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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.

We’re glad to see the ‘Creative Class’ concept catching on: “Without suggesting that one caused the other, the authors concluded that tolerant, funky, hip, diverse cities were also rich ones. ‘The losers are the cities that don’t let these people organize and be themselves and express their energy,’ Mr. Florida said in a telephone interview. ‘A city that allowed a gay community to emerge 10 or 20 years ago, set up its own retail stores and clubs, a city that allowed a music scene to happen, a city that allowed an arts community to emerge — there’s something in the ecosystem of that community that allows individuals to get there, to be themselves and to mobilize resources. That of course is the same thing that high-tech entrepreneurs do,’” the New York Times reported Thursday, using Memphis (the 11th more dangerous city in the U.S.) as an example.

Remember to read Todd’s cover story about Jackson’s great “creative class” potential (and high ranking) from our preview issue published over a year ago in October 2002. Every word is still relevant today! Please click there to comment on this story.

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.