Their purpose is to revive Shepard’s Chapel, a historic Black church, and rework it right into a cultural middle.
Nationwide — Amid a nationwide surge in efforts to erase marginalized histories and undermine cultural inclusion, one Kansas-based nonprofit is taking a daring stand for visibility, fact, and empowerment. The Black Entrepreneurs of the Flint Hills (BEFH) has partnered with the native Black group and different nonprofit organizations to lift $1.7 million to revive a historic church within the metropolis of Manhattan and rework the constructing into the Yuma Road Cultural Heart (YSCC). The transformative initiative is reclaiming traditionally segregated areas and restoring them as vibrant hubs of cultural delight, entrepreneurship, and financial independence.
Yuma Road carries deep historic significance. It was as soon as listed within the Inexperienced E-book, guiding Black vacationers to secure stops in an period of segregation. The realm hosted Negro Baseball League video games, welcomed a uncommon wartime efficiency by Lena Horne for Black troopers stationed at Fort Riley, and was a gathering place for Black servicemen and girls—together with icons Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis, who have been each stationed at Fort Riley and incessantly visited the Douglass USO throughout their time there. Within the many years that adopted, city renewal and elevated housing selection drew many Black households and companies away from Yuma Road. Whereas this mobility was an indication of progress, it additionally left the world’s once-strong cultural heartbeat diminished. The Yuma Road Cultural Heart seeks to rekindle that spirit—reclaiming its place as a gathering area and supply of delight for the group.
It was additionally residence to Earl Woods, father of golf legend Tiger Woods, whose household was amongst Manhattan’s first Black residents post-slavery. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Yuma Road throughout his closing college tour—additional cementing its function as a dwelling archive of Black excellence, resistance, and group.
This challenge is being dropped at life by BEFH in partnership with Dave and Sonya Baker, longtime residents and visionaries whose stewardship of Yuma Road’s legacy laid the inspiration for the middle’s imaginative and prescient and nationwide historic registry standing. Coach Dave Baker additionally made nationwide historical past as the primary Black head baseball coach at a predominantly white college, a legacy that underscores the management, excellence, and perseverance embedded on this work.
Why It Issues—A Nationwide Context
• Entrepreneurship Disparities: Black People make up 14.4% of the U.S. inhabitants however personal solely about 3.3% of employer companies—people who create jobs and construct generational wealth.
• Entry to Capital: Although Black entrepreneurs signify almost 14% of small enterprise homeowners, they obtain lower than 1% of enterprise capital funding.
• Wealth Inequality: The median web value for Black households is simply $44,900, in comparison with $285,000 for White households. Over 70% of Black and Hispanic households don’t have sufficient liquid property to cowl primary bills for 3 months.
• Cultural Threats: Throughout the nation, cultural establishments that uplift marginalized voices are going through funding cuts and political interference—an erosion of reminiscence and identification.
What the Yuma Road Cultural Heart Will Do
• Reclaim Yuma Road’s legacy by remodeling it right into a cultural, historic, and entrepreneurial hub
• Set up a enterprise innovation middle, rotating restaurant, industrial kitchen, and venue area
•Protect Exoduster historical past, Black pioneers and trailblazers in athletics, management, and entrepreneurship, and group tales via archival reveals and artwork installations
“Reclaim & Rise” Marketing campaign: A Nationwide Name
“We’re standing for fairness, visibility, and group wealth,” says Sheila Ellis‑Glasper, Govt Director of BEFH. “Throughout America, Black historical past and Black-owned companies are under-resourced and neglected. We’re altering that—proper right here in Manhattan—turning previous exclusion into future alternative.”
The “Reclaim & Rise” marketing campaign invitations individuals from all backgrounds to help this very important work—preserving Black legacy, equitable financial mobility, and investing in a future centered on fact and fairness.
Be taught extra and help the marketing campaign at www.yumastreet.org
About Black Entrepreneurs of the Flint Hills (BEFH)Based mostly in Manhattan, Kansas, BEFH’s mission is to slim the racial wealth hole by partaking, empowering, and equipping entrepreneurs with culturally responsive enterprise coaching, technical help, entry to capital, and community-building sources.
For press inquiries, contact Sheila Ellis-Glasper, Govt Director, BEFH, at interact@blackflinthills.com
