‘A progressive city’: Dozens gather to talk Rock Hill’s future at mayor’s breakfast
A line of dozens of Rock Hill residents and employees extended far in front of the city’s Sports and Event Center early Thursday morning. Several had a steamy coffee in hand. Most made small-talk as the line slowly funneled inside.
The residents, dressed in ties and heels, weren’t there for a sports event. They were there for the mayor’s once-every-three-years key influencer breakfast.
“It’s going to be a great day,” Mayor John Gettys told those at the breakfast.
Inside, the line continued around a table covered in pastries and coffee. The small-talk carried on as people settled around several circular tables.
The breakfast, which drew about 100 people, provided a chance for city employees and residents to discuss Rock Hill’s future and honor influential residents who’ve had an impact on the city.
Those who attended the two-hour breakfast were tasked with answering the question of the morning — What makes Rock Hill, Rock Hill?
The city’s past
On a stage at the front of the room, Gettys spoke with the four influencers who would be recognized.
Gettys sat on the stage in an armchair flanked by Bishop Herb Crump and Rev. Steve Hogg.
The two pastors met in 2004 when Freedom Temple Ministries, founded by Crump, was destroyed by fire. As a result, First Baptist Church, led by Hogg, sold its Main Street building to Crump’s congregation.
“Rock Hill is a place that’s not a perfect city, but it’s a progressive city,” Crump, from New York, said. “What a better story of unity, progression and a willingness to embrace differences than a Kentucky pastor and a New York pastor working together to make what I think we both believe to be one of the most recognizable transactions in the history of the city on Main Street?”
Crump said in order for the city to continue moving forward in establishing its own identity, Rock Hill leaders should not shy away from acknowledging the city’s historic and present racial and social injustices.
“In order for us to move forward, we have to continue in the efforts that were started by the previous administration and continued by this current administration of addressing real issues and not sugar-coating our efforts of addressing real issues affecting each and every one of us.”
The hundred in the crowd clapped. Some stood.
The city’s people
Hogg said, as the city continues to experience its immense growth, he urged city officials to be aware that parts of the city will not be equally impacted.
“We need to think about the people who are displaced as we grow,” he said.
“Absolutely!” Rock Hill NAACP President Norma Gray, who sat in front of the stage, said.
Dawn Johnson, who has served as chair of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, said she is doing exactly that.
During the breakfast, Johnson, founder of Rock Hill’s Black Economic Leadership League, discussed her efforts to bring more business development to the south side of Rock Hill.
“How can we do something uniquely different for this side of town, but have the same quality, growth, opportunities and jobs?” Johnson said.
The city’s neighborhoods
Clinton College President Lester McCorn also is working to make sure the south side of the city sees the same development as the rest of the city. Thursday, he highlighted the Clinton ConNEXTion Action Plan, a partnership between the city and community partners, to bring more jobs, housing and businesses to historic Rock Hill neighborhoods.
The plan, established earlier this year, works to ensure those in the historic area in and around Clinton College, one of South Carolina’s eight historically black colleges and universities, have equitable access to resources and opportunities.
“HBCU’s are often in neighborhoods that are challenging, distressed,” McCorn said. “HBCUs have wonderful opportunities if they are positioned to bring economic and community development to those neighborhoods and lift them up.”
The plan has further established Clinton College as an essential aspect of the city, McCorn said.
“Not only is Clinton College punching far above her weight, Clinton College is literally changing lives,” he said.
The city’s future
Clinton ConNEXTion has already made an impact, McCorn pointed out.
He highlighted the city’s effort to create a new tax increment financing district in the south side of Rock Hill. The city is seeking $225 million for its south side redevelopment plan — as part of Clinton ConNEXTion.
“If we want to be ‘Rock Hill For All,’ we have to make an extra effort to make sure that happens because absent that vigilance and accountability does not bring about equality,” McCorn said.
The funds would go to improvements to the area’s streets, utilities, storm water and assist with property acquisition.
York County Council will discuss the proposed TIF during its Oct. 4 meeting. Rock Hill will hold a public hearing on the TIF on Oct. 11.
“This is the perfect moment,” McCorn said. “The stars are aligning in Rock Hill. This is our moment.”
The crowd clapped.
“I think that is our story in Rock Hill now,” Gettys said at the end of the breakfast. “It’s an explosion of opportunity and an explosion of colors … all the development, people that are coming in, engagement from so many that haven’t engaged before, so that really is our charge as we leave here today.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 11:01 AM with the headline "‘A progressive city’: Dozens gather to talk Rock Hill’s future at mayor’s breakfast."
