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Since moving to Mississippi in 2020, I’ve encountered a strong tradition of pride. The people here are passionate and devoted. They are honest about the shortcomings of the capital city and the state, but unwavering in their commitment to improvement. As the Deep South becomes more and more familiar, “Them” has quickly turned into “We” and “Us.” I find myself pausing when people ask me where I call home. Forever it's been Newark, Delaware. Slowly, it’s turning into Jackson, Mississippi. Were these reflections inspired by a patronizing Hinge conversation I had with someone from Chicago? Maybe. If only they knew about the radical, progressive future Jacksonians and Mississippians are working to forge.
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Also so sorry-- we're back to sending newsletters from home@riversidecollective.org for uninteresting reasons. Here’s what Riverside’s been up to this month:
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Braving the chilly weather and blasting Beyoncé, the Riverside team (and Randy– shoutout Randy) spent an evening cleaning up our building space. We mopped the floors, swept up dust, got rid of water stains, scrubbed down some donated furniture, and re-oriented our space to make it most conducive to collaborative discussion. Outside, we used our handy-dandy trash picker-uppers to painstakingly remove all the glass from the parking lot. We saw such a difference after one evening, and can’t wait to watch the space’s continued transformation.
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As a member of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s (inaugural) Rising Leaders for Results program, I escaped the broken heating in my home to Baltimore for a leadership development program. I got to build relationships with incredible, community-minded folks from California to Vermont. We talked about how to define our work to achieve equitable results for the people we care about, reflected on historic racism while walking through The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, and connected with senior leadership from the Casey Foundation. I left feeling excited and connected to really passionate changemakers across the country.
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Third Student Cohort Meeting
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Our third student cohort meeting was so vibrant. We had music, delicious food from West Jackson’s own Chef Phillip, and an atmosphere of camaraderie. For the first half of the meeting, students observed sketches drawn by Justin Ransburg and offered feedback for what they’d like to see in the final product. We used our consensus-based voting system to decide on a mural that is playful, represents Jackson’s diversity, and communicates the vision for the space for anyone driving by. For the second half of the meeting, we planned out our presentations to community members. Students will be sharing their vision for the mural with community partners to get feedback and garner participation before we start painting!
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