Crystal Black Says She’ll ‘Step Up and Do the Work’ in District 1

In the race for the District 1 seat on the Greensboro City Council, activist Crystal Black faces longtime incumbent Sharon Hightower. Black recently talked to The Assembly about her roots in Greensboro, why she’s running for Greensboro City Council, and her background advocating for the southeastern part of the city. While city council races are nonpartisan, Black is a registered Democrat.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I know you’ve been in Greensboro a long time. Tell me about your connection to the city.

I was born in Greensboro. I have lived in Southeast Greensboro since I was five. I lived in Woodley Lakes, and then my parents moved to a house off of Pleasant Garden Road. My family lives in Southeast Greensboro. It’s where I have called home all of my life. I’ve watched Southeast Greensboro be disinvested in. I know we’re better than that, and I know the residents in the community want better than that.

You have a background in public education. Talk to me about that.

I worked at Rankin Elementary and then at Jackson Middle School. I was the youth development coordinator, offering student support in various ways, building community partnerships with private businesses, private organizations, and hosting events within the school, like our Dine and Learn for international families. We would bring in interpreters from the district, and we would answer questions for families. We did one for the Congolese, Montagnard, and Latino communities.

I also hosted Project Connect, a joint event between the city and county and nonprofits. Many of the families are working people working multiple jobs. Some can’t get to resources, so I created a community event, like a carnival. It was a one-stop shop for parents. Anything I can do to make life easier for those who are underserved. I love the role that I have.

With your background in education, why did you want to run for city council and not the Guilford County Board of Education?

A lot of kids are impacted by the environment that they’re in. When they come to school, a lot of it is environmental: the concentrated poverty, pollution, lack of job access. Kids come to school carrying those bookbags of baggage. So I wanted to start by knowing: What is the culprit? And a lot of that is city-related. 

When Mayor Pro Tem Yvonne Johnson died in January, you threw your hat into the ring to be her replacement. Eventually, Jamilla Pinder was chosen to fill the at-large seat. Why did you decide to run for District 1 this fall rather than for at-large again?

In applying for the seat that was filled by Jamilla Pinder, my reason for wanting to serve was that I believe a lot of systems are in place where there’s not advocacy for some of the woes that I see in Guilford County Schools. I’m a community servant, and this was another way I could come to the table and serve. I think our representatives are aging. I think some systems within city council need to change. Not a lot of people are doing direct work with city departments or city staff. I felt I was a viable candidate, and I wanted to take my shot at it. 

In terms of running for District 1, my community work has been in District 1 for a decade.

One of your efforts has been your work with the Southeast Greensboro Coalition. Tell me about that.

It’s been five years running. We have 14 different neighborhoods that we represent. Southeast Greensboro is dense when it comes to neighborhoods, but they are well-organized. They are just maybe not all well-informed. So we reach out to neighborhood leads or HOAs and bring those people to the table. We talk about common goals and common woes. We pushed council to establish a tractor-trailer ordinance, a dumping ordinance, and bring awareness to the groundwater issue. 

We’re pushing for a commercial property ordinance to make landlords accountable to keep up their properties. I believe that overall, people take care of their homes. But we’re not addressing some of the violations that are not by homeowners. After getting out and advocating for our community, we narrowed down the areas we’re not addressing. We’ve met with numerous developers to ensure we’re getting the best product in our area. 

I think we have garnered the trust of many neighborhoods in Southeast Greensboro. I’ve probably been to almost every council meeting for the past couple of years. 

What are some of your biggest concerns when it comes to District 1?

One of my concerns is if affordable housing all has to be concentrated in District 1. That’s not the way the federal government recommended. It doesn’t make for a healthy community. We have to have a balanced mix on how we’re going to develop in Greensboro.

For affordable housing, District 1 has been impacted the most. We have had multiple approvals for affordable housing, all concentrated within a 1.5-2-mile radius. We can’t continue to concentrate in those ways. We have several ways of how food deserts are created. It’s concentrating housing, concentrating poverty. We need more mixed-use, more mixed-income housing. 

Grocery stores are looking for [the top incomes in a given geographical area]. So if you’re concentrating on low-medium income, you’re dropping the median income there. We have to have healthy conversations on how we’re developing.

You’ve also been an advocate for environmental change. Can you talk about that?

We have lots of industry, highways in District 1. That has an environmental impact, a housing impact. We’re not having those healthy conversations.

We need green space availability. A lot of our parks have deteriorated. We don’t have the same access as other parks. We have land, but there’s not much to do. Some don’t have any communal space. There’s deteriorating equipment.

You’re facing off against an incumbent who has been in office for 12 years. What do you think sets you apart from Councilmember Sharon Hightower?

I think if you haven’t moved the needle in 12 years, I’m wondering if you can move it. A lot of decline has happened in District 1. I’ve heard from a lot of people on change that they’ve wanted to happen. People want to be heard, and people want to know that they are being advocated for.

I know that the Southeast Greensboro coalition was formed because our current councilmember said the southeast was fine and that East Greensboro needed more help. When you represent a district, you don’t parcel out the district.

Some of the changes that need to happen are behind the scenes of city government. I felt like somebody needed to step up and do that work. Councilwoman Hightower and I have worked together for years. Some of the efforts we have worked on have been in lockstep. But I just think we need to move our needle further.