Over 350 leaders from 35 institutions of Working Together Jackson assembled with Mayor Lumumba, securing commitments to form a West Jackson Working group with WTJ to develop a plan for the rebuilding West Jackson.

The Mayor committed to having the Zoo Area Progressive Partnership (a WTJ member) vet all new members of the Zoo Board as well as to convening the newly formed Medical Corridor Commission, raising $1.5 million to fund Fresh Food Finance, and participating in the WTJ research work around public transportation by riding a long with WTJ members.

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When the Jackson Zoological Board announced its intent to relocate from west Jackson to northeast Jackson, Working Together Jackson quickly mobilized for a press conference with Mayor Chokwe Lumumba.

Said WTJ leader Heather Ivery, the "intent to leave west Jackson is disheartening -- not only because of the possibility of losing a historic, 100-year old ecosystem, but because of the lack of transparency and involvement of the community in the decision-making process." Mayor Lumumba echoed WTJ's words, calling the proposed $50 million investment required for relocation "disrespectful to the history of the zoo and the folks in the community in which the zoo currently resides."

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Two months after Working Together Jackson put public pressure on Jackson State University (JSU) to replace long-abandoned buildings with green space, leaders celebrated the first demolition on campus. The demolition resulted from a collaboration initiated by Working Together Jackson in which Revitalize Mississippi Inc. agreed to demolish the properties at no cost to the JSU Development Foundation or university.

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Mississippi was one of only three states in the country without a housing trust fund. 'Working Together Jackson' changed that.

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When the Jackson mayoral campaign turned ugly, with a series of negative ads paid for by an organization that does not exist on paper, both candidates invoked the "clean elections" pact created by Working Together Jackson.

This commitment, that both candidates made, was leveraged during an accountability session that garnered additional pledges on: infrastructure, neighborhood renewal, workforce development and bridging long-standing racial, class and political divides in Jackson.

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One week after a public accountability session, in which leaders of 'Working Together Jackson' secured public pledges from Mayoral election runoff candidates Chokwe Lumumba and Tony Yarber, both candidates held a press conference promising they would run clean campaigns in the upcoming Jackson mayoral race. On the steps of City Hall, flanked by an out-sized letter of commitment signed by both candidates, Reverend Edward O'Connor announced and explained the pledge.

The previous week, both candidates agreed to assign top staff people to meet with WTJ leaders monthly, to ensure full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act in all infrastructure repair, to consider local contractors that hire locally in infrastructure projects, and to meet with Working Together Jackson within 60 days of taking office, to talk about creating a Jackson Workforce Development Institute.

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Over the last 30 years transnational auto manufacturers have placed plants all over the world; in the US most of the new plants have landed in the South.

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Institutional leaders of Working Together Jackson began evaluating non-profit land trust models to help transform the Mid-City neighborhood of Jackson, Mississippi. Based on conversations with neighbors and residents, Ms. Brent, President of the Mid-City Neighborhood Association, and Rev. Tucker Sr., pastor of True Vine, identified a number of things they would like to address: abandoned housing, overgrown lots, crime, mentoring for its youth and services for its elderly. But people involved in the effort know that, as Rev. Tucker puts it, "the real work of rebuilding the neighborhood isn't cutting lawns or boarding up houses. The real work is building relationships between its residents."

While the non-profit land trust would take control of abandoned properties for rehabilitation and renovation, leaders of Working Together Jackson plan to continue the work of building relationships between neighbors.

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Jackson Free Press

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"Representatives from approximately 50 organizations based in Jackson, Mississippi came together on June 14, 2012 to kick-off 'Working Together Jackson', a community development initiative three years in the making. The well attended event was held at New Horizon International on Ellis Ave., pastored by Bishop Ronnie Crudup. The majority members of the broad-based coalition of institutions in the Jackson Metro Area are churches. However, the remainder of the groups are service oriented, such as Stewpot, Spencer Perkins Center, United Auto Workers, Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliances and Zoo Area Progressive Partnership."

Community Welcomes 'Working Together Jackson', The Jackson Advocate

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