In every community across Baton Rouge there are community members and organizations who see what currently is and envision what would make this place they call home better. Those visions have inspired them to participate in community conversations, speak up at council meetings, create community-based organizations, run for office, and dedicate their lives to serving others in the areas of life that are important to them and those around them.
Building a Better Baton Rouge brings together 19 community members who live, work and serve in Baton Rouge who took a look into the current state of 10 critical areas that impact urban communities and provided recommendations for how we address them. Rooted in the principle of Sankofa, the Building a Better Rouge Critical Areas Series offers perspectives from 19 people across multiple generations as they grapple with where our community has been and what it takes to build a vibrant, thriving future.
Sankofa means to “make benevolent use of the past in order to make progress in the future”. In other words, it is not too taboo to learn from the past or leverage its teachings in the present.
Building a Better Baton Rouge
An intergenerational view of critical areas impacting our urban communities
Meet the Authors
TC Nash
The Status of Leadership
Symphony Malveaux
This Place We Call Home
Sevetri Wilson
Innovation & Technology
Sam Washington
Beyond Policing
Roland Mitchell
The Utility of Education
Nayyir Ransome
Arts & Culture
Moon Muhammed
The Utility of Education
Mayor President Sharon Weston-Broome
Beyond Policing
Maria Shantell Williams
Health & Wellness
Luke St. John
Arts & Culture
Lauren Crump
Whose Gifts Matter
John Matthews
Towards a More Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
George Bell
Whose Gifts Matter
Eugene Collins
The Status of Leadership
Dr. Ronald Andrews
Health & Wellness
Dr. Calvin Mackie
Innovation & Technology
Darrell Johnson
Towards a More Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Chris Tyson
This Place We Call Home
Brandon Smith
Mentoring in Baton Rouge