Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly McGowan.
Hi Kelly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Growing up on the West & North sides of the City of St. Louis, I realized at an early age the inequities of built environments that exist. Where my family lived contrasted greatly, compared to where predominantly white St. Louisans lived.
It was like two different worlds, and this world wasn’t separated by that much distance-wise. I came to realize that the reason for these differences was spearheaded by one thing – racism.
Something that folks don’t know about me is that I am a retired hooper. I damn near lived at Matthews-Dickey Boys & Girls Club and played up until my junior year at Metro High School. This chapter of my life spanned a good 7-8 years, and ended with me tearing my ACL TWICE in my left knee; the first time was when I was a freshman, and the second time was when I was a junior.
I can’t leave this chapter out, as participating in a team sport shapes my approach to a lot of things I do. I credit my abilities to deal with adversity + work with others to achieve a shared goal of being on a basketball team. This may sound super corny – but it is what it is.
Once I had officially retired from basketball at the age of 16 or 17, I began to think about what I wanted to do as a career. Spending so much time in physical therapy and wanting to do something that would help others, I decided I was going to be a physical therapist. Boom. I went to St. Louis University, determined to become a physical therapist. SLU was a bit of a shock for me. I was not used to walking in huge lecture halls and seeing MAYBE a few folks that looked like me.
Sometimes in these spaces I felt overlooked + ignored by my peers. How did I get through these experiences? Connecting with fellow Black SLU students, listening to a lot of Public Enemy, and I even went natural. I tell you – there’s nothing more freeing than walking through the Quad of SLU with an afro. And yes – white classmates did ask me if they could touch my hair and told them hell no. All jokes aside – my time at SLU showed me what the realities of the world are being a Black woman.
Once I earned my undergraduate degree from SLU, I spent some time as a physical therapist aide working in an outpatient setting. There was some drama going on in my family, which prevented me from continuing on with my graduate school studies. So in the meantime, I went to work, getting experience in the field and considering my options for physical therapy graduate school. After a few years, I realized I did NOT want to be a physical therapist. I saw how predatory the healthcare system can be on people, and I did not want to be part of that system.
I went through a “quarter-life crisis” as I was really trying to find my role + niche in this world. It was during this point that I realized – in talking to my family and learning of our health history as well as other patients I worked with – that Black Americans experience some of the worst health outcomes in the country. How can we address these issues? It was then I became aware of the field of public health and its efforts to alleviate these health inequities. I knew I had to engage in that world.
I decided to attend Washington University in St. Louis to obtain my Master’s degree in Public Health. Halfway into my 2-year program, Michael Brown was murdered in Ferguson. I recall having to do a presentation the morning AFTER his killer was not acquitted on any charges. I was so sad + angry, as it seemed yet again, the lives of Black people were viewed as insignificant and not valued. Having to deal with these feelings in an environment like Washington University only fueled my fire to figure out how to address racism in improving life expectancy among Black Americans.
From 2015 until 2020, I worked at nonprofit organizations in the development, implementation, + evaluation of obesity prevention programming for Black + Brown folks – young and old. This work even took me to the Harlem Children’s Zone, which has also impacted the sense of urgency I work in. NYC is a WHOLE other type of energy that does not exist anywhere else in the world! Coming back home to St. Louis, I had an opportunity to work alongside North County mothers + co-create programming in a statewide childhood obesity prevention initiative.
Working in the programmatic space, I felt like the work I was doing was placing a band-aid on the root causes of health inequities that persist among Black Americans – racism. While working with North County mothers to facilitate healthier eating habits, Shop N Save grocery stores were closing throughout North County and nothing was replacing them. I realized that in my next chapter, I wanted to alleviate those health inequities by advocating for the creation of equitable built environments through policy change. Our built environments literally make up the fabric of our communities. Due to racism, built environments in Black communities are designed for us to die. Holding decision-makers accountable to ensure that ALL communities are designed for their inhabitants to thrive was something I knew I wanted to do.
