The Commons Community: Annmarie Ford
Akron Civic Commons is highlighting the neighbors and partners that make our work in downtown Akron, Ohio & Erie Canal Park, and Summit Lake possible. This week, we’re highlighting Annmarie Ford, Ohio & Erie Canal Park resident and community advocate.
What do you love about your community?
My husband Lloyd and I have lived here for 14 years. People here are like our family. We’ll come out and start conversations with whoever is out and about. We all look out for one another, and I really like the closeness of the neighborhood. It truly is a hidden gem! We are so secluded here, it’s not until you get to the end of the road that you realize you’re in Akron.
What would you like people to know about your community?
So often, people try to separate themselves from different cultures, but it’s not like that here. This is a mixed community. We come together as neighbors and friends despite our different backgrounds. We come together because we want this community to stay like it is - nice, friendly, and inclusive. And we’re mindful of the fact that it’s not my or your community, it’s our community.
Can you tell us about your involvement with the Akron Civic Commons and the Innerbelt Advisory Committee?
After years of things being done to our community - rather than with our community, Dan Rice was invited to come to a condo board meeting to discuss projects in Ohio & Erie Canal Park and around the canal.
After several meetings, Dan was very transparent and forthcoming about some rumors I had heard, and I appreciated that. That’s when our bond deepened. He took time to listen and a relationship was formed.
After some time, I was invited to be on the Innerbelt Advisory Committee, which is pretty emotional for me. You took a neighborhood and made an innerbelt. Now you want to make a neighborhood again. You can’t do that. Who would want to live in the middle of an expressway? I would like to see it become a green space, with walking paths, where people can come together.
After some pretty emotional meetings, I received an apology for some wrongs that were made in the past. We can’t right a wrong, but I think that’s what needs to be said to this community - to the Black community - because we lost a whole lot. There are scars that run deep. Your mind can heal, but your scars will always be there.
Annmarie, we’re so thankful for you, your light in the community, and your continued work with the Akron Civic Commons to be a voice for your community, your neighbors, and your friends.