Photos and Story By Borden Black

Northland Neighbors Correspondent

 

A song played by the Georgia Legacy All-Star Revue, “Respect Yourself” set the tone for the Oct. 19th One in a Million Midtown Celebration. The community was feeling a lot of respect after raising more than a million dollars for community renewal.

 

But it wasn’t just about the money. The residents of Midtown got together for other reasons. “Midtown is so diverse, in income, age, and race it is time we celebrate together as a community in a public way and rejoice in that diversity,” said Teresa Tomlinson, Executive Director of MidTown, Inc.

 

The celebration and blues concert was staged on the lawn of Wynnton Arts Academy and Principal Nancy Johnson exclaimed, “This is exactly what this neighborhood needs.”

 

The columns of the historic school served as a great backdrop for foot stompin’ hand clappin’ music. Neighbors who hadn’t seen each other recently hugged and became reacquainted, while others met for the first time. Kids slurped on free ice cream and dogs rolled in the grass as the event met its goal of bringing the community together.

 

MidTown covers an area of over six square miles in the heart of Columbus that radiates from Wynnton Road into six contiguous historic neighborhoods. In addition to residential neighborhoods, it includes schools, parks, the Columbus Museum, the Columbus Public Library, commercial office and retail districts, and the international headquarters for Aflac.

 

As part of the effort to create permanency and sustainability, the organization is working to establish neighborhood associations to connect residents to their individual neighborhoods and to the community as a whole. Tomlinson says that is a very time-consuming education- based process. The neighborhoods need to have meetings to set up local clubs and community watch groups.

 

MidTown Inc. is also involved in ongoing efforts to improve the infrastructure of the whole area. It participated in the Wynnton Road revitalization project and is now partnering with the city on a study of the Lindsey Creek basin. A serious flood issue in the area is inhibiting redevelopment according to Tomlinson.

 

She says the celebration was truly warranted since MidTown has nearly reached its $1.2 million fundraising goal in record time.