Dirty Little Secrets in Black Leadership: Headwaters Foundation’s Trista Harris answer to, “Let us participate on Saturday (11/21) at General Mills”
Who are the 170 African-American leaders involved in this “work-group” tomorrow (11/21) at General Mills? I’m sure I can name some of the usual suspects that have failed the Black community time and time again. Why it is that this woman is in charge of who attends an African-American Leadership Summit? Controls are no different than Slavery in a cold Jim Crow.
Please join us at General Mills to protest the exclusion of stakeholders in the African-American Leadership Forum tomorrow at General Mills.
The following is a response from Headwaters Foundation Trista Harris:
I’m following up on our conversation this morning. Saturday’s African American Leadership Forum is for community members that have participated in previous meetings of the African American Leadership Forum. I certainly want you to know that all the people you mentioned are welcome to be a part of this effort but because this is a working meeting, Saturday’s Forum is not an appropriate place for them to become engaged.
One of the things that we set up as an entry point into the African American Leadership Forum is the need for the attendees to have a pre-meeting to become familiar with the work that’s been done to date.
We call these groups cascading groups. We have instituted this arrangement in part because we want people to become familiar with the previous work and add value in a smaller groups setting, so that we don’t have to restart the Forum every time new members come to a larger meeting.
After this weekend’s meeting if you would like to call together a cascading group of your own, we will provide facilitation assistance and food for the meeting. These have been exciting meetings where we already have 170 African-American leaders attend. People really like this approach and have gotten a lot out of the cascading group meetings. I have been heartened by this work and the need for a forum of African-American leaders to develop a shared agenda.
I also hope you understand the approach we are taking. I will make sure that they get invited to a cascading group to become part of this important work.
I look forward to working with you on this and other issues that impact low-income people in our community.
Best wishes,
Trista Harris
Executive Director
www.headwatersfoundation.org
2801 21st Ave S. Suite 131
Minneapolis, MN 55407
P: 612-879-0602 # 13
F: 612-879-0613
It’s on!
Found…A Successful Measurable outcome, an open letter and apology to Stairstep Foundation and President Alfred Babington-Johnson
Dear Mr. Babington-Johnson,
On Thursday, July 30, 2009 I had a chance to visit with my Aunt Thelma (Thelma Buckner, pastor of Battle Temple) also at Uncle Bob’s church (Robert Lee Battle, pastor of Berean Church of God in Christ) was Aunt Luella Pittman and Aunt Wilma Battle.
Lurking in the room was my first cousin Aretta Rea-Johnson, also a pastor.
Needless to say, I was out-numbered, and in the “true COGIC (Church of God in Christ)” tradition, I was given a “Come to Jesus talk” – something you (me) try to avoid in the Battle family, not my first, and for sure not my last!
Aunt Thelma said, “Babington is my friend, and there’s something you need to know that I have never told you. Years ago, I wanted to help young people learn a skill – I had talked with Babington and he asked me, ‘What would you do?’ “I told him I would teach children and their parents how to make quilts – open a quilt making shop.”
Aunt Thelma said, “It was the best idea I could come up with and Babington thought it would be a good idea.”
Time went by and with no money, Aunt Thelma collected donations from across the Twin Cities…donations of used clothes that she would cut up and layout for patchwork to design handmade custom quilts.
After a starting the program, Pastor Alfred Babington-Johnson stopped by the quilt shop called “Granny’s Quilts” and saw the amazing work that Aunt Thelma was doing with the neighborhood children and parents and purchased more than 20 quilts from her that day. Aunt Thelma said, “Babington inspired me and gave me the drive to keep going with his kind gesture.”
This infusion of economic stimuli to “Granny’s Quilts” led to Aunt Thelma purchasing better sewing machines and taking on more children.
Because of Alfred Babington-Johnson and the “God” in him, knowing what needed to be done for the quilt shop with over 1000 children and adults learning how to make quilts; meet new people; conduct themselves in a professional manner, and of course, “Who God is,” Aunt Thelma went on to say, “The uniqueness of the idea and my drive to make this program work, along with the help of Alfred Babington-Johnson, today if you get into an accident in St. Paul, and your hurt – laying in the street, every Saint Paul Police squad car has a blanket to cover you and keep you warm until paramedics arrive made by children from Granny’s Quilt Shop in St. Paul on the corner of Selby and Victoria.
This was established and set in place by a man named Alfred Babington-Johnson and his kindness to my quilt shop. The thousands of children and parents that learned how to make quilts will be forever grateful.”
Mr. Babington-Johnson, this is a sincere apology for letting my critique of the Stairstep Foundation devolve into a person attack against you, and for failing to acknowledge the positive work that you have done in community over the years.
While we may not agree on the most effective ways to bring about real change in the delivery of services, we both surely agree that business as usual means no business is getting done in north Minneapolis.
My Uncle, the late Rev. Walter L. Battle always said, “It takes a real man to admit he was wrong – it takes a strong man to reach out to someone he has offended and make things better.”
In this world, it takes all types.
Dealing with people, process and circumstances that are sometimes out of control, I have overlooked the obvious – we are fundamentally on the same side.
Very best regards,
Donny
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