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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

Mayor Harvey Johnson will speak at the Young Democrats of Mississippi Meeting Local Chapter tonight at 6 p.m. The group invites all interested people between the ages of 18 and 35 to attend its monthly meeting, at the temporary Jackson City Hall, 400 E. Silas Brown (the street south of South Street off North State), the last Wed. of every month. 7/30, 6 p.m. The official youth arm of the Democratic Party, whose goal is to locate and recruit young area residents who espouse support for the Democratic Party, work on campaigns, build college and high school chapters, participate in community service projects and take action on local issues. (601) 201-5184.

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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.

Founding Editor Donna Ladd is a writer, journalist and editor from Philadelphia, Miss., a graduate of Mississippi State University and later the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she was an alumni award recipient in 2021. She writes about racism/whiteness, poverty, gender, violence, journalism and the criminal justice system. She contributes long-form features and essays to The Guardian when she has time, and was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Jackson Free Press. She co-founded the statewide nonprofit Mississippi Free Press with Kimberly Griffin in March 2020, and the Mississippi Business Journal named her one of the state's top CEOs in 2024. Read more at donnaladd.com, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @donnerkay and email her at donna@mississippifreepress.org.