Daily Inspiration: Meet Latesha Lipscomb

Today we’d like to introduce you to Latesha Lipscomb.  

Hi Latesha, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Grand Rapids in a neighborhood on the SW side known as the Black Hills. It’s a historically marginalized community with a sizable population of black and brown neighbors that are hardworking and low to middle-class income families. Some people characterize the Black Hills as a bad neighborhood, but it has always been home to me. 

I am a proud product of the Grand Rapids Public School system and graduated with honors from Central Highschool back in 1996. During my early years and my time there, I was actively involved in many programs for gifted and talented children all around the community. At the age of 12, I was on the radio regularly and moving at lighting speed through the airwaves on a TV show called FastForward with Miranda! At a young age, I had a knack for oral advocacy, a tendency towards servant leadership, and a heart for community. 

I attended Boston College and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science while maintaining a focus study in Faith, Peace, and Justice. Though I had never heard of Boston College and had my heart set on U of M or Harvard as my institutions of choice for higher learning, Boston College was the perfect institution for a dreamer like me. As a private institution on the East Coast, they subscribe to the Jesuit idea of “service to mankind above all else.” This value embodies a spirit of giving and providing service to those in need and standing with the poor and marginalized. Students are encouraged to pursue justice on behalf of all persons. This was the perfect setting and curriculum for me as I have dedicated my professional life to being an advocate for those with quieter or muted voices in communities that are often-times bypassed and overlooked in terms of both public and private investment. I loved it so much I went back and acquired my Juris Doctorate from Boston College Law School in 2005. 

Eventually, life brought me back to West Michigan after two unsatisfactory attempts at the Illinois Bar Exam and a lay-off from a law firm I was working as a Senior Paralegal at for a few years. However, I count it all joy because I failed forward into a renaissance period in Grand Rapids, where more hands and hearts were needed to do the work on behalf of people who aren’t typically engaged in the City’s design and development process. And to my grandmother’s chagrin, I never sat for the Michigan Bar exam. Unfortunately, she passed before I could rationalize sitting for it again in a new state in my mind. It has been hard to live with that knowing that perhaps I let her down when all she wanted was for me to finish what I started. 

But God had other plans, and after working as a Housing Advocate for the Inner-City Christian Federation (ICCF), I found myself working for the City of Grand Rapids in the Planning Department. This was a pivotal moment in my professional career, but I realized very quickly that the way we design and develop cities directly impacts how everyday people live, learn, work, play, and worship in neighborhoods around town. I served as a Community Engagement Project Manager for the Heartside Quality of Life Study, which was a bold initiative that challenged grass tops decision-makers to reimagine life where we are purposely positioning people to thrive and not just survive. This was a truly transformational initiative as Heartside Downtown is home to a large demographic of unhoused neighbors, and it was the first time ever that the city had put intentionality and funding support behind the increased access, programming, services, and amenities people in Heartside had been seeking for decades. I was delighted to do this work, and ultimately the attention I garnered from being able to successfully facilitate the co-creation of shared solutions for the future state of the neighborhood by bridging the gaps that exists from the roots to the top… is what landed me my current position of Director of Engagement for Amplify GR. 

Amplify GR is situated in 49507, the SE side of the city, and exists to widen pathways so that all people can participate in and benefit from community growth. This year, I will celebrate 5 years being in this role, and it’s significant to me because I work to build authentic relationships based on mutual respect and trust so that, ultimately neighbors can develop a since of pride and ownership of the future state they helped create. Because of our robust Engagement framework that I had the honor and privilege of creating, implementing, and facilitating, we “do development differently.” There are real and legitimate fears that exists around gentrification, displacement, and legacy neighbors being designed out of their habitat. This position and others like it have given me that platform to discover that there is absolutely no limit to what everyday people can achieve when supported by a community champion. My work is ministry, and not only do I get to lead from behind, but I get to do life with people, and I wouldn’t trade the opportunity to be a mirror and a window for others for nothing in the world. I get joy when I think about the fact that 10 years from now, neighbors will look back on these transformational projects, Amplify GR is quarterbacking on the SE side and a say… we did it for ourselves. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road? As a black woman in leadership in West Michigan and in a position like this, I have endured quiet battles and loud disappointments that the people will never know or understand because I make it look easy. I think Black women especially just have a way of doing that… sometimes we’ll risk it all for the sake of others. And I rarely go into detail on the challenges that come with shifting the narrative from the inside out, but navigating relationships and finding upstream solutions in the presence of community mistrust is difficult. Gentrification, displacement, a housing crisis, poor educational outcomes, lack of access and information, social determinants of health, inadequate economic opportunity, and notions of extraction without compensation in black and brown communities are just SOME of the historical challenges I face in this work on a regular basis. People work is hard work. 

