Through a Vision for a City of Creativity and Compassion, Missy Crutchfield and the City of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture Are Connecting the Dots Between Social Issues and the Arts
“Welcome Speech" Presented by Missy Crutchfield, Administrator of the City of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture
Connecting the Dots - A Summit Exploring Arts and Social Issues
April 5, 2006
"Good morning, my name is Missy Crutchfield. Yesterday marked 38 years since the assassination of one of the country’s most important civil rights leaders—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A bullet took him away from us—but his vision and his dream will live on forever. So, today, in the memory of Dr. King and his monumental work for the rights of all people—All God’s Children—and in the name of partnership, commitment, and above all, in the name of love. Let us take a few moments in silence.
"About five years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea to create an umbrella-like collection of new and already existing organizations and programs, partners, sponsors, and individual artists whose work could change the world—beginning with this community. The focus is on: Arts, Communication, and Mentoring—and it’s all about connecting the dots and connecting to each other. So, one year ago, when Mayor Ron Littlefield asked me to be the administrator and create a brand new department of Education, Arts & Culture, I realized that the timing was perfect—to begin forging partnerships to connect the dots with our children and our community—in a way that we haven’t before; to create and hold a Summit called “Connecting the Dots” which will for the first time ever bring together two very powerful agencies—Allied Arts and United Way—to look at how we can collectively make a difference in our lives, our children’s lives, and in the lives of others. This umbrella idea is called “Remember Your Dream”—and we are creating it right now. This Summit is the beginning of a collective effort of change and partnership. We are all connected. But if we don’t connect in a positive way now, we may connect later—only then it might be in the form of gang violence—with a knife or a gun. Either way, we’re connected. And it’s up to us to break the chain of violence and flip the downward spiral up.
“Welcome Speech" Presented by Missy Crutchfield, Administrator of the City of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture
Connecting the Dots - A Summit Exploring Arts and Social Issues
April 5, 2006
"Good morning, my name is Missy Crutchfield. Yesterday marked 38 years since the assassination of one of the country’s most important civil rights leaders—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A bullet took him away from us—but his vision and his dream will live on forever. So, today, in the memory of Dr. King and his monumental work for the rights of all people—All God’s Children—and in the name of partnership, commitment, and above all, in the name of love. Let us take a few moments in silence.
"About five years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea to create an umbrella-like collection of new and already existing organizations and programs, partners, sponsors, and individual artists whose work could change the world—beginning with this community. The focus is on: Arts, Communication, and Mentoring—and it’s all about connecting the dots and connecting to each other. So, one year ago, when Mayor Ron Littlefield asked me to be the administrator and create a brand new department of Education, Arts & Culture, I realized that the timing was perfect—to begin forging partnerships to connect the dots with our children and our community—in a way that we haven’t before; to create and hold a Summit called “Connecting the Dots” which will for the first time ever bring together two very powerful agencies—Allied Arts and United Way—to look at how we can collectively make a difference in our lives, our children’s lives, and in the lives of others. This umbrella idea is called “Remember Your Dream”—and we are creating it right now. This Summit is the beginning of a collective effort of change and partnership. We are all connected. But if we don’t connect in a positive way now, we may connect later—only then it might be in the form of gang violence—with a knife or a gun. Either way, we’re connected. And it’s up to us to break the chain of violence and flip the downward spiral up.
In the Department, we’re also working on a “Remember Your Dream” education initiative which will work through arts and social issues, and will focus on inner-city kids in low performance schools—we have a six-school pilot that we will be launching this fall. Through arts and learning activities, mentoring and communication—we can begin to create connections like never before. I like to think of our children as our human rainforests. In the natural rainforests we know that we’re losing species everyday, which could be possible cures for AIDS or cancer—these kids could be the future scientists who find the cures, they could be a future Einstein, Da Vinci, Rosa Parks, or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Either way, we all deserve an opportunity. We must connect to them now, before it’s too late. We must work together to flip the downward spiral up. We can tell a story in Chattanooga, Tennessee that can resonate across the country. And, it starts now. It starts today. Thank you all for being here. Thank you for caring and dedicating your work and your lives to these very issues. Thank you."