Meet
Dave “Mecca” Crump
David Crump, known as "Mecca," is the co-founder and co-director of Project 2043 and The Muse, a vibrant community space in Dorchester.
David Crump, known as "Mecca," is the co-founder and co-director of Project 2043 and The Muse, a vibrant community space in Dorchester. The Muse showcases the community's wealth of talent, knowledge, and power. Black artists, entrepreneurs, and youth workers use it as a collaboration hub while working towards their vision of a healthy and economically stable community by 2043. Project 2043 builds intergenerational bridges, working with both community elders and youth to address historical inequities.
From a young age, Mecca learned the value of giving back to his community. His grandmother, who ran the local church's daycare in their small Southern Texas town, inspired his community work. Mecca spent his free time helping at the daycare. When asked about his inspiration for community development, Mecca says, "I think it's the way I was raised." Standing outside The Muse, he pauses to help an elderly man into the building, then continues, "I was raised by a community—not just my grandmother, but the grandmothers in my neighborhood. They helped raise me. So it's always been about, you know, 'it takes a village.' I really was a living embodiment of that."
I was raised by a community—not just my grandmother, but the grandmothers in my neighborhood. They helped raise me. So it's always been about, you know, 'it takes a village.' I really was a living embodiment of that.
Mecca's early start in community work made him keenly aware of daily injustices. Even as a child, he was conscious of racism and deeply affected by it. Eager to continue his journey in community development, Mecca was accepted to a predominantly black college in Cape Town, South Africa. However, his family's safety concerns led him to defer his acceptance and pursue his passion in the US instead. After high school, Mecca's first job was at Pine Street Inn, an organization that provides housing, shelter, outreach, and job training to homeless individuals and those experiencing housing insecurity.
While studying at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Mecca connected with like-minded individuals who shared his vision of using hip-hop as a tool for expression and conflict resolution in the community. He began developing the concept of a hip-hop culture center. Over time, Mecca built a large network of artists and community activists in both his home state of Texas and Boston.
Mecca connected with like-minded individuals who shared his vision of using hip-hop as a tool for expression and conflict resolution in the community.
In Boston, Mecca developed hip-hop and youth programs, demonstrating a unique ability to rally people, especially youth, around important issues. After losing funding for his programs, he found himself working in a trauma response program at Children's Hospital, supporting families and victims of violence. Mecca's role expanded beyond the hospital into the streets and homes. He continued his trauma response work at Brigham and Women's Hospital. In a full-circle moment, Mecca embodied his grandmother's spirit, supporting the community beyond professional responsibility—it became an obligation and commitment to the people.
Like many, the pandemic halted Mecca's work, but his vision for his community remains unrelenting. He describes his vision for Project 2043: "to put young people in a position to learn to be self-sufficient, to realize their real potential, and come up with their own solutions to their own problems." In just six months, Mecca and his team—David Lemmel (co-director), Born Bi-Kim, and Sara Kahlo—founded Project 2043 and opened The Muse, a space adorned with local artists' work and bustling with people of all ages throughout the day. The Muse has served as a site for our first Community Health Hub, bringing COVID-19 vaccines and testing into a non-medical space that celebrates local culture.
Through 33 years of this work, Mecca remains dedicated to the values his grandmother instilled in him. "That's really what it's about," he says, "it's just about doing the work I've been doing over the years, but doing it for myself, and for my community, and with my community together."
Written by Mariana Cohen (December 2022)