I think I can speak for all of us at the Mississippi Free Press in how excited we were when we began planning our second Solutions Circle in Greenwood, Mississippi, before the first had even wrapped up. This was my first Solutions Circle since joining MFP in September, and I’m eager to participate in more. And it was amazing to hear participants ask us back and offer another space before we’d finished packing out that night.

A woman writes on a large piece of paper
Assistant Editor Kevin Edwards writes about the Mississippi Free Press returning to Greenwood, Miss., for a second Solutions Circle on Dec. 2. Photo by Torsheta Jackson, Mississippi Free Press

Our Solutions Circles give community members the opportunity to engage with our reporters and each other on the issues facing their communities and brainstorm solutions to solve them. We had roughly a dozen people attend our Oct. 21 Solutions Circle at St. John’s Methodist Church in Greenwood, and we are hopeful to get an equal or greater level of participation at our second Solutions Circle scheduled for Dec. 2 at a different location. One of our participants was insistent that we return soon to follow up on what we discussed and is helping host the second.

Our first Circle split into two groups: one choosing to discuss gun violence prevention and the other discussing fractured communities. I participated in the latter group, and there was plenty of deep and engaged discussion. Participants talked about Greenwood’s social and racial divisions and a lack of community ownership on the problems facing the community. One of the solutions discussed was engaging with Greenwood’s young people early by creating events involving both public and private school students as well as inviting church youth groups to work together. 

Once our discussions were completed, we all came together again and each group presented their findings of causes and potential solutions to the whole.

Starting Somewhere

I live in Leflore County—Greenwood is the county’s largest town and county seat—and was a reporter for the Greenwood Commonwealth for most of the past four years. (Saturday, Nov. 15, is actually the four-year anniversary of my first day.) 

Solutions Circle in Greenwood on Tuesday, December 2 at 5:30pm
The Mississippi Free Press is holding its second Solutions Circle in Greenwood, Miss., in Leflore County from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2025. Participants form groups to discuss issues affecting their communities before coming up with potential, actionable solutions for those problems. Graphic by Mississippi Free Press

Since starting with the Mississippi Free Press in September, I’ve had to catch myself on a couple of occasions saying, “This is Kevin Edwards with the Greenwood Commonwealth.” I’ve covered many of the issues that were discussed at the Solutions Circle, including the gun violence that has resulted in the deaths of dozens of Leflore County citizens over the last several years. 

I have to admit that as a reporter and as a person, I am often gripped by those feelings of cynicism and defeatism. The same problems cropping up over and over again followed by the same responses from leadership. It’s not easy to solve these problems. Problems like poverty, gun violence and generational trauma seem insurmountable. 

But one of the comments that came up in my discussion group was, “You have to start somewhere.” Even if it just takes a small group of concerned citizens. There is no magic wand that will solve the issues discussed at our Solutions Circles, but you have to start somewhere. 

A steel bridge spans across a river line with trees
Assistant Editor Kevin Edwards writes that the first Solutions Circle in Greenwood, Miss., discussed problems such as fractured communities and how to deal with gun violence. Pictured is Keesler Bridge in Greenwood. Photo by Kevin Edwards, Mississippi Free Press

This isn’t MFP’s first visit to the Delta—similar concerns about gun violence were discussed at the Lexington Solutions Circle in April. There is plenty of overlap and commonality in the issues facing the Mississippi Delta. As we host Solutions Circles in other Delta communities, our goal is to help connect all of you together. 

You Are Invited

I think the biggest draw of our Solutions Circles is that we aren’t looking to lecture you or provide expert testimony on the issues facing your community. We want to listen and learn about the concerns you have and the solutions you propose, and we want you to feel comfortable discussing those topics with your fellow community members. 

And we want to branch these discussions into opportunities to tell the stories of the Delta, both of triumph and of struggle. They help us be better reporters.

A bronze statue of Emmett Till outside of a pink building
Assistant Editor Kevin Edwards writes that Solutions Circles help Mississippi Free Press reporters become better at telling Mississippi stories. Pictured is the Emmett Till statue at Rail Spike Park in Greenwood, Miss. Photo by Kevin Edwards, Mississippi Free Press

I invite you to register for our upcoming Greenwood Solutions Circle on Dec. 2. If you didn’t come last time, you are invited. If you came last time, you are invited again. No matter what your status, bring a friend with you. Better yet, bring two or three.

And as for the rest of the Delta, we hope to host a Solutions Circle in your town sooner rather than later, as well as other areas of the state. Write chris@mississippifreepress.org if you’d like to sponsor or help host a circle near you.

This MFP Voices opinion essay reflects the personal opinion of its author(s). The column does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information to voices@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.

➡️ Read more stories from the Delta Bureau here.

Assistant Editor Kevin Edwards joins the MFP after spending more than six years in newspapers around Mississippi. A native of El Paso, Texas, Kevin moved to Cleveland in Bolivar County when he was 10 years old and has spent most of his life in the Mississippi Delta. He graduated from Delta State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in liberal studies, as well as a master’s in journalism from the University of Memphis. Following his education, he spent a year with the Birmingham, Alabama-based nonprofit Impact America in its Memphis office as an AmeriCorps member, providing free vision screenings to young children and free tax preparation for working families. His time as a reporter includes nearly four years with The Greenwood Commonwealth in Greenwood, as well as The Bolivar Commercial in Cleveland and The Commercial Dispatch in Columbus. Kevin lives in Sidon, just outside Greenwood city limits in Leflore County.