Incoming, Hopeful City Leaders Pledge to Help Rebuild Jackson, Jackson Free Press

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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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When new dormitory construction stalled for four years, 25 abandoned homes on campus at Jackson State University became host to activity negatively impacting neighbors, including St. Mark's Episcopal Church next door. Leaders began talking to congregants and neighbors and together, with other institutions of Working Together Jackson, are now demanding that in the absence of moving forward with the development, that at minimum the university foundation should pay for the demolition of the abandoned housing and replace it with green space.

Said Rev. Luther Ott of St. Marks, " "Those of us who live and work in inner cities know abandoned houses are not abandoned....It's only a matter of time until we're going to a funeral."

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With questions and concerns about the Housing Trust Fund and One-Cent Sales Tax, 300 leaders of Working Together Jackson packed an Emmanuel Baptist Church hall to engage Mayor Yarber around their concerns. Said Dorothy Triplett, a leader of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, ""We are a very different organization, a very grassroots organization that doesn't just complain and talk about the problems. We come together with our people and ask what are you willing to work on. And we will also be talking about our vision as we move forward for the 2017 municipal elections. We hold all of the candidates accountable."

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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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People from across the City of Jackson, including State Senators John Hohrn, David Blount and Solly Norwood, and Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis, joined Working Together Jackson's "We Care for South Jackson" Saturday morning rally. Bishop Ronnie Crudup announced that it is "evident that Kroger does not favor urban folk and urban areas" given their recent withdrawal of four grocery stores from Jackson. Leaders also pointed out that the city (with 180 thousand residents) now has only one grocery store, while suburban Madison (with only 20 thousand residents) has twice that number.

So far, WTJ has helped saved the jobs of 109 workers that would have been replaced, by assuring their relocation to other Kroger stores at their same pay, and secured commitments from the store to continue their support of local schools. Leaders continue to demand that Kroger refrain from putting a deed restriction on the property that would prevent another grocery store from coming in.

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Clergy of Working Together Jackson stood with workers at a press conference organized in the wake of Kroger's announcement that it would close its South Jackson grocery store. Clergy demanded the relocation of 109 otherwise unemployed workers to other stores, noninterference in local efforts to attract a new grocery store to this food desert and continued support for south Jackson public schools.

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This summer, Working Together Jackson drew 432 leaders into 36 house meetings about the state of (under)employment in Mississippi and the need for a Workforce Development Institute to prepare workers for a changing economy -- and specifically to pair ambitious individuals (who undergo training) with employers seeking better employees. Jackson businessman Charles Hooker noted that Mississippi "often promotes itself as offering 'good, affordable labor.' Sometimes 'affordable' is a euphemism for cheap. Cheap labor not only provides harsh, undignified, not-so-enjoyable lifestyle to those who can do better, it also limits the prosperity of the greater community."

In a related initiative around school funding, Working Together Jackson leaders signed up almost 7,000 (18% of Hinds County) for the 'Better Schools, Better Jobs' initiative, a petition to place on the ballot a proposed amendment to the state constitution to require full funding for Mississippi schools.

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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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