Twenty months ago Charlene Braud’s heart was broken – again.
It was then the director of Atlanta’s Office of Recreation was forced to close 22 of the city’s 33 recreation centers.
Her heart was broken the first time in the summer of 2005 when Hurricane Katrina forced her and her family out of New Orleans. She left behind her job as that city’s recreation director. Nearly every community center in New Orleans shut down.
“Today, we have come full circle,” Braud said.
On Tuesday morning, at the arm of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Braud and about 1,000 enthusiastic students from nearby Intown Academy cut a ribbon to celebrate the reopening of the Central Park Recreation Center. The center is one of six centers to reopen since Aug. 2. Reed plans to open all of the city’s centers by the end of the year.
“We did it Atlanta!” Reed shouted as he and the kids cut the ribbon.
The opening of the Central Park Recreation Center is a promise Reed made while campaigning. He is raising millions of dollars in the private sector to make these “Centers of Hope,” which will be more extensive facilities that will focus not only on athletics, but also educational, cultural and artistic training.
“Not often do you see a politician make a promise during the campaign and keep it,” said former Mayor Sam Massell, who attended the opening. “Mayor Reed did.”
In Reed’s brief tenure as mayor, he has had few crowds as enthusiastic as this one. With the announcement of every speaker – including NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins -- the kids madly stomped their feet and crashed their thunder sticks.
Reed promised parents that the centers would remain safe havens and promised the kids that this is part of his plan to clean up Atlanta, “block by block from the gangs, drug dealers and drugs.”
“Today, we are keeping a promise, addressing an urgent need, fulfilling a dream and ensuring our city is better able to provide for the safety, welfare and overall positive development of Atlanta’s youth,” Reed said. “With the opening of the recreation centers, we are providing new opportunities to the youth of this city, and I pledge that my commitment to them will continue long after the joy of this ribbon-cutting has passed.”
After the ceremony, as Reed signed dozens of thunder sticks, Braud stood by quietly watching the kids play basketball, hopscotch and bowling. She said the next batch of recreation centers -- Zaban, C.A. Scott and Oakland City -- are scheduled to open on Oct. 4 .
“I am very passionate about the youth and the development of social and academic skills. Those are not just words for me,” Braud said. “When Mayor Reed was running for mayor, he saw the bigger picture of what these centers meant. I can say this – the day Kasim Reed was elected mayor of Atlanta was the best day of my life.”
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