FAR EASTSIDE OKC FIGHTS FOR THEIR BELOVED RECREATIONAL CENTER "MINNIS LAKEVIEW"

Working for a nonprofit exposes me to the amount of energy it takes to create change for those who can't create it for themselves. Starting from scratch on a new initiative and sourcing an impact team is an inspirational yet tedious task. Most times the main thing standing in the way of livelihood is surface area. Resource constraint must be alleviated for the betterment of urban youth. When we speak about community, we must include the significance of grounding children in their neighborhoods. They need somewhere secure and positive to gather within walking distance of their parents homes. Due to demolition, lack of societal awareness and sometimes gentrification, safe havens are removed leaving black and brown children wandering idle in the streets. Without appropriate structural dynamics some become susceptible to violence and poor choices. Enrichment programs and charitable works are the key to success for children whose futures are already compromised by proximity to economic struggle. Much of The Oklahoma Cowboys Foundation's efforts is to get people to see the inevitable beauty, talent and dexterity of these specific students. Recreation centers in urban areas must be preserved for the pursuit of the youth.

To implement any form of latitude or guidance, a hub is necessary to distribute resources, education and opportunities for movement. With the erasure of available facilities for youth to hold recreational activities - there will be a decline in growth that is essential to student-aged Oklahoma natives. Minnis Lakeview Recreation Center is a prime example of this problem. The center was in jeopardy of cessation due to not adhering to enforcement of regulated paid programs. Financial gain through properties seems to be the priority for cities all over the country. The expectation is that each child pays a monthly membership fee so that somehow the city will monetarily benefit. The neighborhood is infuriated, because Minnis Lakeview was created to be a neighborhood mecca - free to the people when it was donated and built. The request for fiscal control creates injustice for the residents who are in constant hardship and depend on this rec center.

On August 24, 2024, the Minnis Lakeview Recreation Center is hosting a re-opening which will serve as a compromise for the people of a neighborhood called "Far East Side of Oklahoma City". The community has been battling with the possibility of losing their home base which is a core location for surrounding students and teens. This center has been the heart of the neighborhood for over fifty years. I had the pleasure of speaking with Florence "Flow" Alexander, a community advocate for almost her entire life since the late sixties. She reminisced with me about the simpler days of the lower east side when the neighborhood schools served as the hangout. She expressed her love and admiration for Minnis and how it shifted the lives of many once it was built.