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On Richmond’s Refusal to Ride in the Same Lane

Christian Dixon
Jul 23, 2017 · 5 min read

In having needed to repeat Economics twice (three times if you count high school), I found myself baffled that I seemed to grasp the concept of supply and demand relatively easier than men in positions of power and on missions to change a city I continuously begin to think I belong in, only to be greeted by the stark reality again and again, that it’s not necessarily the case. While I will apologize for the run-on sentence, I refuse to offer any sympathies for the distinct downplay of actual needs for the entirety of Richmond while the select wants of a few dictate how she will take shape. I would beg of you to not be poorly mistaken in thinking my lack of comprehension lay in an issue of mental ability. Rather, I would suggest that as a kinesthetic learner it was easier to believe that historically an entire race of people were forcibly made to work the most detestable of “jobs” because it still occurs today in this city, whereas the basic laws of demand and supply do not.

What I gathered from my most recent attempt at getting involved in the affairs of my hometown was that “we”, still, are more concerned about our individual problems and wants than we are about marginalized groups, who if paid attention to, could be the difference in not only actualizing what I can only label as lower-rung problems in the grand scheme of things, but could also force the realization of a vision Richmonders have had for Richmond since before I was born. “We” want bike lanes, more breweries, more outdoors spaces to gleam the river, and a Whole Foods in the city proper. “We” also want that to guide our planning process of policy — ignoring the fact altogether that Manchester/Blackwell, the East End, Northside, and basically any other area in the city where minorities live, do not have equal accessibility to grocery stores (specifically ones that are affordable and carry fresh produce but aren’t expensive chains), infrastructure that would even support a call for a bike lane, quality education and housing facilities, and more often than not, have to spend the majority of their days commuting via unreliable public transit in order to get to a job that the odds of them becoming a “senior” anything is actually attainable. But again, bike lanes and a Whole Foods are more important and must be the doctrine for how we build out our city in the coming years.

Since I left my most recent job a week ago, I’ve spent the majority of the last week attempting to convince myself that Richmond doesn’t have a race problem. Well, we do, but since creed and color are still unapproachable subjects in a city that uses the ballast from slave ships to “beautify” the streets of one of its most frequented districts (yes, Shockoe Bottom is covered in rocks that kept slave ships docked), do our best to ensure an avenue known for its monuments to the losing side of history is always on a list of “must-sees” in Virginia, and lives and dies by gentrification, how about we label it an accessibility issue.

“Oh my God — you people always make a big deal of the problems but never propose solutions.”

I’ll raise you a solution for “our” problems and for yours as well, because becoming an empathetic and compassionate city is more of an attainable and respectable goal in my eyes than is spending a ton of resources on a bike lane running through the Fan — an area I have had the cops called on me three times for trying to find my keys to unlock the door to my apartment and the reason I live in Manchester/Blackwell, surrounded by a supportive community of like-minded black folks and other minorities. But that’s neither here nor there right now.

SO! In 2016, during the sudden $8 million budget deficit of Richmond Public Schools, I noticed that a lot of the most outspoken individuals on the topic were also valued customers at Whole Foods, Target, or Kroger. While I understand selection is generally better in the stores and am also a frequenter of these places, I make a concerted effort to make sure they are my last resort. Why you ask? I’ve began making myself spend $50 each paycheck locally since it pays dividends in my community because Tan-A Supermarket has most everything I need and also recirculates $0.64 of every $1 I spend back into the local economy rather than the $0.19 spending a paycheck at Whole Check, err, Whole Foods, or any of these other big name brands we’ve sold our city to. On avaerage in cities of comparable size like Grand Rapids, Michigan, every $1 million spent at local stores puts $900,000 back into the economy as opposed to $600,000 for every $1 million at national retailers. No, the math doesn’t add up there because the studies were done in separate places.

This is a literal case of put your money where your mouth is.

You want teachers to have bigger classroom budgets to educate your children? Buy local. Local grocers don’t carry enough of what you need? Work with 80FOR and members of City Council to repurpose 6th Street Marketplace to function primarily as a public market for pop-up restaurants and a hub for a city-run grocery store hub that could expand into neighborhoods that need them which gives more tax dollars to the city instead of spending your efforts trying to get a bike lane built. Still want that bike lane more? Understand that with increased and equal accessibility for all comes a higher supply of funds to meet your and all other demands.

Your bike lane is more likely to get built if you give more people reasons to use it; i.e. not placing grocery stores, locally-owned and operated restaurants, and event venues outside of walking or biking distance.

In my heart of hearts, I would like to believe that Richmond is moving towards being the progressive city that we all spend so much time idealizing it to be, but in actuality, fail to accept that it is only that way for a privileged handful of folks with a majority of them spending more money on goods and services in the surrounding counties than they do in our cities. I’d like to believe that as 1 of 5 black students in a class of 142 there’s a reason in my senior letter at Maggie Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies, I fantasized then that I would see this city realize it’s potential — as mayor, but now, mostly from the objective standpoint of concerned citizen. I don’t believe this city is bad, but I do know that if we sit comfortably in our respective neighborhoods pouting when we don’t get our way instead of crossing district lines to address the needs of the many, we aren’t going anywhere fast, if at all.

Our city’s motto is Sic Itur Ad Astra, meaning “And thus, we are given the stars.” How about, and excuse my Latglish, “Sic Itur Ad Effort and Understanding”? We all have to live here, so why not make living possible for all of us?

Christian Dixon

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D/esign • D/estinations • D/iversity

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