Attention: Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon
Hi Jeff,
I know you are a busy man. I mean…you may have created the first trillion dollar business! Wow, that is a lot of money! Sometimes I will buy a couple of lottery tickets. I try to imagine what I would do with all the money. I wouldn’t go out and buy a lot of houses. Maybe a small cottage at the sea and a small farm somewhere. I might buy a new car, no, not a Bentley, maybe a Tesla. Yes, definitely a Tesla. But the main thing I would do would be fund my startup. I would hire world-class developers to build a fabulous prototype, and I would find believers in as many places as possible. I’m on a mission to make education and students believe in each other.
But, getting back to you, I know Amazon might become the only place most people will buy anything. Interesting mission. No offense, I wish you continued success, but I like stores. Real stores, especially book stores. I also love clothing stores, to touch and see the colors and design of an item is so different than a picture. I know Amazon has everything. It reminds me of a 1000 mile yard sale. White pages after white pages of all kinds of stuff.
I read you are looking for a new headquarters. I want to mention a city you should visit. I believe Michael Jordan has already approached you about Charlotte, North Carolina. I grew up in Charlotte and the surrounding areas. As a kid, downtown was beautiful. Department stores and restaurants shared Tryon Street with banks and businesses. The street was busy. Trees were not cut down, so Charlotte became “The City of Trees.” Once malls appeared, the stores left. Uptown became a ghost town. Most of the restaurants were only open during the week for the workers who walked the lonely streets from 9–5. A luxury mall was built in a beautiful, high end neighborhood that still stands today among Charlotte’s glorious trees. Until the past few years, the mall was always packed with busy shoppers. Now, at times, it feels like the ghost town it created many years ago.
Today uptown, thanks to the banking industry that collapsed in 2008, is alive. A fabulous Belk Theater, Hornets, Carolina Panthers, light rail, an array of businesses and top tier restaurants…uptown is back. The trees remain, but the ghosts are gone. Today, people are living in uptown, and the Southern charm mixed with an intellectual flair makes Charlotte an interesting and beautiful city to call home.
Charlotte is a friendly city. Even though it has left the small town status, it still has that warmth. You feel it everywhere. Charlotte is still a great place to walk or ride bikes between tree-shaded buildings or through tree-shaded neighborhoods. It is a place that Amazon could call home. From its busy airport, you can be anywhere in the country in less than five hours. The added bonus is that a two-hour drive west puts you in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Fabulous spots like Asheville, the country’s hippest city, and Blowing Rock, a quaint mountain town are a day’s drive. If you head South, in three hours you can be on the edge of America in The Holy City of Charleston, South Carolina. Her ambiance is world class and her barrier islands majestic in natural beauty and world class accommodations.
The reason I want you to consider Charlotte, Jeff, is more mission driven than all of these noted great things about the Queen City. There is one sad note about this amazing city. Charlotte is number one in the country for people being unable to lift themselves out of poverty. Once in poverty, families are stuck. Amazon could change that. With more jobs opening up at your headquarters, there would be many smart and ambitious people excited to join your team. You, Jeff, could quite possibly transform this statistic. Opportunity is hope that keeps rolling. If you, Jeff Bezos, select this great city, others will follow. More opportunity, for more people wanting to be a part of vibrant economy. Companies that do well and do good leave a footprint that lingers long after the package is delivered.
Before I close, Mr. Bezos, let me share with you a story about Charlotte’s past that always reminds me what hope can do. My dad was a public school superintendent in a small community west of Charlotte. His good friend, Jay Robinson, was superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Both were in charge of desegregating the schools in their communities. Although a police officer sat in front of my house when I was a little girl, and my dad was constantly calming fears of white parents, he did not face the challenges that Mr. Robinson encountered. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools were forced by the courts to bus students out of neighborhood schools to racially balance all of the schools. I guess it is what we would refer to today as equity in education. Charlotte had a rough few years. But one school became a national star. West Charlotte High School situated in one of Charlotte’s poorest neighborhoods, welcomed by bus students from Charlotte’s wealthiest neighborhoods. Many parents pulled their children and enrolled them in private schools. The ones who stayed went on to have the most life-changing experience of their life. Please read this story. West Charlotte High School before the end of busing shows us what hope can do.
Well Jeff, I could go on about this city. But this decision is about you and the Amazon mission. I hope you choose Charlotte, not only because it is a deserving city, but because it needs Amazon. With all the beautiful buildings in uptown, those at the top can look down on those who will never see the view. With jobs and hope, we build the foundation for a better tomorrow. I hope that as you consider Charlotte, you remember that by choosing the Queen City you will be delivering Prime, the very best package of all! I hope to see you strolling in Charlotte’s tree-lined streets thinking to yourslf, This is what I am looking for. I am home.
A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. -Greek Proverb
