Hope.

A reflection from our Co-President, Dea. Dianna Deaderick in preparation for the Nehemiah Action (Written shortly after the Super Bowl)

The past few days have given me much to ponder. Sunday many of us watched the playing of Super Bowl 56 from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California – a state-of-the-art stadium that cost $5.6 billion dollars to build and sprawls over 300 acres. This construction lead to a Renaissance in Inglewood, complete with the building of 2 additional sports arenas. Since the building of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, housing costs have skyrocketed 84%. The folks that lived in that once tightly knit community can no longer afford to live there.

In neighboring Greenville County, Mauldin’s City Council recently met in executive session and unanimously authorized the City Administrator to begin negotiations to build a $38.6 million multipurpose stadium on 6 acres near interstate 385. $38.6 million dollars. Meanwhile, in Greenville County, 70% of renters pay more than half of their income for housing.

Our own Richland County Council has already received requests for $13.5 million in public money for the building of 2 sports complexes. They are also considering using millions of dollars in county hospitality tax money to build a sports complex that would contain as many as 12 sports fields for baseball, softball and soccer. In fact the Richland County Recreation Commission has hired a Charlotte-based consultant who has already confirmed that such a complex would be successful. The Commission is taking the next steps and talking with county officials about
potential locations and ways to pay for the work for the proposed project. Yet, here in Richland County, 22% of our brothers and sisters live below the poverty level and over 16,000 families are in need of affordable housing, and we can’t seem to get our proposal for an affordable housing trust fund out of committee.

With a picture that looks this bleak, why do I continue to work for Justice? Because fear feeds anxiety; hope breeds optimism. Fear is about limits; hope is about growth. Fear casts its eyes warily; hope looks forward. Fear points to others casting blame; hope points ahead. Fear pushes away; hope pulls us closer. Fear divides; hope unifies. I believe in hope.