In this current chapter of my life, I am able to do that. Serving as the Director of Built Environment Advocacy for the entity EVOLVE (an acronym for Elevating Voices of Leaders Vying for Equity), I am doing my part to support Black St. Louisans’ efforts to bring about the changes they want to see in their communities that support positive health + wellbeing. What does this look like? North County residents are beyond tired of the overabundance of liquor stores in their community.
We launched a campaign that involved hundreds of North County residents signing a petition requesting the St. Louis County Council consider the number of other establishments that sell liquor for off-site consumption PRIOR to issuing new liquor licenses. We also made public comments at St. Louis County Council meetings every week during the summer of 2021. What happened after that? St. Louis County 4th District Councilwoman Webb denied a liquor license in her North County district, which NEVER happens!
She also told our North County Action Team members that she will continue to deny liquor licenses, as she is trying to build up her district, which does not include adding any more liquor stores. Her office is also working on legislation that would limit the number of liquor licenses for carryout liquor establishments in St. Louis County. These are small wins for a community that is used to losing. Hopefully, those small wins create even larger ones for current + future generations.
These chapters also included a number of setbacks, organizational drama, and me getting into “good trouble” for the cause. I’m sure 2022 will not be a cakewalk. However, those not-so-good experiences have shaped + prepared me to continue the fight to ensure everyone has what they want + deserve – thriving + safe communities. The fight is worth it for our future generations, and I am here for it!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. I will never do anything unethical or harmful to the communities I work with. This has often found me at odds with my employer. And I’m talking about the nonprofit sector y’all!
Also, institutional racism is REAL. Black women that work in predominantly white nonprofit organizations deserve all the love for dealing with the microaggressions, hypocrisy, and lack of support from supervisors while trying to do their jobs. I worked for one of those nonprofits and learned immediately that the only time they cared about Black people was when they needed images + stories for their fundraising efforts. After all the great work I was able to do there, I was unjustly terminated during the thick of the beginning of the pandemic – in May 2020.
If it wasn’t for that early departure, I would not be doing this important work through EVOLVE. It sounds cliche, but everything happens for a reason. The challenges I have gone through have shaped + prepared me for whatever the future holds.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
EVOLVE is an acronym for Elevating Voices of Leaders Vying for Equity. Essentially, EVOLVE works with Black St. Louisans to support them in advocating for built environments that support positive health + wellbeing.
What are built environments? Built environments are what you see when you step out of your front door. It includes the sidewalks (or lack thereof) on your street; potholes; street lighting (or lack thereof); safety; the presence or absence of vacant/abandoned buildings; litter; public transportation; the types of business in your community; etc. These things I named can either facilitate or hinder behaviors that support health + wellbeing. What influences these factors of the built environment? Local government!
Because of that, EVOLVE does a lot of work with civic engagement at the local governmental level. In addition to that, we support community members’ advocacy efforts in improving their built environments. From supporting North County residents that are tired of all the liquor stores in their community, to training community members using our Food Audit Toolkit to improve their food environments, we are here to make sure that Black St. Louisans understand that amplifying their voices MATTERS and is necessary to make things better in our communities.
Lastly, but certainly not least, we make it a point to work with decision-makers, and collaborate with them as much as possible to ensure that equitable policies are put are in place.
I am most proud of the fact that we work in St. Louis City + St. Louis County. The fragmentation in our region is holding us back. EVOLVE is working to change that narrative by straddling the City\County boundary lines to do this work.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
First and foremost – I have to shout out my family. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for their love, words of encouragement, and serving as my sounding board when needed. Love y’all to the moon and back!
Doneisha Bohannon has supported EVOLVE since day one. If it wasn’t for her, there would not be an EVOLVE! I would be remiss if I didn’t shout her out!
Also, I have to show love for EVOLVE’s North County Action Team. These dedicated ladies have been collaborating with EVOLVE to bring about a thriving North County. The North County Action Team members inspire + motivate me more than they know!
Contact Info:
- Email: kellyxevolve@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/314evolve/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/314Evolve
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/314Evolve
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZJKBpuDWEd0zOf19rzdOKQ
