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Presidents Day Green

This week's newspaper column: Read it in the Hattiesburg American.

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Given the hype, you might think Presidents Day was set aside for selling cars, socks, and iPods. Alas, no.

Originally celebrated as George Washington’s birthday on the 22nd of February, the third Monday in February has now been broadened to honor Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday is February 12th, and – loosely - every US president.

Looking back, and in keeping with the “green” theme of this column, who were our most environmental presidents?

Teddy Roosevelt is maybe the best known environmentalist having famously encouraged citizens to develop a greater appreciation of and respect for nature. Along with the establishment of the US Forest Service in 1905, some of the highlights of TR’s tenure included the preservation of 150 million acres of old-growth timberland, the creation of 50 wildlife refuges, and the establishment of 5 national parks. Teddy Roosevelt, for the first time in this country’s history, brought the idea of environmental stewardship into the national spotlight.

The Civilian Conservation Corps, created as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, was responsible for planting over 3 billion trees across the United States as well as the construction of campgrounds, trails, and infrastructure in our national and state parks, many of which are still in use today. Under FDR’s administration, the Soil Conservation Service was established for the purpose of fostering long-term soil health and ending unsustainable farming practices that had led to widespread soil erosion leading up to the dust bowl days of the Great Depression.

Lyndon Johnson signed the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 and set aside 9 million acres wilderness land, but he was overshadowed by his wife – Lady Bird Johnson – who tirelessly advocated for the protection of natural resources and the beautification of America up until her death in 2007.

You may be surprised to know that Richard Nixon was one of our country’s most prolific environmental presidents signing into law the Clean Air Act and establishing the Environmental Protection Agency. Additionally, Nixon’s presidency gave us the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act among other pieces of environmental legislation.

But Jimmy Carter sits atop all others in his advocacy for environmental causes. Along with overseeing a laundry list of environmental protections, Carter created the Department of Energy with the expressed goal of establishing a national energy policy that promoted clean and alternative fuels.

In what would turn out to be a major part of Carter’s undoing, he urged citizens to drive slower, conserve more, and begin a dramatic and comprehensive conversion to alternative energies. As an example for the country, he installed solar panels on the White House while donning a sweater and turning the thermostat down to 68 degrees.

If we as a country had followed his lead, the United States today would be a very different – and much more sustainable – place to live.

The Old Folks at Home

This week's newspaper column:

With all our assorted human differences, there’s one thing we all have in common: Nobody is getting any younger. Barring some unfortunate fatal illness (or a much-too-casual relationship with heavy machinery), we will all at some point negotiate the world as senior citizens.

A few generations ago, the elderly among us depended almost solely upon the good graces of extended family for support and care, often living in the home of a child or some not-too-distant relative. Absent those accommodations, senior citizens might have found themselves – if they were lucky – in what was popularly referred to as the “old folks’ home.” Neither was a panacea, but in the so-called good ol’ days, average lifespans were considerably shorter and family life was more predictable, so people made do.

But as recent advancements in medical care and public health have added decades to our lives, seniors make up a much greater percentage of society than ever before. (In the twentieth century alone, the average lifespan in the US has increased by over 30 years.) And now, as the baby boom generation grays, we are on the verge of seeing an explosion in the demand for senior-friendly housing.

Among architects and planners, what was once called “elderly housing” has now given way to more politically-correct terms such as “retirement community” or “senior living” facilities, in part for marketing reasons, but also in recognition of the fact that we can expect an increasing number of years living active lives as we grow old. But almost always, those facilities – by design – have segregated seniors from the rest of society.

Think about the happiest people you know who are, shall we say, “up in years.” To a person, they seem to embody a strong sense of independence along with a level of activity that belies their years. It is no secret that consistent physical activity and mental stimulation promotes longevity and healthy aging, and that means interacting with those across the age spectrum and having the ability experience the world without the help of others.

Getting around in modern-day strip-mall America can be challenging enough for able-bodies behind the wheel of a car, but for seniors who may not have razor-sharp driving skills, or who have given up driving altogether, striking out on their own is simply out of the question.

