One person can make a difference

Last summer, James and I had the opportunity to attend a town hall organized by the Southeast Pennsylvania First Suburbs Project. We saw a screening and community discussion of a movie called "The New Metropolis," a documentary in two parts that tells the story of the problems confronting America's older suburbs, those first-ring communities that emerged after World War II during the rise of suburbia.

One part of the documentary is called "The New Neighbors," and it focuses on a woman named Lynn Cummings who saw white flight destroying Pennsauken, N.J., where she lived. As people of color began moving into town, Lynn noticed one day that a number of older white residents had put their houses up for sale.
 
"Racism was happening in my neighborhood," she says in the movie. "I looked at myself in the mirror that night, and I said, 'Well, if you want somebody to do something, you've got to do it yourself.'"
 
I can remember sitting in the dark, watching that movie and thinking: "This woman is my new hero."
 
When the movie was over, the emcee of the evening introduced Lynn, and the petite blonde who had quietly sat down next to me after the movie started stood up and walked to the front of the room. And she was just as impressive in person as she was in the movie: smart, passionate and willing to share her wisdom.
 
And I thought that night if we ever had the chance to get her in York, she would get people energized about working for change. Well, we have her as the keynote speaker for our summit, and we're thrilled. If you want to see one person who truly did make a difference in her community, come hear Lynn Cummings.

Update 3/10: Bullfrog Films, the producers of "The New Metropolis," posted the introduction for "The New Neighbors" on YouTube. Click here to watch.
 
- Dan Fink