Historical Framework of Bailey’s Crossroad

For this Summer Team Impact Project, Liberal Arts and Business Wicked Problems Boot Camp, we focused on two Global Goals in which Mason has demonstrated interest and strength: Global Goal 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and Global Goal 10 (Reducing Inequalities). Our central question is: How do approaches to social change result in meaningful advancement of community organization goals with people, planet, and prosperity in mind? For the historical framework group project, we conducted an assessment of the Bailey’s Crossroads/Culmore community by comparing and contrasting the resources and community aspects of the area over time, utilizing both census and other published data paired with the information gained from interviews of community partners and leaders. For the final product, we created a comprehensive view of how the community has developed over time ethnically, economically, and communally. We also attempted to understand some of the root causes of the gaps of care the community faces and how these could be better addressed. Through a series of both census and other published data, we collected information about the Bailey’s Crossroads/Culmore community. Additionally, we collected information from interviews with community partners and leaders. We compiled this information into a presentation broken down by the history of several different important components of the area. These included surrounding areas, schools and recreation, places of faith, and community hubs. The Bailey’s Crossroads/Culmore districts have a wide variety of resources at their fingertips. Hopefully, as the KP project continues and with the research we have compiled, gaps in these resources can be addressed, partners can better coordinate efforts, and the area can be championed.

Intro – Alejandra: Hello, and thank you for watching our video. We are a part of the Summer Impact Team Project, the Wicked Bootcamp where our work included the development of community-led strategies and programming, the creation of a virtual community of practice, and the establishment of a community coalition. Today we will be summarizing the work we have done throughout the summer and what we have learned. If you are interested in learning more about our topics, please visit our Prezi Presentation through the link in the description. Now we will get started with introductions. Historical Framework Team: – Madeline: Hi, my name is Maddie Anderson, and I am a rising senior majoring in French and Global Affairs. My concentration for this project is on green spaces. – Ashanti: Hi, my name is Ashanti Martin, and I am a sophomore majoring in Business. My concentration for this project is on food insecurity. – Merisa: My name is Merisa Mattix and I am a Junior this year majoring in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and my concentration was on human trafficking. – Alejandra: My name is Alejandra Rivera, I am a senior majoring in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. My concentration for this project is higher education awareness and college readiness amongst minority communities. Timeline Overview: – Merisa: First we’ll go over a timeline we created, starting with Hachaliah Bailey buying land in 1837, which is what gave the county its name throughout the civil war. Then the wave of immigration as the Community has grown. History Told Through the Asset Map: – Merisa: Now we will move on to see the area through different components of the asset map. Surrounding Areas Compared – Maddie: Bailey’s Crossroads, as a disadvantaged area, is surrounded by one similarly presenting area and two contrasting areas of wealth. While all 4 areas developed during the mid-1900’s, (after World War 2), Lake Barcroft and Tysons Corner continued to grow. Lake Barcroft and Tysons Corner have both become wealthy areas as an upscale residential area and a massive commercial hub respectively. Bailey’s Crossroads and Seven Corners both experienced growth in the 1950’s, but they have left behind as there are increasing numbers of underserved populations. To learn more about each area we explored, please view the other sections on this slide in the link below. Schools and Education – Alejandra: The rapid influx of immigrants from all over the world has challenged Fairfax County Public Schools, or FCPS. Tensions have risen not only concerning schools, but over zoning issues and apartment overcrowding. Bailey’s Elementary school has experienced overcrowding of students and addressed this issue through creating “Bailey’s Upper Elementary School” which educates only 3rd to 5th grade. FCPS has struggled with how to provide the best education for English Language Learners. With overcrowding in the apartments we can assume there are issues with food security. At Bailey’s, we see a yearly exponential increase of students receiving free and reduced lunch, with 77% of the student population being eligible for this program. – Justice High School actively works to meet the needs of their students through adapting their curriculum to meet a student’s individual need and ensuring they graduate with their high school diploma. – Justice Park is currently the main greenspace open for recreational use that is currently at risk of being removed. The removal of Justice Park may lead to a plethora of repercussions that negatively affect the lives of community members, especially the youth. – Culmore community members have been fortunate enough to have active community partners that seek to provide them resources, such as Second Story and Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect, better known as HACAN. Who are dedicated to meeting the needs of the community, providing parental education classes, and developing out-of-school activities that serve and support youth. Places of Faith – Ashanti: Faith groups have had a strong presence in providing assistance for Bailey Crossroads residents. With nearly 15+ faith groups in the area, the groups have been able to provide services, some including food pantries, ESL classes, case management, and youth outreach programs. To visualize the historical framework of the faith groups, we have created an establishment timeline – The timeline also includes active work efforts the faith groups participate in. Faith groups have established strong connections within the community and see themselves as future hubs for community members. – The next portion I will talk about is First Christian’s future project in the area. Fairfax County approached faith communities to see if anyone was interested in using the land owned to help with the priority to end homelessness. That discussion evolved and based on First Christan and community feedback, they reached the decision to build an affordable senior apartment building on the east portion of their property. The building would include space designated for medical use with the goal of having the Culmore Clinic as the organization which houses the space. Community Hubs – Merisa: Bailey’s Crossroads, and Culmore specifically, is a tight-knit community. Because of this, there are several spaces where the community gathers and holds significance. These include already mentioned institutions like schools, green spaces, and places of faith. The Shopping Center acts as the center, the community center holds many important events, and the library is a hub for resources as well as education outside of school. Conclusions – Merisa: As we tie our research together, we have found that the Bailey’s Crossroads/Culmore districts have a wide variety of resources at their fingertips. Hopefully, as the KP project continues and with the research we have compiled, gaps in these resources can be addressed, partners can better coordinate efforts, and the area can be championed. This area is special, and as we have heard, has the huge advantage of connectedness. We hope that the area, combined with our research, can be leveraged to pull ourselves into better circumstances