Seidman: Making Sarasota a true paradise

Monday
Dec 4, 2017 at 3:27 PM Dec 4, 2017 at 3:27 PM

We need a lot less Monday morning quarterbacking and a lot more willingness to get our hands dirty.

Carrie Seidman Columnist @carrieseidman

I have seen Utopia … and it’s not Sarasota.  At least not yet, anyway.

Last week, I attended the 12th annual Sustainable Communities workshop, hosted by the University of Florida and the Sarasota County Extension, a day-long bonanza exploring how our area is addressing a variety of issues, from climate change, green building and solar energy to community involvement and social equity.

Listening to the promising initiatives on so many different fronts, I was encouraged to think that even as we are experiencing the consequences of rapid growth and development, there are some people a whole lot smarter than I am who are considering the eventual impacts and planning for ways to preserve both the physical and less tangible assets that make this a special place to live.

But given that I tend to be a glass-half-empty person — I wish it weren’t true, but there you have it — I was still worried. So I asked each speaker what grade they would assign Sarasota, relative to other communities nationally, in their area of expertise, be it renewable energy, citizen involvement or recycling. 

With consistent B to C grades, we’re far from failing. But we have a ways to go to make the honor roll, and whether we head up or down depends a lot on the priorities we establish, the funding we support those priorities with, and how much we — especially we individual citizens — commit to supporting them with more than lip service.

That means we need a lot less Monday morning quarterbacking and a lot more willingness to get our hands dirty.

"A lot of times, when people get involved, it’s too late to impact the decisions," said Arlene Sweeting, executive director of the Peace, Education and Action Center, who spoke on the importance of community engagement. "We’ve got to get them on board earlier."

There are plenty ways for the average Joe to become involved and anybody who took a school civics class knows what they are: Write to or meet with elected officials. Speak at public hearings. Serve on advisory boards. Organize on the grass roots level. And at the very least, vote — not based on who your spouse or friends are voting for but by researching the candidates’ positions and values and coming to your own conclusions.

Social media, the 24/7 news cycle and the current climate of divisiveness have made it all too easy to complain and argue rather than work toward solutions. Since the workshop, I’ve been thinking a lot about an issue in Sarasota that has concerned me ever since I arrived seven years ago and how I could be more active in living out my own convictions.

When I moved here from New Mexico in 2010, knowing almost no one and nothing about the city, I spent the first few weeks going to assignments issued by my editor. After about a month and a half, I asked someone why I was never sent to any addresses north of Fruitville Road.

"Oh," this person said, probably wondering why I hadn’t figured it out myself. "That’s Newtown. It’s the black part of town."

Well, pardon my naivete, but I was shocked. I didn’t grow up in the South and I’d moved here from Albuquerque where I was, at least technically, a minority (48 percent Hispanic or Latino; 38 percent white). I knew segregation as a legal mandate was long gone, but I hadn’t realized the degree to which it still existed geographically. Nor how much we perhaps unwittingly contribute to the continuation of those divisions by not making inclusion a priority when we discuss a sustainable community.

When we think of "sustainable," what mostly come to mind are the environment and the economy. It’s a third "E" — equity — that often gets left out of the conversation said keynote speaker Nathaniel Smith, founder and CEO (that’s Chief Equity Officer) of the Partnership for Southern Equity in Atlanta. 

"What are we doing to insure that not just some, but all of our young people have a chance to reach their full potential?" Paul asked. "We need a new covenant for shared prosperity and if we don’t focus on that, true sustainability will not be realized."

To create that synergy, Paul said, requires acknowledging historical inequities and working together to undo them by acknowledging past mistakes, eschewing blame and realizing that not everyone is taking off from the same starting point. It’s not about personal prejudices; economic disparities along racial lines are built into everything from our energy systems to our real estate practices and food systems.

Turning that around means creating shared values, across public and private institutions, nonprofits and philanthropic organizations. It also means inviting people to the table who have traditionally been left out, and making it easier for them to participate by meeting them where they are. That means getting out of your own neighborhood, both literally and figuratively, now and then.

Paul closed his talk with a photo of her young daughter in a superhero costumes, and a quote from Martin Luther King: "Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice."

"The transformational kind of love is not just to love your own child, but to love somebody else’s just as much as you do your own," he said. "That type of transformational love will change communities."

I wonder if Sarasota really wants and is willing to work for that kind of transformation. Are we ready to foster practices and policies, even at occasional cost to ourselves personally, that will ensure everyone gets a chance to reach their full potential?

For my part, I’m starting with a commitment to getting to know my neighbors north of Fruitville — as well as in other under-served areas — better, and helping bring their voices to the table.

With the beautiful weather, pristine beaches and bountiful cultural offerings in Sarasota, residents are fond of saying every day here is "just another day in paradise." But it’s not paradise if you’re turning a blind eye to your neighbors in purgatory.

Contact columnist Carrie Seidman at 941-361-4834 or carrie.seidman@heraldtribune.com. Follow her on Twitter @CarrieSeidman and Facebook at facebook.com/cseidman.

