Macon Magazine

A Day in the Life of Pleasant Hill Neighborhood Organization A SAMPLE AGENDA FOR AN OPEN MEETING, SHOWING HOW PHNO UNITES THE COMMUNITY AROUND COMMON ISSUES AT AN OPEN JULY 2022 MEETING for the community held by the Pleasant Hill Neighborhood Organization, PHNO President Erion Smith presided over a lofty agenda featuring speakers discussing some of the most compelling subjects in the neighborhood and beyond. Want to know what it's like to attend a PHNO gathering? Here are just some of the issues on the docket: Dr. Sundra Woodford discussed the Communities In Schools initiative, and particularly issues that might impact L.H. Williams Elementary families. Tedra Huston shared upcoming neighborhood events that the PHNO and the Community Enhancement Authority are supporting, such as a Teen Pop-Up Shop featuring child entrepreneurs, the founding of a Boy Scout Troop that meets at Booker T. Washington Center, and upcoming educational courses from organizations like Historic Macon Foundation and Macon-Bibb Land Bank Authority. Tonja Khabir explained the developments being made on the Pleasant Hill neighborhood strategic plan, which has included the need for focus groups to be able to obtain more input. Focus group sessions will take place in the form of multiple town hall sessions, from Walk and Talk sessions around the neighborhood discussing blight and transportation to dedicated talks at rec centers to tackle public safety or youth needs. Alex Morrison, who convenes Macon's chapter of the Reimaging the Civic Commons (RCC) initiative, expounded on how the RCC team is planning a project connecting Pleasant Hill to downtown in a number of ways, including by making Walnut Street more accessible to pedestrians or cyclists. Frank Dixon of Cure Violence, a data-driven program that embeds violence interrupters in the community to promote conflict de-escalation, opened up a conversation about the Cure Violence approach to crime and how neighbors can help aid their work. Chris Austin gave an overview of programs occurring at L.H. Williams Recreation Center, like an upcoming back to school backpack giveaway. Austin also introduced a new staff member for the rec center, so neighbors can become comfortable with seeing them at the facility. Keep up with the PHNO and their activities by searching for the Pleasant Hill Neighborhood Organization, the Community Enhancement Authority, L.H. Williams Recreation Center, or Booker T. Washington Community Center on Facebook or visiting their websites. — JULIA RUBENS is a key organizer of the annual Pleasant Hill Family Reunion Committee, which exists to bring together former and current residents for a day of peace, food, fun and reconnection. The organization's steering committee provides support and is comprised of longtime Pleasant Hill pillars Yolanda "Y-O" Latimore, chair of the Linwood Cemetery Preservation Committee; Khadijah Hassan, resident and daughter of the late Amir Hassan, a founder of the Family Reunion and the grassroots community improvement movement We Care Group; and Bibb County School District Board Member Sundra Woodford. Muhammad doubles as a historian of Macon's Black history. He reminds people that the neighborhood's greatness is rooted in its unique people and places. Music legend Little Richard was from the neighborhood, along with a plethora of prominent figures including Reconstruction-era Congressman Jefferson Long, the first Black man to speak on the floor of Congress, and internationally renowned writer John Oliver Killens, founder of the Harlem Writers Guild. Long is buried in Linwood Cemetary, along with Macon's only Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Marine Sargent Rodney Davis, famous for saving the lives of his fellow soldiers by smothering a hand grenade with his body, and other notables like Douglass Theatre founder Charles H. Douglass and Ruth Hartley Mosley, a 20th century barrier-breaking Black businesswoman. Dotting the landscape of Pleasant Hill through the mid- 20th century were stately homes with manicured lawns filled with highly educated and qualified Black professionals and FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: TONJA KHABIR DREAMS OF RESTORING THE FORMER BOBBY JONES PERFORMING ARTS CENTER. ANTONIO WILLIAMS IN FRONT OF LEGACY BUSINESS BROTHERS REUPHOLSTERY. AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 | maconmagazine.com 111

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