Visions of Religion on Southern Boulevard

One of the final outreach initiatives I worked on at WHEDco was engaging the religious community along Southern Boulevard, especially the small storefront churches that dot the strip. During the day, the storefronts are completely inactive: the grates are down constantly, and often feature graffiti, and many of the signs seem impromptu or hastily-compiled, often without contact information or hours. Few have (working) websites, and even those that do are hard to get in contact with during daytime hours, perhaps for obvious reasons. But because these storefront churches are so prevalent along the corridor, Yesmin, Marco, and I decided to arrange a Sunday morning outreach session.

Before this weekend, I had never been to Southern Boulevard outside of normal 9-5 weekday business hours. In some ways, the street seemed eerily quiet without the normal hum of people passing and stores open. However, while the storefront churches seemed perpetually closed-off to the street, on Sundays they come alive with people and music. Closed grates revealed modest but well-kept storefronts with doors leading up steep staircases or down to basement levels where worshippers gathered.

I’m glad it was one of my final visits to Southern Boulevard because even after working alongside the corridor for the last 10 weeks, I had never seen it quite like this. It reminded me just how much of the neighborhood is not apparent to the eye. Modest signs and storefront reveal community hubs, go-to spots; gloomy street corners give way to lively gathering places, full with coquito stands. Southern Boulevard, Crotona Park East, and the small slice of the Bronx that I’ve seen conceals so many of its gems, but in doing so protects them.