The Buzz: Montgomery AL
June 19-21, 2019

The Buzz, as a multi-day city site visit, is meant to bring together a diverse group of people to learn from and about another city as well each other. It is one of Footprint's strategies for investing in Chattanoogans who work in the areas of social justice, creative culture, environment and learning.

What we discovered in the Buzz’s first three years is that the heart of The Buzz is the many relationships formed as a result of time for connection and thoughtful discussion.

That’s why in 2019, The Buzz’s fourth year, we reached back into the list of past participants and invited them to attend The Buzz: Montgomery.

We started some important and heavy conversations on The Buzz and rather than invite 25 new people to the experience, we used The Buzz: Montgomery to dive deeper into the pressing issues we face in our community - particularly those concerning race, social justice, and economic mobility.

While many elements of The Buzz were the same, there were some marked differences, the largest being the amount of time we asked of participants. Specifically, we built a two-day equity workshop into the agenda as required pre-work for the trip, conducted by the Racial Equity Institute (REI). We believed this helped provide a shared framework and understanding for meaningful and challenging conversations on the trip as well as back in Chattanooga. For this reason, the REI workshop was a prerequisite to attend The Buzz: Montgomery.

Then from Jun 19 - Jun 21, The Buzz was in Montgomery to center our discussion around equity. We looked at Southern history, racism, segregation, and the impacts these things have had on society and the livelihood of its people.

We still had site visits and guests on the trip but we spent much more time in discussion as a group. We heard from activists working for social justice so that we could bring those stories to light and elevate the important (and hard, and long overdue) conversations we were having in Chattanooga.

To do this we leveraged learning and connections with regional and national organizations including BALLE, Partnership for Southern Equity, and Equal Justice Initiative. We also engaged equity training expert Simran Noor and expert facilitator Christine Ageton. These consultants brought expertise, context, and facilitation to take this Buzz to the next level by discussing why reconciliation and healing are imperative to our progress as a nation, a region, a state, a community.

It is important to note that while we always saw The Buzz cities primarily as backdrops for relationship building and learning, we recognized the significance of Montgomery to the Civil Rights Movement and life as we know it today.

BUZZERS

  • ​Charlotte Caldwell, Stove Works

  • Eddie Centurion, Maclellan Foundation

  • Demetrus Coonrod, City of Chattanooga - Council

  • Jonathan Dreiling, Highland Park Commons

  • Michael Gilliland, Chattanooga Organized for Action

  • Josiah Golson, 800 Collective

  • Ternae Jordan, Mount Canaan Church

  • Brenna Kelly, SE Conservation Corps

  • Jazmine King LeBlanc, ELLA

  • Ana Mancebo, LaPaz

  • James McKissic, Urban League

  • Eric Myers, Chattanooga Design Studio

  • Marco Perez, LAUNCH

  • Lori Quillen, Benwood Foundation

  • Troy Rogers, City of Chattanooga - Public Safety

  • Melanie Silva, UNfoundation

  • Alfred Smith, Footprint Foundation

  • Reginald Smith, Bethlehem Center

  • Rebecca Suttles, Community Foundation

  • Elizabeth Tallman, United Way

  • Aggie Toppins, UTC

  • Michael Walton, greenspaces

  • Donna Williams, City of Chattanooga - Economic Development

  • Alexis Willis, INCubator

  • Erik Zilen, Neidlovs