The North Tulsa Community Coalition Welcomes Two New Board Members

Feb 24, 2020

The North Tulsa Community Coalition is excited to welcome our new board members.

Economic Stability

Tracy Manning-Gibbs has been identified as the new board chair for the Economic Stability Task Force.

Tracy currently resides in Tulsa Oklahoma with her husband and 4 children. Tulsa is where Tracy was born and raised. Tracy is a Health Information Management Supervisor and Hospital HIPAA (Health Information Portability and Accountability) Officer. She is a motivated business professional and entrepreneur who has served as a keynote speaker around the country. She worked at on of the nation's highest-ranking insurance companies for over 26 years until the Lord called her off her job to start a family owned business, Gibbs Next Generation. Also for the past 20 years, she has been successfully involved in commercial and residential real estate. Her roles and responsibilities of leadership are incredibly diverse; serving on one of many organizations, such as Tulsa Exchange, North Tulsa 100 and 36 Degrees North. She also participated in workgroups and events that targeted change, Tulsa C.A.N. (Create Access to Nutrition), City of Tulsa Food Dessert, Community Voice for Change, City of Tulsa Suburban Acres Library Books & Books event, Arts in the Spring event, Thanksgiving and Christmas food giveaways and North Tulsa tornado relief events. Tracy enjoys outreach, reading, relaxing spas and nature walks.

Vote for the Economic Stability Meeting Dates/Times Now

Education

Kymberly Daniels, M.Ed. has been identified as the new board chair for the Education Task Force.

Kymberly Daniels is an Associate Professor of Child Development and Education at Tulsa-Community College in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been employed with Tulsa Community College for 13 years. In addition, she is a facilitator/presenter, parent advocate, education consultant, and community volunteer. She has over 25 years working with children, youth and adults. Kymberly is on the Advisory Board for OK-UP in a collaborative effort with Oklahoma State University to develop and provide community resources for parents. She is a member of the National Black Child Development Institute and National Association of Early Childhood Education. Her work and teaching are broadly focused on promoting equitable opportunities for the success for all children and families.

Vote for the Education Meeting Dates/Times Now

The State of Housing in North Tulsa

Feb 22, 2020

The NTCC Collective convened on Saturday Feb 22 to discuss the state of housing in north Tulsa with representatives from the Tulsa Health Department, Tulsa Housing Authority, Dunbar Neighborhood Association, and City of Tulsa. Moderated by the Tulsa Health Department's COO Reggie Ivey, the panelists engaged with over 40 community members and partners.

Questions included:

1. Homeownership is an important wealth-building source and a foundation for economic stability. What are some reasons for this?

2. What is Mixed-Income Living? And what are the anticipated and realized benefits for Low-Income Households with these types of housing strategies?

3. The recent collapse of the housing market and subsequent recession has been particularly devastating to communities of color. Not only has our homeownership rate plummeted, but, accessing mortgage credit has become nearly impossible outside of government insured programs such as the FHA and VA (State of Housing in Black America (SHIBA, n.d.). The gap in homeownership rates between Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites is larger now than it was in 1934, the year of the enactment of FHA (Federal Housing Administration) and the start of modern housing finance system (SHIBA, 2019).

a. What is your organization doing to combat this and build capacity in residents?

4. Ensuring fair housing and fair lending compliance is imperative not only to address the racial wealth and homeownership gap. Ample evidence suggests that structural barriers impede housing and credit access, and direct discrimination infringes on people’s ability to access housing opportunities (McCargo, Choi & Golding, 2019).

a. What initiatives has your organization deployed to address fair housing in north Tulsa?

5. The quality of housing can contribute to general well-being or cause poor health. Exposure to poor indoor air quality, mold, lead, and rodent and cockroach infestations can lead to asthma and other respiratory illnesses, lead poisoning, learning and behavioral problems, and other serious health issues (De Leon & Schilling, 2017). The Urban Institute reports that the term “urban blight” includes three factors:

i. Substandard housing

ii. Abandoned buildings

iii. Vacant lots (De Leon & Schilling, 2017).

a. In north Tulsa, what initiatives/programs/projects do you have that will address any of these factors specifically?

6. Eminent domain. Eminent domain is the power the United States government, states, and municipalities to take private property for public use, following the payment of just compensation.

a. How has this practice impacted vulnerable populations in Tulsa?

7. Gentrification. Gentrification is a process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses.

a. How has this practice impacted communities of color?

8. What can Tulsans do to support your organizational efforts?

References

Brenda Richardson (2019) “Five Key Facts That Underscore The Alarming Crisis In Black Homeownership” https://www.forbes.com/sites/brendarichardson/2019/08/11/five-key-facts-that-underscore-the-alarming-crisis-in-black-homeownership/#2bb2758868d5

Alanna McCargo, Jung Hyun Choi, and Edward Golding “Building Black Homeownership Bridges: A Five-Point Framework for Reducing the Racial Homeownership Gap” https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/100204/building_black_ownership_bridges_1.pdf

National Association of Real Estate Brokers. State of Housing in Black America (SHIBA). (2019) (n.d.) http://www.nareb.com/shiba-report/

De Leon, E. & Schilling, J. (2017). Urban Institute. Retrieved from https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/89491/2017.04.03_urban_blight_and_public_health_vprn_report_finalized.pdf

NTCC Selects its Joyful Movement 2020 Champions

Feb 19, 2020

What is Joyful Movement?

Joyful Movement is an interactive activity to encourage physical activity and movement as a means of improving mental health. Joyful Movement will be held in partnership with the Jane A. Malone Center at Chamberlain Park, and be offered as a continuous series of events designed to improve mental health and physical activity among north Tulsa residents, primarily living in zip code 74126.

Objectives:

· Bring together resources for the community in a culturally appropriate and responsive manner

· Enhance personal and community capacity

· Address health disparities and improve health outcomes

NTCC's health and healthcare task force embarked on a journey to identify two candidates to champion the Joyful Movement initiative and become certified Zumba instructors. After reviewing over 15 outstanding applicants, Champion Marissa and Champion Karlin were selected. NTCC held a private signing celebration for both ladies, and both have successfully completed their Zumbe Basic 1 certification as of Feb 22, 2020. These ladies exhibit a passion for the wellness and health of north Tulsans and have impressive backgrounds that help them be successful as leaders in the Joyful Movement Initiative.

Save the date May 2020 for a kickoff event and class announcements.