Mayor Steven L. Reed was one of 12 elected and city leaders, representing over 3.1 million residents and over 680,000 youth, who attended the Mayors’ Neighborhood Academy: One Million Points of Opportunity, a two-day convening hosted by William Julius Wilson Institute (WJWI) at Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) and the National League of Cities (NLC).
Held at HCZ — a nationally acclaimed anti-poverty organization based in New York City — the Academy brought together a cohort of mayors to learn ways to develop and implement neighborhood-based strategies to combat poverty and open pathways to social and economic mobility in their cities.
Joining mayors from cities like Dallas, Cleveland, and Tulsa, OK, Mayor Reed learned about HCZ’s pioneering, comprehensive, neighborhood-based effort to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty in Central Harlem and across the country.
Mayors heard from HCZ leaders, including CEO Kwame Owusu-Kesse and President and Founder Geoffrey Canada, toured HCZ sites, and engaged in discussions around how to leverage strategies honed by HCZ to empower residents of their cities with resources and opportunities to succeed.
“As Mayor of Montgomery, I’m inspired by the powerful lessons learned from Harlem Children’s Zone and this Academy,” said Reed. “Our city has a deep history of resilience, and by adopting these neighborhood-based strategies, we can break the cycle of poverty and build a brighter future for our children and families. This is about creating opportunity right here at home and ensuring every Montgomerian has the tools to thrive.”
“The American Dream — the promise that each generation can climb higher than the last — is slipping away. Mayors are uniquely positioned to catalyze and invest in neighborhood-based strategies that create tangible solutions for parents and children,” said Mr. Canada, who is also the Founder of WJWI. “By providing coordinated networks of services across education, healthcare, and community engagement in neighborhoods with entrenched generational poverty, cities can provide a real pathway to social and economic mobility.”
“At HCZ, our mission is to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by providing comprehensive, wraparound services that support children and families from birth through college and career. Through our pipeline of programs, we have created a supportive ecosystem that equips every child with the resources and opportunities they need to reach their full potential,” said Mr. Owusu-Kesse. “There is tremendous potential for mayors to support similar strategies in their own cities to empower the success of their communities.”
“America's local leaders can have an enormous impact on young people's futures simply by supporting cradle-to-career systems in their communities,” said Clarence E. Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of NLC. “Partnerships like this one with HCZ give our members a tangible experience of just how transformative these programs can be for our cities, towns, and villages.”
The Academy will help the mayor and his staff strengthen partnerships with local school districts, child-serving neighborhood-based organizations, community leaders, and residents to design and support a coordinated continuum of services for children and youth.
