Congratulations to Neal Richardson, Co-Founder of Dream Builders 4 Equity and Vice President and Director of Business Impact Group at U.S. Bank CDC, recipient of our 2020 Award for Rising Star in Community Building.
The Award for Rising Star in Community Building recognizes a person who:
Demonstrates strong dedication to and passion for community building work.
Exhibits leadership, vision, and a commitment to action and results.
Shows promising potential to catalyze outstanding impact in community building policy, investment, and/or community change.
Works to challenge the status quo in the St. Louis region.
Humans of St. Louis storytellers Maleeha Samer and Colleen O’Connell Smyth met with Neal to learn more about him and his work. Here’s some of what he had to say.
Neal Richardson and his daughter Harper
“The misconception is that people don’t want to live in North City, and that’s false. Some people want to move to areas in which they grew up, similar to myself. They want to move into a community that has a rich African American history. They want to have a sense of heritage and pride in where they live. They want to be around people who look like them, who have similar experiences growing up like them. I hope to one day move back to Lewis Place. But right now the housing stock isn’t there, the safety isn’t there, the schools aren’t there. I have a daughter, and those are all things I have to consider, similar to others, whether they’re young professionals, tradesmen, just seeking to buy their first house or any house. I tell my daughter this is where I grew up. This is where I used to ride my bike and play basketball and football with the kids in the neighborhood. She’s only four, so I don’t think she’s registered the differences between neighborhoods. Obviously, she recognizes vacant houses on the street. She always asks whenever we’re at Lewis Place or I’m working on a house, ‘Are we working on a Dream Builder’s house today?’ That makes me feel pretty good, and it’s super humbling when she says she’s proud of me.”
- Neal Richardson, Co-Founder of Dream Builders 4 Equity and Vice President and Director of Business Impact Group at U.S. Bank Community Development Corporation
Neal Richardson
“On a lighter note, while we were working on the property on Lewis Place, I got poison ivy for the first time. That was one of my fondest memories because Mike, my business partner, says I acted as though I were dying. It’s hilarious that we had no idea what it was, but now we use a picture of it for our presentation for investors.”
- Neal Richardson, Co-Founder of Dream Builders 4 Equity and Vice President and Director of Business Impact Group at U.S. Bank Community Development Corporation
Neal Richardson
“My mom tells this story all the time. I remember walking to my bus stop and seeing a needle on the ground, and I was about to pick it up. My mom said, ‘Oh, don't do that.’ I said, ‘I don't want anybody to get hurt.’ And she said, ‘People used it for drugs. I don’t want you to touch it because you could get very sick.’ At 12 years old, that opened my eyes to what was happening in my community. I was a lot younger, but I had this sense of knowing right from wrong. It was experiences like that which shaped me because I’ve always wanted to help others, and I felt helpless at the time.
Neal Richardson and his daughter Harper
It gave me an additional sense of purpose around changing things for other kids so they wouldn’t have to experience things like that. When we finished our first project at Lewis Place and I saw the homeowner’s excitement and student’s pride, I knew this was the work I was meant to do. And there’s more that can be done. We can create opportunities for people to earn a living wage, give mental health support, and equitably invest in healthcare, real estate, and education.
Let’s not only talk about the problems but also about the change and the solutions that are needed. We all know the issues and challenges, but we need to start talking more about opportunities and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. We need to engage each other and work together because Dream Builders can’t do it on their own. No community development organization can do it on their own. Government can’t do it on their own. The more we realize it’s not about us individually but the collective impact we’re able to make is when we’ll start seeing more positive change happen.”
- Neal Richardson, Co-Founder of Dream Builders 4 Equity and Vice President and Director of Business Impact Group at U.S. Bank Community Development Corporation
We hope you can join us to celebrate community builders like Neal at our 8th Annual Community Building Awards on July 29!
Photostory by Humans of St. Louis, Maleeha Samer, and Colleen O’Connell Smyth. Photostory narratives represent the opinions of the speaker(s) featured only and do not necessarily represent the views of the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis.