So, what is the future of elder housing? (I use the term elder because the word implies the qualities of someone held up as a community leader or sage rather than the word elderly, which infers the quality of being old, and possibly in the way).

Drop “retirement” from “retirement community” and I think you’ll have the answer. The next generation of healthy senior living environments will involve the complete integration of elders into the greater community. Thus, new community infrastructure must be designed for walkability; housing must be situated near services, and continuous sidewalks must be the standard in all new neighborhoods.

Walking may be considered old-fashioned, but for healthy aging, it’s the new frontier.

The Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Photo: I Have a Dream Speech - Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Today's newspaper column. Read it in the Hattiesburg American.

Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream. Not a complaint - a living dream.

The powerful and compelling vision he articulated was that someday, in America, people would not be “judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

We’ve come a long way since that late August in 1963 when Martin Luther King, Jr. uttered those very words from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. To the country and the world, the ideals those words embodied were a beacon of truth beaming from the shores of justice through a thick fog of prejudice, hate, and injustice.

Thomas Jefferson penned the words “all men are created equal” in the Declaration of Independence, but those words rang hollow when compared to the suffering of some at the hands of others hell-bent on ‘keeping Negros in their place.’ In the face of sneers, segregation and the all-too-common lynching, King preached the gospel of love and non-violence – but not acceptance of the status quo - as a path to equality. And for that, he was shot and killed.

So today we honor the ideal of racial equality and memorialize the actions of this civil rights martyr with a national holiday on the Monday closest to the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lesser known was a version of Rev. King in Hattiesburg, Mississippi: Rev. J.C. Killingsworth. Killingsworth led the civil rights movement in Hattiesburg spearheading and organizing peaceful demonstrations during this volatile time in our nation’s history putting his own life at risk as well as those of his family and associates.

Today, a group of involved citizens in Hattiesburg – the J.C. Killingsworth Freedom Corner Committee - has a dream. The dream is to create a living interactive memorial and education center for the purpose of honoring pillars of the civil rights struggle in Hattiesburg, MS. Appropriately, the site is located at the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and the newly renamed J.C. Killingsworth Avenue.

This memorial is not an attempt to rehash the past, but to put history in context for the next generation, and to play a vital part in racial reconciliation.

Wander through the “Pillars of the Movement” and hear oral histories of 12 Hattiesburg civil rights leaders. Break through the “Wall of Injustice” and be serenaded by jubilant gospel anthems as you gaze into a central sphere reflecting a kaleidoscope of colorful murals of Hattiesburg’s civil rights pillars in the background while seeing the most important person in the ongoing quest for racial equality - yourself.

To find out how you can help turn this Freedom Corner dream into reality, send an email to msfreedomcorner@gmail.com or write to Freedom Corner, c/o James Ray Polk Architect, P.O. Box 1253, Hattiesburg, MS 39403. Or donate online by going to jckfreedomcorner.com.

Let’s join together to bring about a vibrant and sustainable culture of true racial equality in the community in which we live.

Take a tour of the J.C. Killingsworth Freedom Corner here.

I Have A Dream...

Inspirational words of wisdom by Martin Luther King, Jr. - born 81 years ago today:


I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

We must use time creatively.

The time is always right to do what is right.


Photo: Signing of Civil Rights Amendment - Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.

The Uh-Oh Decade

This week's newspaper column - read it in the Hattiesburg American:


Out with the old; in with the new!

After stumbling through a decade that started with a millennial bang and ended with a whimper, the calendrical odometer benevolently flips over to give us – at least metaphorically – a new start.

It may be telling that we never really knew what to call this unsettling era. Naming every decade in living memory has been obvious with references to the 50’s, the 60’s, and even the more recent 90’s rolling off the tongue with poetic ease. Give us a little more time, and the past ten years may put oldies stations out of business for lack of a tag line.

Most disappointing may be the economics of the uh-oh’s. You may remember that the United States entered the decade with a fiscal surplus. But by late 2008 we found ourselves in an economic situation that most economists referred to as “freefall.” Though the national economy has stabilized and has even started to grow a bit in the past few months, unemployment is still rampant and a record number of people are on food stamps.

