Sweet Home, Main Street Now!

Earlier this month, Main Streeters from across the country came together for the 2024 Main Street Now Conference in Birmingham, Alabama! This yearly opportunity allows Main Streeters to do what Main Streeters do best; gather, learn, talk about big ideas, and make our communities stronger.

The Virginia Main Street (VMS) network had over 40 attendees attending the conference, including Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance‘s (HDR) Andrea Dono and Hilton Village Main Street’s (HVMS) JB Brown-Crowley who presented an “Accessible Main Streets for All” session. Megan Samples, Fredericksburg Virginia Main Street’s (FVMS) Economic Vitality Chair, also conducted an informative session focused on how Main Streets can work together with Continuums of Care to be a partner in finding solutions to persistent homelessness, affordable housing, and additional services.

Other special highlights included a Fireside Chat with Main Street America’s (MSA) new CEO Erin Barnes and Dr. Mindy Fullilove, a social physiatrist and author of Main Street: How A City’s Heart Connects Us All. This conversation dug into Dr. Fullilove’s innovative ideas about how the design of a downtown can build connections and foster better mental health outcomes for communities. The session ended with the bang of a brass band “The Empire Strikes Brass!” who are musicians in residence for the Levitt Foundation, an organization that brings live music to underused outdoor spaces.

Out of the classroom, Main Street Now provided mobile workshops, getting Main Street practitioners into downtown districts for immersive educational experiences. One of the workshops focused on the Civil Rights history in downtown Birmingham, including a visit to the 16th Street Baptist Church, the site of a bombing that killed 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and 11-year-old Cynthia Wesley in 1963. Participants then met at and were led through Kelly Ingram Park by Paulette Roby, a Civil Rights activist, and a participant in The Children’s Crusade of 1963. Ms. Roby shared her story and the events that took place in Birmingham that shaped the Civil Rights movement and catalyzed great shifts in our Country.

Ms. Roby continues to fight for Civil Rights and spoke in Washington D.C. to preserve the A.G. Gaston Motel, a significant location in leading desegregation and where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stayed when he came to Birmingham. The A.G. Gaston Motel is now owned by the National Park Service and the City of Birmingham, with plans in place to develop it into a heritage site where it will be preserved for future generations to learn about the powerful history that took place in downtown Birmingham.

The 2024 Main Street Now Conference provided attendees with more than a reminder but a new understanding of the power of community and the transformative potential of our downtowns. Offering new practical tools, strategies, stories, and connections, the conference offered an essential refresh that will carry through our network and support our Main Streets.