resources that are at the forefront of the public. So tap your CLG so you can understand where some of those resources might lie.

This article was originally published in Little Village issue 297.

Read more from the original source:

'Iowa can't wait': Historic preservationist Matthew Gilbert on the power of place and the urgency to save Black buildings | Little Village - Little...

On July 27, Travis County commissioners fielded discussion regarding the Stone Ridge Estates subdivision and the Flint Rock Circle subdivision. Both developments are located in far west Travis County, off of Highway 71 in Precinct 3. While the discussion was brought to the Commissioners Court by Anna Bowlin with Transportation and Natural Resources who went on to recommend vacating the first development and approving the second commissioners focused their discussion on thedevelopments vulnerability to wildfires.

A vacation, which can be either total or partial, removes either all of the lots, public rights of way and plat restrictions or only some of them.

The purpose behind this request is to vacate the existing Stone Ridge Estates subdivision, to totally vacate it. Thats part A. Part B is to approve the Flint Rock subdivision, which involves nine residential lots on 10.134 acres and one drainage and critical environmental feature lot, said Bowlin, who went on to recommend that commissioners approve the developers request.

Commissioner Brigid Shea brought up the possibility that the Flint Rock Circle development which shares a waterline with the nearby Preservation Ranch development has insufficient waterlines for use by the Fire Department.

This development and the Preservation Ranch development are both served by the West Travis County Public Utility Authority Waterline, Shea said. In the case of Preservation Ranch, the engineer for the applicant determined that there was not sufficient water in that line for firefighting.

Shea relayed complaints from constituents about the waterline, drawing attention to the water being inadequate for human consumption as well as having an insufficient water flow for firefighters. Shea called on Bowlin to explain the discrepancy between constituent concerns and what the official reports about the subdivision development suggested. This area is served by that same line and it says that the record engineer has indicated that adequate fire flow will be available to the proposed subdivision. Can you explain how thats possible? Same waterline, two different findings; do we have insight into that?

What I can tell you is, looking at the letter that their project engineer provided us, they did a test and it showed that there were 750 GPMs (gallons per minute) available, Bowlin said. (The standard pump requirements for area firefighters is750 GPM.)

Bowlin also noted the report indicated the presence of a fire hydrant 500 feet to the east of the development. These hydrants will serve the existing residents that are located adjacent across the street, and should this flow be inadequate, the requirement will be met by the installation of an NFPA 13D fire sprinkler system, Bowlin said, reading from the report.

The engineer of record for the project also noted in the report that this means of fire flow has been implemented before in other projects that fall into various local fire jurisdictions. The requirement per the fire marshal can be met.

Shea called for the fire marshal to verify that the water flow readings for the development would be adequate.

Because we did get a follow-up email from the fire marshal indicating that there has been at least one instance where there was improper evaluation of this data, Shea explained.

I just think where we can provide greater protection from wildfires, we should. I dont think well have a good answer if, after a wildfire, people ask us, why didnt you require greater protections on these new developments?

Commissioners deliberated on whether to approve the development conditionally, or delay the vote to get a better idea of what kind of improvements theyd like to see moving ahead.

These are nine single-family lots where every one of them should be concerned about fire based on where theyre choosing to build, Commissioner Ann Howard said. I dont personally see a reason to stop this from moving forward, but I think its an opportunity for us to put a fork in the sand about working to be more intentional about what we require going forward.

Commissioners eventually approved the motion and called for an amendment in the development code that would require developers to comply with Firewise protection measures, a national standard that helps communities prepare for wildfires.

Can we bring back amendments to the development code that would provide this kind of protection? I think its better if we require it rather than recommend it, Shea said, asking about specific direction the court could provide to TNR to include a requirement for Firewise.

Bowlin affirmed that TNR would work with attorneys to come up with a code amendment that requires that.

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