Coffee. Chicken Biscuits. And a Young Professionals Conversation.

Jonathan Perkins reflects on a Young Professionals 2017 On the Table conversation.

I walked down Cherokee Avenue in the cool morning air toward a folding table covered in coffee and chicken biscuits. Three young women greeted me with smiles. There was excitement on their faces, despite the 7:30a.m. start time. This was one of the very first On the Table events to take place November 7, 2017. As always, the Young Professionals of Columbus, Georgia were eager to be on the cutting edge of progress in their community.

After grabbing my caffeine and protein, I looked to the open grass ahead in dewy Weracoba Park. Ten blankets likely snatched from participants linen closets an hour ago covered the green space and YPs were sitting for a meal and conversation. The picnic style set-up was a symbolic reflection of the participants that put it together: each piece of cloth a different shape, color, and style, but they overlapped for a united purpose. The twenty or so YPs participating were not particularly diverse in age, but they did reflect a melting pot of race, gender, sexual orientation, industry, and socioeconomic background. I grabbed a seat and began to take notes.

My “table” started by praising the community. That was easy. In fact, it was old hat. If you are under 40 and happy to be living in Columbus, you are somewhat of an anomaly. You are the reversal of the brain drain that preceded you by a handful of decades, and naturally you have sought out and bonded with others like you. YPs celebrated the progress that has taken place in the Uptown revitalization effort. They talked about what great restaurants we have and what a fabulous running community has grown in Columbus. It’s fun, without Atlanta traffic. The community is warm. These were sentiments we could all support and had articulated before. Now, for the less pleasant exercise—talking about what frustrated us about Columbus.

It was a quieter for a moment. A drone camera roared overhead; someone was filming us. This bothered no one, naturally. Someone spoke up—a middle school teacher. He was frustrated by the division and bias that still plagues Columbus. He teaches at Baker Middle School, where the student population is over 80 percent African American (the student population in Columbus is about 50 percent African American) and 100 percent of the student population is eligible for Free Lunch. Everyone looked down or leaned in to listen more closely. We all know how much racial and income disparity exists in Columbus, but it isn’t something most people enjoy talking about.

Why should my student lament the fact that she will never be viewed as an equal of certain community members? he wondered aloud. Just because she’s from the Southside? “We’re people. We’re hearts,” he finally declared resolutely. Everyone nodded in earnest agreement.

Another participant who was raised in Columbus decried the use of the terms “us” and “them” when residents talk about one another. “There has to be a cultural shift,” she said. “It can’t just be fixed with an event.” She seemed to be referring to this event, but also the many one-off community service events that YPs participate in.

Another woman, not a member of YP but someone who was peripherally participating in the discussion, stepped toward the group. She was older than the group by about 20 years. She runs a family wellness program based out of South Columbus. “48.4 percent of families in Columbus are single parent families,” she informs us. There are so many people that need help and so many people that try to help, but there is still a gap.

Another participant cut in to say that she also volunteers with a group that serves South Columbus residents, and wonders if volunteer groups should partner more often with one another rather than ignorantly duplicating efforts and failing at making substantial progress. My brain starts racing; why don’t we have a central online listing of all local volunteer organizations and the details of their missions? Then I hear a woman near me say, “We have to get out of our own rabbit holes.” Amen, I think. She continues, “The culture shift is on our plate; it’s our generation’s burden.”

The older woman who volunteers in South Columbus pushed back a bit. Don’t forget that the older generation has a lot to offer you all. Remember that we can do this work together; you have the energy and we have the experience. We nodded. It was a familiar feeling for many of us, I imagine. We like to think we have it all figured out, but must remember that we are still new at nearly everything we do: building families, pursuing our careers, and yes, even strengthening our city.

At this, I chimed in to mention that YP might try to do a better job at offering events that accommodate young professional parents – even single parents – so that attendance for those of us with young children can increase. Someone wisely suggested that we get older students to be “assistant babysitters” while a couple of adults take the lead. They could be paid and grow their own skills as independent young adults.

The sun began to get bright and even a little hot. It was time to wind down, and many had to get to work. Words of appreciation for a productive conversation began ricocheting around the “table” and the moderators summarized the spirit of our conversation before giving us survey information.

It’s about being aware and flexible, they said. Knowing the needs, listening to the needs, and meeting the needs.

As the group began to dissipate, I wrangled a couple of ladies who had a few more minutes to spare: Kat, a local marketing professional and educator, and Alex, a visitor from Macon, Georgia that had participated in On the Table events there. Kat, who was at the other table, felt that the conversation covered many topics but everything stayed relatively broad. She said, “You know, we didn’t come up with any answers at all… but still it was nice to just talk about it in a judgment-free atmosphere.”

Alex added, “As an outsider from the community, it was really nice to hear the same issues are happening here as what are happening in Macon. But some of the things that you guys are doing right are things we need to get right, but some of the things we are doing right we should be sharing a little bit better.” Alex talked about how Macon has a weekly “good” story in the local news that highlights someone(s) doing great things in the city. It is a welcome deviation from the negative and fear-inducing stories we generally hear. As a contributor for the Ledger-Enquirer, I told Alex I would do my best to contribute positive local stories in my column and push my colleagues in local media to do the same.

#YoungProfessionals #CivicEngagement #Community #CommunityFoundationoftheChattahoocheeValley #talk #Table