Two of the oldest African-American communities in North Memphis are continuing to improve quality of life for their residents and promote small businesses while preserving their historic legacy.
The Klondike Smokey City Community Development Corporation (KSCCDC) has a number of initiatives set in place to “improve the economic health of the North Memphis communities through community, workforce, and family development initiatives.” These resources include family preservation, affordable housing, recycling programs, and a small business program.
KSCCDC’s small business program seeks to boost prospects for small business owners through access to financial assistance and capital, along with the promotion of other skills including contracting and procurement, marketing, operations, business development, and exporting industry-specific training.
According to the organization, they are able to help and connect businesses with these resources through the Community Navigator Pilot Program, which is an American Rescue Plan initiative and also sponsored by BLDG Memphis and the Small Business Administration.
“This particular grant was to provide support for small businesses in neighborhoods that were underinvested and underserved,” explained Markuitta Washington, community navigator for BLDG Memphis. “We selected seven of our member CDCs to support with executing this grant program.”
Randall Garrett serves on the board of directors for BLDG Memphis, representing KSCCDC, and explained that there is a “renaissance” in Klondike Smokey City when it comes to small businesses.
The two cities were recently the setting of BLDG’s Memphis’ MEMfix, which Washington explained was a culmination project as a part of the Community Navigator Pilot Program. This specific iteration of MEMFix celebrated “the area’s rich history with a Northside Hall of Fame and museum exhibits,” among other things. As a part of the event, small business owners were able to serve as vendors.
Garrett also explained that residents are excited about the Northside Square project. The project will be similar to Crosstown Concourse, with affordable housing, a community college, and more. According to Roshun Austin, president of The Works, the sponsor and ownership entity, the project will be ready in late Spring of 2025.
“As a collaborative organization, we have control of over 400 properties in the Klondike area where we’re doing affordable housing and possibly some more development in the area. It’s also all community-led organizations that’s in control of the property and planning” said Garrett. “So this MEMfix was the perfect event to showcase these things in these historic neighborhoods.”
The Klondike Smokey City MEMFix event not only served as an opportunity for the community to showcase the entrepreneurial boom in the city, but also its historic contributions.
“People do not know that Klondike is actually the first African-American community in the city of Memphis. People think it’s Orange Mound, but it’s actually Klondike. Orange Mound was first, but it was outside of the city of Memphis. Inside the city of Memphis, it was Klondike. This neighborhood is so very historic,” said Garrett.
In order for residents to “feel good” about their community, they must know who has made the community what it is, explained Eziza Ogbeiwi-Risher, environmental coordinator of KSCCDC, whether these names are publicly renowned or neighborhood heroes. This was showcased in a neighborhood museum built specifically for the MEMFix.
“I know that everybody has somebody in their family, or some event in their family that they’re very proud of,” said Ogbeiwi-Risher. “The museum is an opportunity for everyone to showcase that. Now you have an opportunity to let everyone know ‘hey, we helped build this community, and we want to continue to build it.’”
Preservation is an important component of these two communities, and is amplified thanks to aid from not only community partners, but those who have lived in these communities for extended periods of time. Having people like Ogbeiwi-Risher and KSCCDC executive director Quincey Morris helps for newer developments and projects to come to fruition, while also preserving the historic legacy.
“When you have people who are from the community, in charge of developing the community, then you’re going to have a product that is going to preserve the legacy and history of the community,” said Garrett.
Garrett brought up the fact that new houses are expected to go up in the community soon. However, the first set of designs from the commissioned architects had been rejected because they did not fit in with the current designs of Klondike. He said this is why it is essential to have community natives at the table when it comes to these decisions.
“Anything that’s done in this neighborhood has to fit this neighborhood, has to fit the plan” said Garrett. “When you have people from the community and of the community, running the development and running the programs and running the design of everything, then that’s how you preserve the history and legacy of it.”
