This is a word, a podcast from Slate. I'm your host, Jason Johnson. Black

neighborhoods are in crisis and have been for decades. The ravages of

poverty, disinvestment, and neglect push out families, paving the way for further

decline, or for gentrification. But there are people who are rebuilding those

communities by hand and teaching others to do the same. Imagine what we could do

if the city was really behind this redevelopment stuff. The mission of Black

women build coming up on a word with me, Jason Johnson. Stay with us.

Welcome to a word, a podcast about race and politics and everything else. I'm your

host Jason Johnson. Baltimore is the home of the Ravens. Ground breaking shows

like the wire and some of the best crab cakes in America. I swear by this. It is

also ground zero for an American urban housing crisis. The numbers are staggering.

Baltimore streets are lined with 15,000 vacant homes. And twice as many as that

are considered at risk of vacancy. These abandoned houses are an

environmental hazard, a breeding ground for crime, and an economic drag on jobs

and opportunities. While government officials say it would cost billions to

address this, Shelley Holstead has been building solutions and rebuilding homes

and communities with her own hands. Her organization Black Woman Build is

revitalizing neighborhoods block by block and giving Black women the tools to

reach the American dream. And she joins us now. Shelley Holstead, welcome to a word.

Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate the invitation. You're like a modern day

Renaissance woman. You were a forest firefighter, a union carpenter, a corporate attorney.

That is an awesome resume and sounds like a Fox TV series. What inspired you to start

...