Full Article by Danya Sherman

It’s a challenge common to gentrifying neighborhoods—and in the Third Ward, like many others, there is a community organizing to make sure it doesn’t lose its voice in the process.

“When we look at a neighborhood without understanding the social structures, values, aesthetics, and behaviors behind them, as well as examining our own values, aesthetics, and culture, we misdiagnose the root causes of the problem and thus misdirect valuable resources to fix them,” says Assata Nicole Richards, director of Sankofa Research Institute in the Third Ward, a consultant with Project Row Houses and one of the organizers of the Emancipation Economic Development Council (EEDC).