Carrying community is heavy… especially when, understandably, legitimate fears and anxiety exist around everyday people being bypassed and overlooked in terms of access to the American dream and all its benefits. Arguably, segregation is gentrification redefined; one doesn’t allow you in, and the other forces you out. Gentrification is a long game that happens in phases over time, so we must be intentional about the preservation of culture, people, and heritage in our service area. To me, that means in this work, we must be extra intentional about connecting neighbors to resources and services, creating the programs and amenities that don’t exist today, for a better tomorrow… all while amplifying the good that already exists in the neighborhoods we serve. It also means if you have agency over redirected capital, you must be in good relationship with people to make the money do exactly what the people want it to do. It is, for sure a necessary and important but truly delicate balancing act. 

Additionally, co-creating solutions to historical, systemic problems takes time… lots of time… because you must be in ongoing relationships in the neighborhood that are built on substantiated trust. You gotta show up for people and consistently. And oftentimes, there is pushback both internally and externally, so you have to be committed to see the work thru to end. Sometimes you won’t acquire buy-in, you won’t get public support, sometimes you’ll fail, but you can never let assumed constraints limit you from achieving what’s possible in your work. 

The reality is, that in order to serve, you gotta get low… and when you get low… your back is exposed. As a matter of fact, if you work with intentionality and authenticity, the most vulnerable parts of you are always exposed. 

Next month, will make 5 years for me in my role at Amplify. Has it been easy? Nope. Has it been worth it? Yup. 

And that’s because I think my destiny is to help neighbors realize theirs, which will ultimately lead generations to come to not only the quality of life that they need, but to the one that they deserve. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a Grand Rapids native who has a passion for working to better the lives of the city’s urban residents. I previously served as the Community Engagement Project Manager, facilitating the Heartside Quality of Life Study for the City of Grand Rapids Planning Department. The Quality-of-Life Study was a multi-layered process intended to foster neighbor participation and involvement to positively impact experiences through urban planning and design, with the overarching goal of producing increased equitable outcomes for all. 

You should also know that I held past roles with organizations such as the Grand Rapids African American Health Institute and the Inner-City Christian Federation, where I passionately advocated for those with quieter or muted voices in the city’s most vulnerable communities. 

I graduated from Boston College, where I studied Political Science and maintained a focus study in Faith, Peace & Justice. I also studied American Government and Public Speaking through Junior Statesmen of America at Yale University and went on to graduate from Boston College Law School in 2005. I will forever adhere to the Jesuit ideal of service and describe Community Engagement as my “purpose-driven life.” 

You can also find me serving on several local boards and committees like the Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. Citizen’s Alliance Board, the Heartside Downtown Neighborhood Association Board, the Kent County Black Caucus Board of Directors, the Great Start Collaborative Parent Coalition, and the DGRI Downtown Neighbor Network. Through assorted collaborations with local groups like these, I believe my body of work is a shining example what authentic community partnership looks like and what everyday people can achieve when supported by a champion. 

FUN FACT 

I love, love, love to curate experiences big and small for various audiences and takes pride in hosting events that are empowering and uplifting for women in transition and teen girls. I am girl power in the flesh and firmly believe that the future is female! 

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am a firm believer that a rising tide lifts all boats. Similarly, my favorite hashtag is #weallcaneat. I think it’s my subliminal way of saying through social that as a BIPOC population we can be a people group that collaborates successfully. 

At Amplify GR, we also recognize that no one agency or entity can bring about transformational change that yields increased equitable outcomes alone. We are also not a traditional service provider, so everything we do is in partnership with local agencies, businesses, and stakeholders that are leaders in their field. 

People can work, collaborate, or support me simply by starting a conversation. I love to meet with and connect with people. I’m a natural builder. I am all things community and approach my endeavors as works of heart. It is my desire to see people in historically marginalized communities walk along wider pathways in the direction of their dreams. It is true that “there is no greater force than a community determined to rise,” and the only way we can ensure greater collective impact is to be in this work together. Reach out, and I will reach back.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.amplifygr.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latesha.lipscomb
• Other: www.linkedin.com/in/latesha-lipscomb-01632112b

Image Credits
Alfield Reeves Photographer
Stephen Smith