Gaining Ground: Building Community on Dudley Street

In this documentary sequel to Holding Ground (VL-9/96), the nonprofit Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) continues its efforts to revitalize Boston's Roxbury/North Dorchester community, one of the poorest areas of the city but also one that has held up better than other neighborhoods during the recent foreclosure crisis. Narration accompanies the archival and contemporary footage illustrating the central motifs: support for home ownership, neighborhood development through grassroots leadership, and adult activism as inspiration for future community leaders—this last being a critical point in Roxbury, where 40 percent of the population is 19 and under. Interviewee John Barros exemplifies the ideal: a lifetime resident, Barros became involved with the DSNI at age 17; now he's the executive director. Filmmaker Llewellyn Smith's cameras follow a family buying a home on property owned by a community land trust that was designed to develop housing that locals can afford. Viewers also witness discussions between the DSNI and the Salvation Army involving an ambitious project to build a large community center (the undertaking is successful, but some are disappointed when the completed facility sets membership rates too high for many families to pay). In its illustration of how deeply Roxbury's citizens—particularly youth—are involved in efforts to make their neighborhood safe, provide economic opportunities, and develop abandoned homes or land in ways that will not price out local residents, Gaining Ground delivers a powerful and inspiring story of vision and persistence. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Puffer-Rothenberg)