Soul is a feeling, feeling deep within
Soul is not the colour of your skin
Soul is the essence, essence from within
It is where everything begins
So declares Van Morrison in “Soul” on his “Keep it Simple” album, released in 2008. That’s the same time the Knight Foundation launched its project to find the “Soul of the Community” in 26 cities, including Bradenton.
Finding the soul of anything doesn’t sound simple. Yet it truly is where everything begins. And if the research of this three-year project holds true, the Bradenton area has a tremendous core for its future.
It was with more than a bit of skepticism that I went to the University of South Florida’s Selby Auditorium last week for the official presentation of the project’s second-year results. Let’s see: recession, home invasions, unemployment, record murder rate. Those have been beating up on our community’s soul for months now. How in the world could those traits coexist with a good soul?
Read the rest at BradentonHerald.com.
