Marc Cheatham of The Cheats Movement posted a fascinating article on his site yesterday, kicking off a week's worth of discussion surrounding the issue of community and how it is defined here in RVA, which he plans to host on his blog. Here's some of what he had to say:
I have reached out to the entire Cheats Movement Family and even some first time Cheats Movement readers to help break down the meaning of “Community.” The exact question offered was: “What does Community mean to you?” I asked this question because “Community” has been a hot topic in Richmond this early part of 2013. There have been several public discussions about Community, some “side” discussions” and dare I say even some “underground discussions,” from all walks of RVA, regarding how we can improve RVA’s Community.
What I’ve found, and what really inspired me to reach out to the Cheats Movement Family, is that though these conversations are taking place - they seem to be taking place amongst interest groups that appear to be motivated to serve their own interests and present it as Community. I don’t mean that to be a criticism, it’s just my observation.
I strongly believe that in order to move forward on advancing issues like “Community Improvement” there has to be a baseline understanding of the definition and how it applies in people’s lives. This week will by my attempt – the attempt of The Cheats Movement Family – to present a diverse understanding of RVA’s community and how we can use these answers to kick-start some real action.
There's a lot more to the post, and I encourage everyone to click through and read the whole thing. Also, make sure you check back with The Cheats Movement blog throughout the week, as Marc will be making daily posts featuring commentary from various community members about community and what it means to them. Today's post features comments from Clovia Lawrence of KISS-FM and Kate Hall of richmondmom.com, among others, and RVA Magazine publisher R. Anthony Harris's contribution will appear later in the week. Stay tuned!