HomeMy WebLinkAboutCover Letter 091123To: City of Little Rock Planning and Development
Planning Commission Hearing/October 12, 2023
From: James Allen, Jr.
4424 West 25t" Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72204
501-343-4626
jamusu@hotmail.com
Re: Rezoning
Date: September 8, 2023
The Empire of the Monarch of Blackturalism (my non-profit organization) understands that the arts
often need to be more attainable for lower -income families. Thus, our vision is to empower Children
of Color from underserved communities through arts education. We are pleased to pursue our
vision in 2023 with a $25,000 grant from the Arkansas Community Foundation (2021) through its
Building Black Communities Fund. In April 2022, the IRS approved us (Blackturalism) for 501c3
status. Due to our initial stops and starts because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are behind
schedule in implementing our plan. We are well on to launching the program and intend to fulfill the
BBCF Grant requirements with the City of Little Rock's approval for rezoning. However, we must
return the grant money if the rezoning is denied.
My family and I own the building on 2219 Wilson Road, which will be the pottery studio, music
studio, and urban garden site. There are no new buildings or building additions. Our operating hours
will be from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The onsite dumpster will be screened
and comply with Section 36-23 of the City's Zoning Ordinance. I have committed myself to teaching
the students free of charge and have received the commitment of five instructors to volunteer to
teach and run the program. I studied pottery at the Arkansas Art Center through their work-study
program for fifteen years. As an SSDI recipient, I could not have afforded the tuition, unlike those
with gainful employment. We will thus offer an equal chance to an adult who needs financial
support to pay it forward.
A lack of arts and nature -based instruction is prevalent in poverty-stricken communities. Therefore,
we will offer private lessons to school -aged children who qualify for free or reduced lunches. Also,
we will market our services on social media, school district listservs, email blasts, and flyers. We will
likewise visit underserved Communities of Color to find families to serve. Once the building is
renovated, we will accommodate a maximum number of 10 students/clients at any given time. Also,
students will display their work in our on -site gallery and sell it in our gift shop.
Cordially,
James Allen, Jr.V, 1