As the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center marks its first 50 years, its young, homegrown West End Revitalization (WER) initiative is making “significant strides” in the effort to grow that once thriving historic Rock Island neighborhood.
Earlier this month, for example, the Rock Island City Council approved an agreement with Ascentra Credit Union that would add a new credit union branch off 11th Street in the city’s West End. That area encompasses three neighborhoods – bounded by the Rock Island Parkway on the north and west, 18th Avenue on the south and 15th and 16th Streets on the east – and now is served only by a single ATM which charges $5 transaction fees.
That potential development also is likely to be among the accomplishments WER leaders will share during a 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, open house at the MLK Center. Leaders will discuss progress made since WER’s official launch in March of 2022 and the release of its ambitious strategic plan in March 2024. The gathering also is another way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the MLK Center. Read more about the center’s rich history here.
WER staff have been working to build a relationship with Ascentra, including via a new program offering financial literacy classes to West End residents.
MLK Center Executive Director Jerry Jones said the program is unique because residents will be investing real dollars and they could reap real rewards. “In other words, there is a financial incentive to be involved in this so that you can utilize these skills to budget this money,” Mr. Jones said.
As a result of WER’s relationship with Ascentra, city economic development staff also was contacted by Ascentra’s development team to see if a West End location could be identified for a new branch, Sarah Hayden, Rock Island’s community engagement manager, said in an email.
As a result, a letter of intent to purchase the property at 614 11th St. between Sixth and Seventh avenues was approved by the council for what, Ms. Hayden said, “will become the only financial institution on the west side of 11th Street in Rock Island and will provide access to banking for the community.”
Rock Island Alderman Randy Hurt told the QCBJ “We are excited to see the addition of Ascentra Credit Union to serve the needs of the residents in that area of the city. It is one more example of the work being done by the West End Revitalization team.”
The second ward alderman added, “The MLK Center has been a vital resource in the West End of Rock Island for half a century and the city is appreciative of all they do for the community.” That includes, he said, the “significant strides” that have been made since the group’s inception. “They are instrumental in the future development of the West End,” Mr. Hurt added.
With its ever-growing workload, staff now includes a trio of West End Revitalization coordinators. Thurgood Brooks, a community activist and member of the board of Nest Cafe, was Mr. Jones’ first hire. He was joined a year ago by fellow coordinator Avery Pearl, a tireless local advocate and volunteer. Recently, WER added Virginia Jarrett, retired Rock Island-Milan School District director of community services, who before that was resident services coordinator for the Moline Housing Authority.
“I think it’s important to note that the Model Cities program was what brought the King Center to life 50 years ago,” Mr. Pearl told the QCBJ.
“Now, we are seeing the fruits of the seed that was planted. However, we are nowhere near done, and that is why I want to emphasize that the West End Revitalization plan is not simply a project,” he added. “There is no end date to the work we are doing, as this is something we will pass on to future generations.”
All three coordinators bring critical skills to the table, Mr. Jones said as WER partners continue to be guided by the March 2024 release of a detailed plan to revitalize the West End.
Like the King Center itself, critical initial support for WER came from the John Deere Foundation, Mr. Jones said. “They came seeking to make investments in the City of Rock Island, and one of the ideas that really resonated with them and the city administration was making investment in the West End of Rock Island,” he said of Deere.
MLK leaders came up with the idea of helping youth gain employable skills that would inspire them to get jobs in the West End and invest in it. Deere’s response was to ask two important questions: “Have you talked to the community about what they want, and are you really dreaming big enough on this?”
That pushed MLK leaders to approach the challenge in the same way that it did when the organization itself was created 50 years ago: By engaging the community. “Deere helped make that happen, so now we’re at a point where West End Revitalization is aligned with our mission, and we’re a year in and moving forward still and still growing,” Mr. Jones added.
“I view this past first year as really starting to build the foundation for West End revitalization, building our capacity to the point where now this year is already becoming a segue into where we’re moving to,” he said.
“So is the excitement still high?” he asked. “Probably not, but the trust is still very high.“
To keep that momentum going forward, Mr. Jones said WER will be working to get more people involved by reconstituting the large group of people who signed on early to the effort,
Read more about WER’s impact areas at https://www.mlkcenter.org/westend.
