What’s it gonna take to have adults return to the MS Gulf Coast and call it home again?

After serving in World War II, Army Veteran Taylor Howard is a model example of a native son having returned home to flourish in place, or simply put, “to do good in the hood”.

Now 104, this long standing resident of Gulfport has been an entrepreneur, real estate developer, civil rights activist, catalyst to bring early childhood education centers to the area, and more. In a nutshell, whatever the community needed, he sought to deliver. In fact, faced with a segregated South’s prohibition against Black residents attending all-white theaters, Howard even established a “Negro only” movie theater called the Embassy.

Howard’s experiences are not just for the record books, but also serve as a guide for generations to come. How do I know? Because much of my life has been following in the footsteps of kinfolk like Taylor Howard.

My much older cousin’s example was clear: Go. Serve. Learn. But by all means, come home and do good. Born and raised in Soria City, a historic Black enclave made up of the likes of Howard, I couldn’t help but be cultivated by its strong beliefs, customs, and behaviors. Today, with my own service in foreign war and 30 years of experience as a community developer, I’ve come home to do good.

I know some will read this and say, “But my kid will never leave the likes of Houston, New Orleans, Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte, or Raleigh.” Yeah, but why? For me, I want to be part of the solution, here at home.

I envision a Gulf Coast not defined by disparaging narratives reminiscent of an under-developed society but known instead as a flourishing community where one can prosper in place. Younger generations have spoken. They want safe, healthy, economically viable, transit-oriented communities where they can walk, bike, and/or use public transportation.

They want vibrant neighborhoods, where they’re able to live, work, and play in proximity to fresh produce, public parks, recreation and entertainment. So here’s the answer to luring future generations home: Reimagine economic development as a mandate for reinvesting in our neighborhoods. I, like my cousin Howard before me, returned to a neighborhood in hopes of seeing it revitalized.

The Gulfport Gaslight District project, as it is affectionately called, is neighborhood reinvestment in three parts. First, we’ll restore the Broadmoor, a historic building that the Mississippi Heritage Trust included in 2021 on its list of 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi.

We’ll also revitalize the commercial corridor, which has been defunct since Hurricane Katrina. And we’ll produce a trauma-informed reinvestment plan that will insulate the poverty-stricken, yet historic Gulfport Soria City neighborhood from the horrors associated with unrestrained gentrification.

The project is jam packed with promise to deliver many of the very amenities recognized as draws for younger generations. It scored second highest among 83 projects submitted to be considered for Gulf Coast Restoration Fund. It has advanced by unanimous vote, two years in a row, by the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund Advisory Board. And yet, the project has not been funded.

If you, like me, would love to have our younger generations at least be enticed to come home, and agree that revived neighborhoods like Soria City can help be the draw, then go to www.sacredroots.org/gulfportgaslightdistrict or call 601-436-9151 to learn about all the ways you can support this project.

Ronnie Matthew Harris is a Gulfport resident who works in Chicago as a community developer and is proposing a development plan for the historic Broadmoor grocery and surrounding property.