Monday
Dec 4, 2017 at 3:27 PM Dec 4, 2017 at 3:27 PM

We need a lot less Monday morning quarterbacking and a lot more willingness to get our hands dirty.

Carrie Seidman Columnist @carrieseidman

I have seen Utopia … and it’s not Sarasota.  At least not yet, anyway.

Last week, I attended the 12th annual Sustainable Communities workshop, hosted by the University of Florida and the Sarasota County Extension, a day-long bonanza exploring how our area is addressing a variety of issues, from climate change, green building and solar energy to community involvement and social equity.

Listening to the promising initiatives on so many different fronts, I was encouraged to think that even as we are experiencing the consequences of rapid growth and development, there are some people a whole lot smarter than I am who are considering the eventual impacts and planning for ways to preserve both the physical and less tangible assets that make this a special place to live.

But given that I tend to be a glass-half-empty person — I wish it weren’t true, but there you have it — I was still worried. So I asked each speaker what grade they would assign Sarasota, relative to other communities nationally, in their area of expertise, be it renewable energy, citizen involvement or recycling. 

With consistent B to C grades, we’re far from failing. But we have a ways to go to make the honor roll, and whether we head up or down depends a lot on the priorities we establish, the funding we support those priorities with, and how much we — especially we individual citizens — commit to supporting them with more than lip service.

That means we need a lot less Monday morning quarterbacking and a lot more willingness to get our hands dirty.

"A lot of times, when people get involved, it’s too late to impact the decisions," said Arlene Sweeting, executive director of the Peace, Education and Action Center, who spoke on the importance of community engagement. "We’ve got to get them on board earlier."

There are plenty ways for the average Joe to become involved and anybody who took a school civics class knows what they are: Write to or meet with elected officials. Speak at public hearings. Serve on advisory boards. Organize on the grass roots level. And at the very least, vote — not based on who your spouse or friends are voting for but by researching the candidates’ positions and values and coming to your own conclusions.

Social media, the 24/7 news cycle and the current climate of divisiveness have made it all too easy to complain and argue rather than work toward solutions. Since the workshop, I’ve been thinking a lot about an issue in Sarasota that has concerned me ever since I arrived seven years ago and how I could be more active in living out my own convictions.

When I moved here from New Mexico in 2010, knowing almost no one and nothing about the city, I spent the first few weeks going to assignments issued by my editor. After about a month and a half, I asked someone why I was never sent to any addresses north of Fruitville Road.

"Oh," this person said, probably wondering why I hadn’t figured it out myself. "That’s Newtown. It’s the black part of town."

Well, pardon my naivete, but I was shocked. I didn’t grow up in the South and I’d moved here from Albuquerque where I was, at least technically, a minority (48 percent Hispanic or Latino; 38 percent white). I knew segregation as a legal mandate was long gone, but I hadn’t realized the degree to which it still existed geographically. Nor how much we perhaps unwittingly contribute to the continuation of those divisions by not making inclusion a priority when we discuss a sustainable community.

When we think of "sustainable," what mostly come to mind are the environment and the economy. It’s a third "E" — equity — that often gets left out of the conversation said keynote speaker Nathaniel Smith, founder and CEO (that’s Chief Equity Officer) of the Partnership for Southern Equity in Atlanta. 

"What are we doing to insure that not just some, but all of our young people have a chance to reach their full potential?" Paul asked. "We need a new covenant for shared prosperity and if we don’t focus on that, true sustainability will not be realized."

To create that synergy, Paul said, requires acknowledging historical inequities and working together to undo them by acknowledging past mistakes, eschewing blame and realizing that not everyone is taking off from the same starting point. It’s not about personal prejudices; economic disparities along racial lines are built into everything from our energy systems to our real estate practices and food systems.

Turning that around means creating shared values, across public and private institutions, nonprofits and philanthropic organizations. It also means inviting people to the table who have traditionally been left out, and making it easier for them to participate by meeting them where they are. That means getting out of your own neighborhood, both literally and figuratively, now and then.

Paul closed his talk with a photo of her young daughter in a superhero costumes, and a quote from Martin Luther King: "Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice."

"The transformational kind of love is not just to love your own child, but to love somebody else’s just as much as you do your own," he said. "That type of transformational love will change communities."

I wonder if Sarasota really wants and is willing to work for that kind of transformation. Are we ready to foster practices and policies, even at occasional cost to ourselves personally, that will ensure everyone gets a chance to reach their full potential?

For my part, I’m starting with a commitment to getting to know my neighbors north of Fruitville — as well as in other under-served areas — better, and helping bring their voices to the table.

With the beautiful weather, pristine beaches and bountiful cultural offerings in Sarasota, residents are fond of saying every day here is "just another day in paradise." But it’s not paradise if you’re turning a blind eye to your neighbors in purgatory.

Contact columnist Carrie Seidman at 941-361-4834 or carrie.seidman@heraldtribune.com. Follow her on Twitter @CarrieSeidman and Facebook at facebook.com/cseidman.

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