Know Your Neighborhood

How Carl Parker Uplifts and Empowers Local Communities

by Emily Hackeling

As President and 41-year-member of the Brunswick County NAACP in southeastern NC, Carl Parker has spent his life investing in his community, from raising millions of dollars for neighborhood improvement projects and distributing COVID-19 vaccines across rural communities to mentoring individuals to find the best version of themselves.

Those moving to new communities often wonder how they can get involved and bring about positive change in their new home. But according to Parker, just getting involved in your community isn’t the answer. Instead, he says it’s how you get involved that matters most.

What Positive Change Looks Like Empowering Everyone to Uplift Others

For Parker, positive change means investing in the community and people around him and encouraging others to do the same. In 2020, he wrote a grant that secured funding from a $1 million Duke Energy fund to bring political, educational, and social equality for all people and work to eliminate racial discrimination in Brunswick County.

Under his leadership, the NAACP of Brunswick County expanded to allow all people to join. “I believe all people have color. People have taken that word color and changed it so that it segregates us in so many ways,” he explains. “All people have color. There’s nothing God made that does not have color. Cats, dogs, trees, flowers—you name it— we all have color.” Parker says this is necessary because all people have a role to play in ensuring the health and well-being of others.

Preserving and Celebrating Heritage

The area surrounding the Cape Fear River in southeastern North Carolina is home to the Gullah Geechee corridor. Enslaved people across this region once spoke nearly 100 different languages, forcing them to create a new language to communicate with one another. The resulting language is called Gullah, and it’s still used in some areas today. The rich culture and heritage of the Gullah Geechee people remains on the land— and Parker is working to preserve it.

Brayton Willis, NAACP’s Brunswick County Branch Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, along with Parker, are leading the charge on the Gullah Geechee Greenway/ Blueway Heritage Trail Project, a 30-mile trail system linking towns and the environment.

The project will provide accessible nature for those living in the area for biking, hiking, and boating, while educating newcomers on the area’s history, fueling economic growth, and increasing the value of land for those residing there.

Brayton and Parker have received funding from many organizations to fuel the project, and they’re allowing locals to drive the direction of it through surveys to better understand what they want from it. The project has received backing from the National Park Service, which will help provide the necessary guidance to build the trail system.

Willis says, “The importance of what we’re doing is to preserve and protect and celebrate the Gullah Geechee here today and show that to all the newcomers coming to the area. We want to preserve that for the future—for our kids and their kids. We’re honoring historical points that you can find along the way, and our trail will link people together.”

Helping Those in Need at Scale

Every winter, Parker helps to give out several thousand blankets to those who might be cold. Just last week, he worked with other community groups to pack bags of basic needs for 2,000 residents in Lumberton, NC.

During the pandemic, he organized the distribution of 7,000 masks to those who needed them. And when vaccines for COVID-19 became available, he worked with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to organize several thousand vaccines to be distributed to those living in rural communities far from pharmacies across the state.

Improving the community around you is a complex topic, because improvements are subjective. Parker says for some people, they don’t mind having old cars in their driveway because that’s how it’s always been. To the neighbor next door, however, they might not like it. That’s part of living with a community.

Parker’s advice for those who come to a new place is to get to know it first. Learn about the history and the people who live around you, then decide to take action. A good rule of thumb is to always think about your intentions prior to making quick changes to a new place you’ve moved.

Parker shares his top recommendations for getting involved the right way in your new neighborhood when moving to a new place. He recommends:

• Understanding the history of your new home

• Meeting your neighbors and learning about their cultures or traditions

• Investing in the neighborhood around you first to improve it for you and your neighbors

• Always think: Will what I’m doing bring out the best in the people around me?

Know Your Neighbors

What’s a home without a strong community surrounding it? For many looking to relocate or retire, finding a sense of community is one of the top reasons to move to a new place. And it makes sense: it’s nice to sit on your front porch and wave hello to a neighbor or take an afternoon walk with a friend from around the block. For families and retirees alike, a strong community can be like family.

Parker believes strongly in getting to know your neighborhood. “My part is to bring neighborhoods up so they can have a change in mind and change in heart,” he explains. He says his community action work all starts in the neighborhood, because that’s often where you can make the biggest impact. “We build basketball courts, tennis courts, museums, public spaces, clean up areas around the neighborhood, and a whole lot more.” Parker says investing in your neighborhood is the best place for positive change and progress to begin.

Excite People to Find Their Best Selves

Neighborhood improvement isn’t all Parker does. He’s a people person, and he says helping others be their best is a big way to make an impact. He also works to mentor individuals to find their best selves and to get jobs in their communities.

“It’s important to build a relationship with someone who cares,” he says. “Some folks have skills in the mind; some have skills with their hands. Everyone has skills. You just need to know how to use them,” Parker explains. “I want to excite the minds of people so they feel like they can make progress.”

He also coaches on ways to work through problems in daily life, like communicating with your family and friends or going to church. Whether it’s getting a trucking certification, becoming a grant writer, or operating equipment, Parker has mentored countless individuals to enable them to get on their feet and live whole lives.

It All Starts in the Neighborhood

“I believe that many folks who are moving to new areas shouldn’t feel like they’re alone,” Parker points out. “They have a responsibility to life itself. The strong should bear the infirmities of the weak. They can uplift people around them.”

Live

What is a new kind of Hometown? It’s innovation, technology and sustainability creating a life only imagined before, now being enjoyed to the fullest.