‘We don’t have to live in our silos.’ Foundation awards grants to benefit community
The Community Foundation of Central Georgia has announced that 42 local projects have been funded at $42,000 as part of the Conversation to Action mini-grant program.
The community foundation gets money from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The ideas for the mini grants were inspired by discussions that took place at the second On the Table Macon event in 2019.
Nancy Cleveland, the Communications and Development Associate for the Community Foundation said the mini grants aim to inspire residents to find ways to improve the community they live in.
“The main thing I want people to get is that we don’t have to live in our silos and that when you can have friends that don’t look like you, that don’t come from backgrounds that you came from, (they can) still work together to improve your community,” Cleveland said.
One of the recipients of the mini grants was the Grand Opera House, which received $1,000 for a program called “Mac Dates” (MACDTs).
The program helps art aficionados expand their interests by going to see a Grand Opera House performance with another person. Additionally, the pair will be able to grab a drink or dessert after the show so they can talk about their experiences of the show and get to know each other a little more.
Julia Rubens, the director of arts marketing for the Grand Opera House, says the grant program is looking to increase arts participation by eliminating the barriers of cost, time, perception, and not having accompaniment to the event.
She hopes that the grants will bring more awareness to the arts in Macon.
“I think the grants will impact the community by helping folks to become aware of the huge range of awesome arts and culture organizations and institutions we have in this town,” Rubens said.
Rubens said each recipient will receive complimentary tickets for an a Grand Opera House event and $20 for drinks and dessert afterwards.
“Now, the only thing the participants have to do is share back a selfie and explain a bit about their experience on their MACDTs to me, which will go up in a blog post.”
Rubens also said the grants will benefit the local economy by putting money back into downtown arts and culture institutions and restaurants, as well as creating social bridges for individuals to understand more about people with diverse backgrounds.
“I think that’s how individuals are impacted, as well as individuals being able to see, again, these really rich assets that we have all over downtown began for arts and culture,” she said.
Yolanda “Y-O” Latimore, a local artist, also received a $1,000 mini grant for Poetic Peace Arts’ Presents “Souls from the Soil,” an idea born of a sister’s grief, a poet’s idealism and the On The Table talks.
Latimore is planning to stage oral history presentations that tell the forgotten tales of those who rest in Linwood Cemetery. These stories are an attempt to aid in the revitalization of the cemetery, as well as to teach lessons from the past. She first became passionate about cemetery preservation after her brother was buried in Linwood, which had fallen into blight.
“We were concerned because we have loved ones here buried here way before my brother, and we saw it going down, so a group of concerned citizens got together,” Latimore said.
The result of that organization was the creation of the nonprofit, Macon Cemetery Preservation Corporation. While this group is concerned about the physical preservation of local cemeteries, it is Latimore’s other organization, Poetic Peace Arts, that is preserving the souls.
“So Poetic Peace Arts is a grassroots organization … a platform for other artists to come in and to network with each other … and they are going to help me bring this project to life” Latimore said.
This project aims to tell the stories of roughly 10 people who are buried at Linwood. The stories will be a mix of well-known Macon residents such as the first African American congressman from Georgia, Jefferson Franklin Long, and lesser-known residents, such as Paul Devol, who owned an upholstery shop downtown, Latimore said.
“The most challenging part has been creating the scripts, because research has to be done. The main reason we’re doing this is because this history is not bound to books,” said Latimore. “You have to tie two and two together by going into a research and a tax assessor’s office, The superior court’s clerk office, the library, the Board of Education. You have to speak to your elders and then tie it all together.”
“Souls from the Soil” is set to start in April. Latimore said the performances might take place at pop-ups around town, schools, nightclubs, and the Little Richard House, to name a few.
“I hope this has an impact and motivates people to want to learn more, especially black people, about ourselves and other races. So that we can have more respect and grow and build together,” Latimore said.
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 6:00 AM.