Postcards From Mississippi
Posted by Samira Rajan on May 11 2023
Above is a photo of the mighty Mississippi, taken from a new redevelopment of the Riverfront in downtown Memphis very much like Brooklyn Bridge Park.
I was probably the first person to register for Inclusiv‘s 2023 conference, held last week in Memphis. They had me at ‘Memphis’ — I could visit both both the home of the blues and Hope Credit Union!
Happily the conference did not disappoint. The world of community credit unions is wonderful in its variety. I met passionate “credit unionistas” from Hawaii, North Carolina, Montana, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and of course Mississippi. Bill Bynum from Hope Credit Union is a giant in our field for the impact they have made and the model of economic development they are implementing. There is a lot to learn from that model as we think about the role Brooklyn Coop plays and our vision. In that vein, stay tuned for our 2023-2025 Strategic Plan, a document we will publish in June of this year.
In the meantime, enjoy the photos! Most of them come from our day trip to Mississippi where we visited the Hope CU branch there (above left). It reminded me very much of home, including lovely murals painted on old brick buildings (center), that point to a gorgeous history right alongside modern-day blight (right). It reminded me very much of home — , and of Bk Coop’s new location on Atlantic Avenue which, like Hope CU’s branch in the old Bank of Moorhead building, is nestled in a neighborhood that wears its complicated history with financial services on its sleeve.
Even just passing this from the highway gave me shivers (left).
Moorhead (above) is a highlight for a blues-lover!
Samira hangs out with BB King outside his museum in Indianola, MS (left).
Samira Rajan is the longest-serving employee of Brooklyn Coop and currently its CEO. She started here as an Americorp*VISTA for a single year of service back when we were Bushwick Coop in 2001, got hooked by the challenge of building a community financial institution, and hasn’t left.