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O’Keefe is really a big deal in this little city when you look at the heart for the Mississippi Delta. As soon as house to millionaire cotton farmers, Clarksdale is, just like the remaining portion of the Delta, about 80% African United states. Its population of approximately 16,000 to 18,000 individuals, happens to be declining for many years.
Bubba O’Keefe, supported by Southern Bancorp CEO Darrin Williams, assesses damage in Paramount Theater . [+] from the phase.
Credit: Devin Thorpe
A white guy in a largely black city, O’Keefe could be the town’s official, compensated manager of tourism and appears to understand everyone in city, including all the instantly visitors. He greets everyone who passes by as we sit and chat on the sidewalk outside the small bistro in one of his buildings, an old Woolworth’s store that had sat empty for decades.
While he is at no danger of being included with the Forbes 400 list any time soon, O’Keefe is successful by the requirements associated with the city. He owns more buildings than they can count right right here. He keeps the tips to their many buildings in a old bank deposit case; you can find lots of sets of secrets. He claims he has got ten or twelve loans with Southern Bancorp, such as the one regarding the Paramount.
O’Keefe sees the city in much the same manner as he views the movie theater with all the roof timbers now seated in a stack where an market ought to be. he’s certain that the roof may be repaired, therefore the movie theater may be restored—or if you don’t restored, repurposed.
The Paramount Theater roof seated within the market
Credit: Devin Thorpe
“I would personally want to believe that it really is an arts that are performing.” He’d want to name it for playwright Tennessee Williams whom saw their movie that is first at Paramount. Nevertheless, he’s perhaps perhaps maybe not hitched to that particular eyesight. He appears certain that the right strategy or possibility will sooner or later arrive at him.
There clearly was some proof of serendipity within the noticeable recovery that is economic underway right right here in Clarksdale, one of the locations where lay claim to being your home associated with blues.
An experienced marketer from Chicago, decided after visiting Clarksdale regularly for years to move here permanently in 2002, Roger Stolle. The Cat was opened by him Head music shop downtown and straight away started advertising town and its particular music.
Roger Stolle , owner of Cat Head
Credit: Devin Thorp[e
He says, when live blues music would be playing in town when he arrived, no one seemed to know. Many evenings, there was clearlyn’t any. During the period of years, he organized all of the venues in city with an easy quid pro quo. Should they would agree to a routine of live music, he’d promote it. Today, it is possible to experience music that is live one of the venues in the city 365 evenings per payday loans Maine year.
Recently, Ben Lewis stumbled on city from Seattle to just just simply take a residential area development part on a state that is one-year and fell deeply in love with the city, even though their spouse stated before learning in which the brand new possibility had been that she could live any place in the nation except Mississippi. Her moms and dads have actually bought a home that is second Clarksdale along with his moms and dads are buying a permanent house in city.
Lewis, whom now earns a modest wage operating a nonprofit called Meraki Roasting that can help youth in Clarksdale develop task skills and an application by using them to roast coffee, had been just in a position to purchase a property because Southern Bancorp underwrites home loans it does not offer from the additional market, providing the lender the freedom to produce loans other people can not.
The bank can be an essential thread in this development tapestry that is economic. Another could be the Walton Family Foundation; 350 kilometers from Clarksdale, the inspiration has made financial development in the Delta a focus area. The 2 organizations usually come together, often by accident. For example, the inspiration is really a significant supply of financing for Maraki Roasting, and thus it indirectly made the home loan Southern Bancorp offered its executive manager, Ben Lewis, feasible.
O’Keefe, and a friend that is lifelong Chuck Rutledge, organized a complex community development task in Clarksdale that received financing from both the Walton Family Foundation and Southern Bancorp. The Travelers resort, (where we remained for around $100 for starters evening) that will be operated by an musicians’ cooperative led by Rutledge along with his partner Ann Williams, is owned by way of a nonprofit. The $2.4 million task ended up being funded by a mixture of income tax credits for historic renovation, a grant through the Walton Family Foundation and a home loan from Southern Bancorp.
Chuck Rutledge and Ann Williams outside of the Travelers resort in Clarksdale, Mississippi
Credit: Devin Thorpe
The lender plays a role that is important the city for customers too. Jennifer Williams, no reference to Ann or Darrin, is really a trained instructor in Clarksdale with three levels. She actually is additionally a survivor of the thriving storefront payday lending industry in Mississippi.
Williams claims she found myself in a good spot years back and borrowed $400 from a lending company that is payday. Every 1 month, she had been needed to provide by herself in individual to pay for $87.50 to move the mortgage over for another 30 days—with none of this quantity serving to lessen the total amount. In comparison, it could never be uncommon for the stability of ten times that quantity on a charge card to possess the absolute minimum repayment of about $87.50 each month—that would consist of at the least some principal.
And in addition, Williams discovered by herself gradually going under. Her situation that is economic just to have even worse as she started taking out fully more payday advances. In the long run, she had applied for nine loans that are such various storefront payday lenders in three towns. Simply driving around to help make the re payments ended up being like having a job that is part-time.
Jennifer Williams and Charlestien Harris