JACKSON, Miss.—“Welcome to the University of South Jackson,” Forest Hill High School senior Leundrea Thompson, radiating with pride, said as she handed out copies of the day’s agenda to students and members of the media who were filing into the school’s auditorium on Thursday, March 20.
At the same time, 11 candidates running to be the next mayor of the City of Jackson found their seats on the stage. Those candidates included incumbent Chokwe A. Lumumba, David Archie, Rodney DePriest, James Hopkins, Tim Henderson, Anthony Wilson, Marcus Wallace, Kim Wade, Delano Funches, Socrates Garrett and Zach Servis.
They shared their ideas on the issues that many of Jackson’s young people find most significant: funding for public schools, safe spaces for youth to gather outside of school, gun violence and access to mental-health services.
Sitting in the crowd of more than 100 students, educators and journalists was Jeremiah Wilson, a Lanier High School senior and registered voter who plans to vote for the first time during Mississippi’s April 1 municipal primaries on Tuesday.
‘Address the Root Causes of Gun Violence’
Murrah High School senior Javion Shed moderated the Teens Take The Lead mayoral candidate forum, asking the candidates several questions about topics like access to clean drinking water, reducing crime among young people and how a mayor can affect perceptions about Jackson’s public schools.
Each candidate responded.
Some, like Reset Jackson founder James Hopkins, cultivated their answers to speak directly to young people. When Shed asked the candidates how, if elected, they could work to shift the negative ideas that some have of Jackson Public Schools, he challenged students to take some responsibility for how their schools are viewed.
Following Shed’s line of questioning, several JPS students got the opportunity to ask their own pre-written questions of the candidates. “How will you address the root causes of gun violence such as poverty, mental health and gang activity?” one student asked radio host Kim Wade.
“As I’ve said before, there is no home-run solution to the crime problem. There are solutions to aspects of the crime problem,” he responded, adding that getting a consensus among community members on how to decrease gun violence can be difficult.
“For instance, if we wanted to get a road block out here on the corner, some part of this audience might want it. The other part might be ready to go to court to sue over it,” he continued.
When asked by a student to share his ideas on increasing school funding, Rodney DePriest—an independent—highlighted the correlation between a city’s tax base and public school funding. “It all goes back to the money when you experience cut after cut after cut and a reduction in tax base and ad valorem taxes that fund our schools,” DePriest said.
“We need to cure the violence and restore the infrastructure,” he continued. “We have to create an environment in our city where businesses can thrive, where customers and employees feel safe. Without that, we will not have the jobs we need to grow the tax base.”
‘Kids I Know Have Got Potential’
There were a few moments of levity as some of the candidates played to students in the crowd, shouting out the high schools from which they graduated.
Still, much of the discussion maintained a serious tone.
When it was time, Jeremiah Wilson—dressed in a maroon and white Lanier High School letterman jacket—walked up to the podium and asked former Hinds County Board Supervisor David Archie his pre-written question: How can JPS and local policymakers collaborate to prevent young people from ending up in the justice system?
Archie said that, if elected, he would work with state leaders and potentially file lawsuits to secure more state funding for JPS to better serve its students. “We have to always operate with less and do more,” he said.
After the forum ended, Wilson told reporters that while he thought the forum was “fun” and a good opportunity for students to hear from candidates, he did not think they did a good enough job of providing direct answers to questions about addressing gun violence and youth involvement in gangs—two topics near to his heart.
“Coming from where I’m coming from, there’s a lot of kids I know that have got potential—academic potential, physical potential, very intelligent—and just don’t do nothing with it. They really didn’t give good definitions on it that I was looking for,” he said.
Wilson said he hadn’t yet heard enough to solidify his vote for any one candidate, something he discussed with his peers. However, he added, it was evident during the forum that other students were glued in to what the candidates had to say.
“When I looked around in the audience, I seen a lot of the other children looking around, smiles on their faces, whispering to their peers. I think this made a big impact on us,” he said.