What happened?

Well, sustainably speaking, we lost our balance.

Years of hearing bloviating pundits and so-called political leaders telling us that “greed is good” and “taxes are bad” gave momentum to an ethic hostile to the good of the whole. In the uh-oh’s, we as a society failed in our responsibility to promote our common interests. We starved our schools, we neglected our infrastructure, and we told the weakest and least fortunate members of our citizenry to get lost.

Yes, a strong sense of individuality and personal responsibility is essential to maintain a functional society, but so too is healthy investment and carful nurturing of the common good. When the good of the individual is out of balance with the good of the whole, sooner or later society reaches a tipping point, and the economic system comes crashing down.

The truth is, no single individual is completely self-made. Everyone, to some extent, depends upon the hard work and good will of others for their success. So when those nameless faceless “others” suffer, so in turn does the famous self-made man.

Creating and maintaining sustainable systems - whether in community planning, building design, or economic blueprint - requires a strong focus on community responsibility in addition to personal responsibility. That means stepping up as a society and paying to fix the things that are broken. It also means investing in what’s important for the betterment of us all, like education, community infrastructure, and healthcare.

What good is another wide-screen TV when the world is crumbling around you?

Why not change our “me-first” attitude and make the twenty-tens a “we-first” decade? With 2020 vision, we have the opportunity to fashion a decade where all prosper.

Green Holiday Card - 2009

For several years now, I've been crafting three-dimensional "Peace Love Joy" cards for the holiday season. Assembled and hand-delivered, these little yearly pearls always seem to promote a warm feeling of, well - peace, love, and joy.

As a personal note, I love designing, fabricating, and assembling each year's card because it's a genuine outlet of pure creative expression without the parameters of a client's wish list, limitations of the contractor, budget, or the chance of a phone call with someone screaming on the other end about a roof leak. (The latter of which has, knock on cedar shake shingles, so far never transpired). This particular card is composed of a photograph I took of the rock wall at Camp Mitchell Chapel atop Mt. Petit Jean in Arkansas this past Thanksgiving. The graphics are mine - hand drawn.

Most of the cards that go out, however, are not already assembled and hand delivered; I create a master sheet with assembly instructions and email them all across the country and all over the world without using a drop of fossil-fuel. It's a simple concept with the added payoff of a little holiday craft project. Some people conscript young ones around the house (as well as the young at heart) to assemble the card, but most, I've found, love to put it together themselves. Can't help but bring you back to your childhood, if even for a moment.

Here's how it works: Print the card out on your personal printer - cardstock is best - or email the file to your local print shop and have them print out a color copy. Cut, tape, and assemble as instructed, and - voila! - a 3-D holiday card straight out of your computer.

If you haven't received a card and this particular card resonates with you, email me with a 'how-do-you-do' and I'll send you a printable file as long as you promise to accept it as a gift from me and not send it as your card or sell it to others - we're on the honor system here folks and I trust you implicitly. And if you'd like for me to personalize this card as your "whatever-occasion" card, or create a custom designed 3-D card, tell me what you're thinking about, and I'll send you a fee proposal. (I don't just design buildings and neighborhoods!) Email: jamespolk22@gmail.com.

Peace, Joy, and Love to us all!

James Polk, Architect

The Spirit of Christmas All Year 'Round

Image: Movie still from the 1951 classic A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim

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This week's newspaper column: Read it in the Hattiesburg American.

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Everybody is buzzing now with the spirit of the holidays.

The Christmas season is when we Americans - no matter what race, religious affiliation (or none), and national origin – find a space in our busy schedules to come together and spend some quality time with family and friends. At Christmastime, we shower each other with gifts, plan parties, bake assorted sweet morsels, and find ourselves spontaneously wishing merriment to everyone we meet.

Petty grievances are set aside as diverse individuals congregate at family get-togethers and office parties. Disagreements fade as we find ourselves connecting with estranged acquaintances and saying nice things to people who we may otherwise secretly (or not so secretly) hold in contempt and avoid like the plague for eleven and a half months of the year. Festive decorations, over-the-top lighting, and Christmas carol soundtracks remind us to put away our hard feelings and celebrate the good in everybody.

