Change is hard but Mayor Frank Scott Jr, the 73rd mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas, is still dedicated to building better lives for his own citizens.
When asked how to go about change, Scott sees the answer through three distinct lenses: justice, equity, and racism. Scott emphasized the importance of tackling each pillar intentionally at the same time as building more capital, more access, and more opportunity. Intentional development is necessary.
“It’s time out for a lot of compromise,” he said. “If you’re on the right side of right, nothing else matters.”
On December 4, 2018, Little Rock voters elected Frank Scott Jr. as the City’s 73rd mayor and first Black chief executive.
After just 18 months on the job, Scott and the city of Little Rock have endured a police shooting, a historic flood, a pandemic, and a period of unrest as it relates to police brutality.
Turbulent times have primed Little Rock, once again, for change. People of all backgrounds are coming together to address systemic issues.
“A protest is meant to be inconvenient to bring about awareness and hopefully towards a projected end with action” he said. “There is time for a change in our nation and our globe on how we deal with true police reforms and accountability, particularly with black and brown communities.”
Scott believes leaders must take the time to listen and become creative and innovative on how we go about change. “What we need is more Impact Executives to truly understand what’s going on,” he said.
You can watch the full interview here.