Hope Without Borders

 

Hope without Borders

Photography with Graphic Art

Jameson Filston 2021

Waughtown as a neighborhood is affectionately known as little Mexico because of the vibrant Hispanic community that animates its businesses and warms its homes.  For over 20 years, it has been the hub of Hispanic culture in Winston-Salem.  The bus shelter at Broadbay and Waughtown is near iconic businesses like the Disco Rodeo and Tiendas and affordable housing occupied by recent immigrants looking for a brighter future. 

The bus shelter art project entitled “Hope without Borders” illustrates the communities desire for a brighter future as it depicts their jubilant children with butterflies, the internationally recognized symbol of migration.  The immigrants in Waughtown work hard for the hope of a brighter future for their children.  

The children pictured in Hope without Borders live in Waughtown in the tension of being American by birth and Mexican through the pride of upbringing.  They long to see the homeland of their parents and be connected to the prosperity that drew their parents to the United States. 

Creating places through art such as Hope without Borders illuminates the desire we all share to see jubilant children free of worry.  Hope without Borders is a collective art project between adult artists and the children photographed. The project captures the kinetic energy of freedom and the desire to connect with the community. Public transportation shares this value of free movement.  

The group meets Wednesday evening on Peachtree street to play and get to know each other.  Jamo Filston is the primary artist and photographer. He is a Winston-Salem Fellow.   Phillip Summers hosts the  Wednesday gathering and has done extensive research on migration and his neighbors from Guerrero Mexico. Ashlyn Hodges is a Winston-Salem fellow who is interested in social justice and Hispanic populations. 

Melissa's Stories

I hope to hear more and relay what I can from Melissa's experience as a bus rider. There are some sweet stories sprinkled in with the hard times of her being unable to drive. The other day a fellow passenger waiting at the transit center let her know that he and his buddy thought she was beautiful.  He said "he just had to tell her." 

Her stories of riding the bus brighten my day.  

The Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity

has a new Health Equity Certificate Program.  I get to teach a section on public transportation and health. 

Check out my Prezi.

Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action

"Influencing Public Transportation Policy Through Community Engagement and Coalition Building: Process and Preliminary Outcomes" is now available online.  

Please contact me if you would like to access the article but are unable. 

Summers, P., Chao, E., McCoy, P., Perry, J., & Rhodes, S.D. (2020). Influencing Public Transportation Policy Through Community Engagement and Coalition Building: Process and Preliminary Outcomes. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action 14(4), 489-498. doi:10.1353/cpr.2020.0054. 

What a year

One year ago was my last day behind the wheel of a city bus.  It was an emotional day made sweet by singing Christmas carols.  

A lot has happened since and I am grateful for the experience I gained during 2020. 

• Worked with City with Dwellings at the overflow homeless shelter
• Wrote an ebook for Stakeholder Health on public transportation
• Wrote a transit corridor report for CSEM
• Won a bus shelter public art contest
• Case investigation for COVID-19 for the Health Department
• Helped take the US Census as a NRFU
• Arrested at a Black Lives Matter Protest for John Neville
• Returned to WFSM to do project management

Dean Franco can write

His article on our new pedestrian bridges illuminates our city's transportation blind spots.  He eloquently concludes one paragraph with "Now, a multi-million dollar transportation project is completed largely to flatter the city’s vision of itself while continuing to leave the town physically divided by class sequestration and racial segregation."

Read his op-ed at https://triad-city-beat.com/fresh-eyes-creative-corridors-not-creative-not-really-corridors/ 

I shouldn't be surprised that his words are cogent because he is an author and literature professor at Wake Forest University. I am thrilled to know him as a fellow bike rider and hope to see his Humanities Institute flourish.  

Spectrum News

Yesterday I was interviewed by Spectrum News https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/triad/news/2020/08/28/winston-salem-uses-art-to-highlight-public-transportation about Marching for Mobility.

  

WSTA Prominent Transit Corridors Report

Winston-Salem was once a leader in public transportation.  I believe it could be again.

Please read my WSTA Prominent Transit Corridors Report that suggests expanding bus service in historic transit corridors.

The report's data tables are online for accessibility and transparency.

Below is Map 1, which illustrates the most prominent corridors that warrant expanded service.

My E-Book is online!

I am so excited to announce that my E-Book is now available from Stakeholder Health online at https://stakeholderhealth.org/bus-community-health. 

Gary Gunderson wrote an intro for the piece and it links to our 3 podcasts. I am so grateful for how the stories are woven together.  

I hope you will enjoy reading it but more importantly I hope it will promote positive change for transit riders!     

Miasma

Fear has a contagious power like Miasma. 

I first read about Miasma in the book The Ghost Map; The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and how it Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World.  We are easily made afraid of things we don't understand. John Snow was courageous in following his conviction of how to halt the cholera outbreak. He was bound to find a way to prove his theory and by taking off the water-pump handle he made history. 

As a person who believes in the supernatural power of Jesus Christ, I am aware of how science while rational, is also taken on faith.  Miasma was a working scientific theory until it was discredited. 

COVID-19 is a modern-day example of something that is terrifying because we are figuring it out together.  We will need courageous leaders who work hard to fight prejudices towards neighbors just as Dr. Snow had to convince folks that slums were not the cause of the disease.  Today we know that slums are a symptom of our own greed and fear of neighbors.  Slums are the built environmental manifestation of social distancing. 

As a person of hope, I have to work hard to keep my heart open towards my neighbors when society is practicing social distancing. We have seen that social distancing is a privilege that many can't afford. I am aware of my own impulse to be selective in allowing who my family comes in contact with.  I have to choose courage over fear.

As we move into a new phase of Corona pandemic let's remember that love finds a way forward. I am struck by the prophetic meaning of the name Isaiah.  His name means "God to the Rescue." 

Isaiah wrote 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Maybe we are being called to be part of the rescue operation by loving our neighbors even when it feels scary.