All of a sudden, we seem to appreciate the value of “community.”

The young sage of Charles Dickens’ famous holiday classic of Christmas past, present, and future – Timothy Cratchit, better known as Tiny Tim – poetically captured this sentiment when, at the end of the tale, he exclaimed, “God bless us, every one!”

But how many times do we turn into hard-hearted Ebenezer Scrooge as soon as the tinsel is gone?

Scrooge epitomized an ethic of greed, distrust, and lack of respect for others, especially those he considered “beneath” him. His idea of a perfect society involved separating himself from people he found different, and thus, unappealing. His habit of demonizing those around him closed his eyes and ears to the value of each individual’s unique talents and contributions within the social fabric we vaguely refer to as community. In this cautionary tale, Scrooge’s intolerance, absent some not-so-gentle nudging from three convincing spirits, would have led to his undoing along with everyone else he so piously tried to bring down.

Sustainability is more popularly discussed in terms of physical objects - for example, green buildings – but the principles of sustainability apply quite adequately to the structure of our cultural and civic lives as well.

A sustainable community honors and respects diversity. Nature requires a wide variety of flora and fauna in the same ecosystem to remain healthy and viable. Nature honors and respects diversity; sustainable communities are no different. Demonizing those who have different backgrounds or ideas – a popular blood-sport in twenty-first century America – poisons the spirit of community and separates us as a culture.

Why not take this holiday spirit into the new year with the same energy and compassion? Try seeing the good in people first. Respect the differences in your neighbors, and, like Scrooge, you might wake up with a renewed love of life and a greater sense of “community.”

Too many devil’s advocates make life a living hell.

Where's Our Modern Day CCC?

This week's newspaper column. Read it in the Hattiesburg American.

Over the years, I, along with millions of fellow Americans, have enjoyed the fruits of an initiative born the better part of a century ago.

In 1933, the United States was mired in the midst of the Great Depression, and legions of Americans were unemployed and starving. As part of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Civilian Conservation Corps came into being for the purpose of putting able-bodied men to work.

The Civilian Conservation Corps, better known as the CCC, went about constructing park facilities including campgrounds, vacation cabins, recreational trails, mountain lookouts, picnic areas, and a host of other amenities throughout the United States. CCC crews planted over 3 billion trees, took part in extensive erosion control projects, built roads, and erected fire towers. Much of that infrastructure still graces our national landscape.

(To see examples of a few CCC structures, go to my blog – the New American Village – at newamericanvillage.blogspot.com.)

CCC crews also pitched in as a ready national resource fighting fires throughout the country, and providing relief and rebuilding services after a major hurricane in New England, blizzards in Utah, and several major floods.

But far from being a “make-work” program, the men of the CCC were taught literacy and construction skills. Their hand-crafted park buildings of indigenous materials – a very green method of building - stand out today as some of the most beautiful structures in our park system, and the durability of their work is self-evident by virtue of the vast and diverse inventory of CCC facilities still in use today. As the depression waned, and jobs returned to the private sector, the men of the CCC were in great demand because they possessed practical, demonstrated trade skills, and as one employer put it, “they knew how to put in a good day’s work.”

The CCC was an immensely popular program. A Gallup poll in 1936 indicated that 82 percent of the general public was in favor of the program, including overwhelming majorities from both Democrat and Republican respondents.

With recent reports that one in eight Americans currently rely on food stamps for some or all of their food, and with millions unemployed or underemployed, where is our modern day Civilian Conservation Corps?

Look around you; there’s plenty of work to be done. Instead of us, as a society, doling out unemployment benefits, why not fashion a renewed version of this wildly successful employment and training program?

It has been popular group-think of late to say “government programs are never the answer.” But after a decade of political momentum on the side of demonizing the government and casting our economic fortunes solely with the private sector, why are so many people now suffering?

Knee-jerk platitudes and ideological clichés do not help build a country or put food on the table. The Civilian Conservation Corps, in fact, did just that.