A member of the Washington Addition’s “Undivided” group wears the group’s T-shirt April 8, 2016, at Sheppard Brothers Park.
John Knight is the founder of “Undivided” and a native of the Washington Addition neighborhood. Here he talks about the group’s mission on April 8, 2016, at Sheppard Brothers Park.
Monterius Griffin, Jordan Alexander and Steffon Butler (L-R), members of the Undivided group, talked about their tough childhoods on April 8, 2016, at Sheppard Brothers Park in the Washington Addition.
Kvng Zeakyy talks intensely about the struggles of how hard it is to grow up in his community at Sheppard Brothers Park in the Washington Addition on April 8, 2016.
Monterius “Mon” Griffin is a member of the “Undivided” group. He talked on April 8, 2016, about having one kidney and how he’s finally taking better care of him, thanks to his mentor John Knight, a former drug dealer in the Washington Addition.
From left: Kvng Zeakky, Monterius Griffin, Jay McChristian and Jordan Alexander stand in front of the home where John Knight grew up in the Washington Addition neighborhood on April 8, 2016, talking about how their tough lives in the neighborhood.
Linda Knight, the mother of former gangster John Knight, told her story of her own involvement with drugs and prostitution—and how she escaped it and got her college degree. This photo was taken on April 13, 2016, in the home she owns in the Washington Addition.
Steffon Butler tells his story at Sheppard Brothers Park in the Washington Addition on April 16, 2016.
Stephen and Steffon Butler, twins and members of “Undivided,” used to sell drugs to keep from going hungry and to have a place to sleep at night. They told their story at Sheppard Brothers Park in the Washington Addition on April 16, 2016.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.