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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.

The Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.) is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for a new mixed-use retail site called Woodrow Wilson Place (2709 Bailey Ave.) Thursday, Aug. 13, at 10 a.m.

Woodrow Wilson Place will contain Mississippi Eyecare Associates, Mississippi Smiles Dentistry, a Subway restaurant and a Cricket Wireless telephone store, which will sell AT&T products. Final operation hours for the four businesses are still pending.

The groundbreaking ceremony will feature presentations from Medical Mall staff and partners involved in the development of Woodrow Wilson Place. Light refreshments will be served after the ceremony. For more information, call Erica Reed at 601-982-8467 or email ejohnson@jacksonmedicalmall.org.

Fleet Feet Pep Rally Run

On Thursday, Aug. 13, Fleet Feet Sports (500 U.S. Highway 51, Ridgeland, 601-899-9696) is inviting football fans to put on their favorite team’s colors for the Pep Rally Run starting at 6 p.m. Participants who arrive early can try on a pair of Newton’s sneakers and be entered into a Newton raffle for a variety of prizes. Fleet Feet’s neighbor The College Corner (500 U.S. Highway 51, Suite V, Ridgeland, 601-790-7535) will also be participating and giving away awards to participants who show the most school spirit.

As part of a promotion called “#TPOR The Power of Running for Good” running every weekend between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30 Fleet Feet will collect a portion of the sale of designated products into a fund that the store will donate to The Good Samaritan Center. For information on the promotion and qualifying brands, visit the #TPOR website.

Visit the Fleet Feet Run Group to register for this and other Fleet Feet running events. Visit Fleet Feet’s website for a full list of upcoming summer runs.

‘What Works Cities’

New York City-based Bloomberg Philanthropies, a charitable organization founded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, announced Aug. 5 the first eight cities chosen for What Works Cities—the organization’s new $42 million initiative to help mayors and planners boost open government and streamline the use of effective policymaking data.

Jackson is among the chosen cities for the program. What Works Cities will review the city’s current use of open data and then work with Mayor Tony Yarber to design a customized approach to address issues such as economic development, public health and job creation.

The other chosen cities are Chattanooga, Tenn.; Kansas City, Mo.; Louisville, Ky.; Mesa, Ariz.; New Orleans, La.; Seattle, Wash.; and Tulsa, Okla.

To learn more about the initiative or register to be a What Works city, visit Bloomberg’s What Works website.

‘Undoing Racism’ Workshop

Jackson 2000, a local racial-reconcilation organization, is bringing a special workshop to Jackson Aug. 13.

The “Undoing Racism” workshop is presented by The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, an international collective of multicultural community organizers and educators dedicated to social transformation. It begins Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. in the Innovation Room at the Mississippi E-Center at Jackson State University (1230 Raymond Road). It continues with two all-day sessions Friday, Aug. 14, and Saturday, Aug. 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The workshop has 40 slots available, and registration is $249 per person.

The Friday and Saturday sessions will include lunch from Room Service catering. A full menu is available here. Participants should submit their order via email to Dominic DeLeo at deleo.dominic@gmail.com by Thursday.

For more information, email Dominic DeLeo. To register for the workshop, visit http://www.jackson2000.org/event-1977683 jackson2000.com.

MFP Solutions Lab logo

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.

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.