The Mississippi Free Press is committed to fostering dialogue across race, ethnicity, economic status, political parties, gender and religious beliefs. MFP’s Solutions Circles help provide a platform for these conversations where Mississippians can not only address challenges but also imagine solutions. MFP has hosted Solutions Circles all over the state, from the Jackson area to the Gulf Coast region. 

MFP convened a Greenville Solutions Circle in Greenville, Mississippi, on April 6, 2026, when 30 people gathered at the CB&S Bank building. Our visit to Greenville marks our fourth visit to the Mississippi Delta, following two visits to Greenwood and a visit to Lexington. The attendees discussed challenges such as economic development, healthy food access and improving the school system.

You can read more about our prior Solutions Circles here.

School System and Education

Problems: 

  • Lack of trainable workforce
  • Available workforce
  • Career/college readiness
  • Lack of guidance at home
  • Need for “old school help” 
  • Change in leadership/no stability
  • Lack of teacher support
  • School board appointments versus election 
  • School district – Lack of care and compassion from leadership
  • Gang violence

Solutions:

  • Compassionate leadership 
  • More school/community accountability 
  • Outreach programs 
  • Elect the school board 
  • Develop mentorship programs

Crime

Problems:

  • Lack of opportunities offered to most of our youth 
  • Police presence, lack of consequences
  • Parents don’t know or take advantage of opportunities for kids
  • Proactive policing may be mistaken as harassment
  • Peer pressure. Nowhere for kids to go after school
  • Don’t have anywhere to go, even to use the bathroom
  • Shortage of officials, lack of proper training. They violate rights and get out of hand.
  • Shortage of officers
  • Lack of trust between police and those being policed
  • Lack of emotional management. 
  • Kids don’t know how to manage emotions. Kids only know what they see 
  • Kids are hungry, don’t have running water, might shoplift food
  • Poverty 
  • Single parents can’t stay afloat
  • Need stronger foundations
  • Corruption – cops committing crimes
  • Some people get away with doing crimes
  • Failure of CPS, let kids stay in danger
  • Family dynamics. Parents usually not present
  • Too little stability

Solutions:

  • Big Brother, Big Sisters, mentoring in city schools
  • Proactive policing -The group discuss pros and cons
  • Better survival skills back in schools like cooking and making a budget. 
  • Parents are not equipped, so kids are set back. 
  • Early programs, we need to start early teaching kids. 
  • Teach what happens with bad choices. 
  • Boys and Girls Club helped me, but there aren’t enough programs. 
  • Mayor’s Youth Council is an opportunity. We need more kids involved
  • Many kids don’t get to leave Greenville, even to go to Leland. 
  • Planning Greenville stand up competition, nonviolent wrap
  • More in school therapists, especially middle school. – They can’t talk at home. 
  • ore programs showing different fields kids can go into
  • Need training programs other than college 
  • Better police pay and proper training for police 
  • Idea, what about a flag football league for young people? City has no resources, so it’d have to be done out of pocket or with a sponsor
  • Show kids going through Juvi that even though they committed crimes, there is a positive side of community policing
  • Youth newspaper. Celebrate the accomplishments of our youth. 
  • Positive mindsets for teenagers. 
  • More free activities. 
  • High risk kids need opportunities too. Who can offer them? 
  • Provide transportation to events for kids. 
  • Need to identify high risk kids and offer resources. Then do it right. 
  • Heal the parent before the child. It’s generational. Operation Shoestring in Jackson is a good example.

Food 

Problems:

  • Grocery stores without fresh food
  • Transportation to grocery stores
  • Affordability
  • Not enough variety of foods
  • There’s too much fast food
  • Not enough fresh food education
  • Obesity 
  • Parents and education around good eating habits and cleanliness
    Community education, there’s a negative perception of growing your own food. There’s no local growing of food. 
  • Over reliance on meat
  • Too much snacking and not the right snacks
  • Lack of EBT education
  • Legislative priorities create inequitable access
  • Access to cooking classes and school involvement with those

Solutions:

  • More youth engagement
  • Community gardens 
  • We need to learn how to cook and prioritize cooking at home.
  • Engage the government to help provide more education
  • Changing holiday culture around big big meals
  • Raising the minimum wage so that people can afford healthier foods
  • More local engagement from growers and and agricultural workers
  • Exercise and teaching about food
  • Youth cooking challenge
  • Need to provide some kind of transportation for food access
  • Define what health is and educate people around healthy lifestyles 
  • Changing personal eating habits and advertising healthy foods

Economic Development

Problems:

  • Unemployment
  • Employers say there are jobs, but applicants aren’t qualified
  • Applicants cannot pass required tests
  • Low academic performance doesn’t attract industry
  • Workforce absenteeism
  • Nepotism
  • Tourism – Viking Cruises
  • Tourism “pushes a Black cultural product, but Black people do not receive financial benefit” 
  • Lack of educational emphasis on trades, ag, and arts
  • Dilapidated buildings – Facility upgrades needed
  • City ordinance enforcement absent
  • No follow-up on city permits
  • Infrastructure – Streets and Parking
  • Long-term job security
  • Nothing to inspire youth for future
  • Negative community perception affects recruitment of industry

Solutions:

  • Begin with K-12 education 
  • Farmers out of season can help teach ag trades at schools
  • Need to promote the good – “Best Viking port in the world”
  • Street re-paving is scheduled
  • Focused allocation of the money coming in
    • Analyze Data 
    • Evaluate ROI 
    • Accept policy recommendations from community
  • Vacant building tax like in Monroe
    • Include fees for broken windows/doors
  • Create housing near downtown
  • Leadership Changes
  • Instill pride in the community – Arm residents with real, positive metrics
  • Change outside perceptions

➡️ Read more stories from the Delta Bureau here.

The mission of the Mississippi Free Press, a new nonprofit journalism website and multimedia network that launched in March 2020, is to publish deep public-interest reporting into causes of and solutions to the social, political and structural challenges facing all Mississippians and their communities. Mississippians need to know each other across regions and share our challenges and solutions despite geographic and other differences. We are introducing Mississippians to each other through our deep accountability reporting and compelling people-focused storytelling, and by convening online and physical “solutions circles,” using our statewide networks to ensure inclusivity and representation.