Site Visits: Inclusiv Conference

Inclusiv is pleased to present three site visits hosted by Hope Credit Union (HOPE) as part of the 2023 Inclusiv Conference. HOPE, a Minority Depository Institution serving the Deep South states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee was named one of Fast Company’s 10 most innovative companies reflecting current events in 2022. Join us as we visit seminal landmarks from the Civil Rights era and meet local people continuing the work of the movement today in Memphis and the Mississippi Delta.

Seating for each of the visits is limited to 45 attendees – please reserve early.

This pre-Conference site visit begins with a guided tour of the National Civil Rights Museum including the Lorraine Motel, the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. After the museum, we will visit HOPE Credit Union’s hybrid branch at Crosstown Concourse, a mixed-use development in downtown Memphis funded in part through the New Markets Tax Credit program. HOPE has 4 branches in Memphis, the city with the second-highest poverty rate among cities with a population over 500,000. The one million-plus square foot Concourse, once a Sears Roebuck distribution center, is today home to arts, education and healthcare organizations, plus apartments, restaurants and retail outlets. Learn more about how this HOPE branch takes advantage of its proximity to other mission aligned organizations, including the Church Health Center and Crosstown High as it meets the multi-cultural needs of its members.

The Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of the Blues and a critical battleground during the Civil Rights Movement. The legendary “King of the Blues” B.B. King brought the reality of life in the Delta to the world through his lyrics. This full day, post-Conference tour begins at the five-star B.B. King Museum in Indianola, MS a 2 hour 30 minute drive from Memphis. Learn how the Civil Rights Movement shaped the music of the 60’s. After lunch our tour continues on Moorhead, MS where we’ll visit a HOPE branch funded through a bank donation supported through the CDFI Fund Bank Enterprise Award program. Meet Moorhead’s Mayor George Holland and the team from Delta Design Build to discuss HOPE’s partnership in the town to build up local infrastructure and the Eastmoor Project, an affordable housing re-development managed by HOPE.

This full day, post-Conference tour takes us to the Emmett Till Interpretive Center in Sumner, MS, a two hour drive from our hotel in Memphis. The Center tells the story of the Emmett Till tragedy, using art and storytelling to promote racial equity. Following lunch in Sumner, the tour continues to the HOPE branch in Drew, MS. While in Drew, we’ll visit the Drew Collaborative and meet with Gloria Dickerson, CEO and Founder of We2Gether Change. Community partners including HOPE and We2Gether converted an abandoned armory to create the Mississippi Delta Online Grocery bringing online ordering, fresh groceries and same-day delivery to a rural food desert.

Esta excursión, posterior a la conferencia, y de un día completo, nos llevará al Centro de Interpretación Emmett Till en Sumner, MS, a dos horas en automóvil desde nuestro hotel en Memphis. El Centro cuenta la historia de la tragedia de Emmett Till, utilizando el arte y la narración de historias para promover la equidad racial. Después del almuerzo en Sumner, el recorrido continuará hacia la sucursal de la cooperativa HOPE en Drew, MS. En Drew, visitaremos Drew Collaborative y nos reuniremos con Gloria Dickerson, CEO y fundadora de We2Gether Change. Los socios de la comunidad, incluidos HOPE y We2Gether, convirtieron una armería abandonada para crear Mississippi Delta Online Grocery, que ofrece pedidos en línea, comestibles frescos y entregas el mismo día en un lo que se considera un desierto alimentario rural.