New group seeks to grow Jackson
In a world where many young people write themselves off as irrelevant in the political world, one Jackson organization seeks to broaden the civic playing field.
The Jackson Progressives, as they are known, are an up-and-coming league of young Jacksonians whose mission, according to chairman and co-founder Kamikaze, “is to promote black folks and white folks economically and socially getting together and moving Jackson forward.”
“We’re all staunch supporters of Jackson,” he asserts, “trying to promote the fact that we're all in this together. You should try to get together with people from all different backgrounds and races.”
Kamikaze, who is also a rising hip-hop artist and chairman of the Farish Street District Foundation, developed the idea for the group while meeting with friend and Jackson professional Matt Allen, who serves as vice-chairman and co-founder.
“It was one of Kaze's brainchildren, so to speak,” Allen recounts. “We were at Fenian's (Pub and Restaurant) after a discussion with some people with differing political views. (Despite those differences) we all shared the same beliefs about Jackson.”
According to the pair, the current group’s membership reflects its mission statement’s goal “to be diverse along political, racial, and religious lines in order to more accurately reflect the community in which we live.”
“You'll find Republicans in there and you'll find hardcore Democrats,” says Allen. “Even though they're of different backgrounds, they are all extremely pro-Jackson.”
Allen goes on to describe plans to create ties between Jackson’s schools.
“There are also some existing efforts in the school systems in Jackson to get private and public schools together,” he says. “We're doing what we can to supplement that effort.”
According to Kamikaze, those plans include mentorship programs, life skills training as well as early training in professional skills like banking, law, and entrepreneurship.
Kamikaze has also begun attracting nationally-known musical acts to Jackson to help spring the creative aspect of the mission into action. Most recently, the Nappy Roots performed at Hal & Mal’s Restaurant and Brewery and scheduled a visit to the campus of Millsaps College.
Beyond that, they also have a festival in the works.
“One of the first things we're going to do is organize an event to promote diversity at Smith Park later on in the summer where we're going to have different vendors come out and different artists performing,” Kamikaze shares.
All of this, according to the young entrepreneur, is to help Jackson realize its full potential.
“Jackson's going to be one of the new hubs of the South along with Atlanta, New Orleans, and Memphis,” Kamikaze claims. “We are a metropolis waiting to happen. When we get Farish St, The King Edwards and Standard Life buliding rolling, we'll have 5,000 people in the downtown area every weekend.
“People will no longer just pass through Jackson along the way to New Orleans or Memphis. People will be stopping in Jackson and spending money in Jackson. We've got great potential and there's no limit to where Jackson can be in 5 to 10 years.”