Karen Gordon shares her love for the arts and the city of Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Karen Gordon is considered to be one of the heartbeats in the city of Augusta. Receiving the nickname “The Empress Of Cool,” Gordon chats with WJBF about her love for the arts and her love for the city of Augusta.

Thank you for joining us on Celebrating Black Excellence. For people who do not know you, who is Karen Gordon?

Well, I was born in Waynesboro, Georgia, and I am a lover of all things and all people; all good things and all good people. So, yeah, I love my city. I love all the magic that happens in the city, so I like to be a part of that.

As we mentioned, you are known as the Empress of Cool, how did you get that nickname?

I believe that nickname came from Gary Dennis at the Jessye Norman School [of the Arts]. So, I’ve known him for a long, long, long time, and he started calling me the Empress of Cool. I was like, “Yeah, that’s who I am. I receive that as well.” So yeah, because I’m kind of cool. You know, not a whole lot bugs me, and, you know, I am royalty. (Smiles)

So, you have Growing Augusta. Can you please tell us about that? How did you get that started?

So, Growing Augusta came about as a way for me to kind of combine some of the things that I enjoy doing. Of course, I started Garden City Jazz many moons ago, and Garden City Jazz is still happening, although on a smaller scale. During the pandemic in 2020, when music wasn’t happening so much, I really threw myself into growing food, into gardening, and into planting. So, a couple of partners and I already had won a grant to do a series of concerts on Black owned farmland. So, we called that particular thing Soul and Soil, but we had to change the name because there’s another Soul and Soil somewhere. So, we called it Growing Augusta. Then we added Art, Agriculture, and Agency just to get a little alliteration going there, but those are things that we really enjoy doing. Of course, I’m really into the arts. AG was the growing piece, and agency is something that fits, but it’s something that I take very seriously. I’m very, very adamant about having agency over my decisions and having agency being able to participate in my community. So, that’s kind of where that comes in.

You’re also the publisher of Urban Pro Weekly. Can you talk about how you got into that and how you’re transitioning the publication?

I was approached, but well, first of all, I love, love, love UPW. I always have. The founder, Fred Benjamin, I love him and have for quite some time. So, when he was considering retiring from the newspaper, he asked me if I would consider taking it over. This was also towards the end of 2020. A lot of stuff went down in 2020, right? Especially in the media. I thought it was really important that if this particular arm of media in the community that was so embedded in the community were to go away, then who would tell our stories? Who can tell our stories better than us? So, I said, well, I don’t know nothing about “birthing no babies.” I don’t know nothing about newspaper business, but I’ll try it. So, we’ve been doing pretty well. I got my eyes on you and watching you with the digital transformation transition. So, we’re doing some of that as well and figure out what this particular part of media is going to look like going forward. But the most important thing is that we tell our stories, and we own our stories, and that we let the younger folks know, “Hey, this what you’re doing, what you’re seeing right now is not new. It’s new ish. But some of these things have happened before.” So, if we know about those things – know our history – we won’t repeat the mistakes we made previously.

What have you learned since becoming a publisher? What lessons have you learned?

Oh, man, so many. The main thing is that, you know, we say that print is dying it in some ways it is changing. You know, the news is changing. The delivery systems are changing, but information is still power. That’s one thing that is being constantly re-enforced. Information is power and your self-image is everything. However, what I learned about the newspaper business, it is hard work, but the people who know how to do it, like Fred Benjamin, make it look so easy. He’s still on the team. He does all the heavy lifting, and I’m so grateful for him.

You’re also a part of Food Truck Family Fridays, and we had Dorian Harris here recently, and he told me how you got him involved. So, can you talk about that?

I have to say… he is telling the truth. So, he was doing flyers. Mayor [Garnett] Johnson had already had a Friday-hang, gathering event going on. And he said, “I want to do food truck. I want to do it once a month.” I said, “Okay, yeah, sure.” Then, I called Dorian, and I said, “Can you make me a flyer for food truck? Can we get together? Can we talk about it? Can we get Jamie on the team too?” Because they are the folks who make things happen, right? So, he made the flyer, and I was like, “Okay, yeah, let’s go.” Every time he did something, I asked him to do something else, and then, I was like, “Okay, I got you. I’ll be there with you to support you.” So, I just kind of eased on in the background; under the table a little bit. I was like, “You got it, you got it. Whatever you need, I got you.” I also said, “I can try it.” Like I say, I’ll try it, right? “But I can’t do it like you’re going to do it,” and that’s it. He’s doing a great job with it. Now, we fight all the time about it. We go, but just, just about some of the logistical things because we’re doing the South Augusta farmer’s market in that same area. So, we’re collaborating on some things. I’m doing the market with my team, and he’s doing the food truck event. It is crazy great. Like, I think it’s only been happening for about a year and a half, and it has grown tremendously.

Let me tell you another reason why Dorian had to do it, okay? Because if I would have done it, I would have had people that I would have reached out to; people that I know well: people that I know that are in my network. But Dorian touches everybody, right? Dorian appeals to everyone, even if people don’t know. That target demographic is, I think, is what South Augusta needed. We needed to see that. We need to see those folks out front moving, shaking and taking pride in what we’re doing. In South Augusta, it had to be Dorian; couldn’t have been nobody else.

Well, we want to make sure that we give you your flowers for everything you’ve done because your imprint is felt here in the city of Augusta.

Thank you. However, I want to acknowledge this other group of folks that I have not mentioned. We’ve been doing some work with the black farmers in the region, and the folks who are growing our food, keeping us healthy, and are maintaining ownership of land. Those are some of the other conversations that we’re having kind of behind the scenes because that’s “not sexy” at all, right? However, these are folks who are sustaining community in really meaningful ways. So, that’s some of the grunt work we’re doing. We’re also focused in that and concentrating that in South Augusta; that’s where most of our Black farmers and landowners are. So, we want to make sure that we look out for them, that we protect them, and that we elevate them to, of course, tell their stories.

So, what’s next for you?

I want to continue to make magic happen, especially in South Augusta, South Richmond County. I want to continue to do some collaborative work; creative collaborations. That’s kind of what my focus is. With this health thing that I’m dealing with right now, I’ve had to take some time and just kind of sit down a little bit. So, without being out running around so much, I’ve had some time to reflect and to choose and to make different choices about where I place my energies. I’m still going to be in the community, but kind of pull back a little bit and working. Like someone said, working smarter, not harder, but mainly amplifying other people’s voices.

What words of advice can you give someone who wants to “be the change” or get involved?

I’m so glad you asked that question; that was one of my blog posts. Volunteer regularly. Support small businesses. I watched the commission meeting yesterday, and then, went back and watched some of the other ones just to kind of see what’s happening. Vote; register to vote. Go to meetings. There’s a lot, and those things also are not flashy. They require some time, but it’s an investment in your community. It’s investment in yourself. You find ways to enrich your own life by being involved in the community. Just community itself has been really important for me in my recovery. I’m still in it, but without my support system – my immediate family, my mom, my siblings, my farmer folks; they look out for me. I had a young lady, a farmer, brought me some collard greens yesterday. I mean, folks are looking out for us. So having that community, even when I’m going through this, feels like I’m in the eye in the middle of the storm. So much is going on, but I’m protected because of community.

If people want to reach out to you or follow your journey, how can they do so?

You find me on social media: @KarenTheGordon on Facebook or @GrowingAugusta on Instagram.

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