Jackson Free Press

"The old generation is dying," muses 23-year-old Ginger Williams, adding that she doesn't mean to be morbid. "A younger generation is pushing through and taking leadership." Sitting with her boyfriend, Jason Marlow, and friend William Goodman, Williams is not only a part of that new generation, she is a driving force. Williams grew up in Jackson but left to attend college, three colleges to be exact, as a teenager. She and Marlow both just relocated to Jackson, ready to help push the young creative community forward. They both talk of Mississippi, and Jackson in particular, with love in their eyes.

"It has such a nice creative energy," Marlow, 25, says. "The younger crowd seems to be getting more focused and driven and community aware."

2 Broke 2 Go?

For a city where negativity and hopelessness seemed the prevailing attitudes a mere two years ago—especially among younger people, many of whom were biding their time until they could make their escape—this 'help improve Jackson' attitude is new, fresh and seems to be a developing trend among young Jacksonians.

Marlow calls Jackson a "breeding ground" of various artistic forces, one that is just now developing. "There's an energy that isn't defined yet here. It's not like a big city because it's much more open to be what you make of it."

Daniel Johnson, a 25-year-old musician and artist, says that the best thing about Jackson is the state of development that it's in right now. "It's small enough that the things you do make an impact and are remembered," he says with a smile. "You commit yourself and evolve with Jackson. It's really good for growth as a person."

Hit rapper Kamikaze says in all likelihood he'll never leave Jackson. Cities like Atlanta and New York, where many rappers are based, are too fast, too expensive for him. Kamikaze's latest CD is called "2 Broke 2 Ball," but he admits that, in fact, living in Jackson allows him to live just as a rapper, without a second job. "I'm living like an emperor here," he says. "The cost of living in Jackson is amazing. Anywhere else, I'd be just in the grind, barely making it."

Like Kamikaze, Williams, Marlow and Goodman are all able to live just as artists. In fact, Williams, Marlow and Goodman, together with Twiggy (Jason Lott) and Josh Hailey, have recently formed an artistic group called Evato. "We're like freelancers working together," Goodman explains, citing the different artistic means covered in Evato: film, illustration, painting, music, graphic design and painting. The group does both commissioned and commercial work. Right now, they're working on getting grants to complete a group project for the Mississippi Symphony in April.

Evato is situated in the right state, they say. "The three most recognizable icons in the world are Coca Cola, Elvis and Jesus," Williams says. "Two of those are from Mississippi." She points to Jim Henson and Oprah Winfrey as other examples of what Mississippi produces.

Ch-ch-changes

It takes time to get to this stage, though, these young creatives say. Patience is key. "If you just leave, you're avoiding important factors," Marlow says. "If you're humble and have patience, you'll get something powerful."

All of this creative energy and possibility will remain as just potential, Marlow notes, unless the community continues to come together. "The energy needs to be focused," he says. "There are so many people here who are creative, but they need to see projects through, not just conceive of them."

Williams adds that, for this creative community to really coalesce, it needs to have more creative live/work spaces to choose from and better business communication in the area. "There needs to be more organization for renovations of the properties downtown."

And they need to get past self-focus and cliques. "Hugging around a flagpole doesn't build a community," Marlow adds. "We have to do business that's not selfish."

He, Williams and Goodman talk excitedly about cooperating with local businesses to sponsor art projects. They want more businesses downtown that cater to young people after 5 p.m. Goodman, who lives and works in the Fondren Corner building, believes that a similar building downtown could revitalize the entire city. Combining residential areas, business and restaurants in such "mixed-use" spaces is key, he notes.

"Things in Fondren are going to spread down State Street," he says with a knowing smile.

Next Stop, Downtown

Johnson believes downtown could play a key role in keeping young people in Jackson—and it's not always about developing huge municipal projects or mega-buildings: "There are all of those buildings down there, and something could be done with the lobbies. They could sponsor young artists by hanging their stuff where a lot of business people can see them and buy them."

Developing more spaces will also change the outlook that people in other states have on Jackson, both Marlow and Goodman note. "When people look on the Internet for the schedules of their favorite bands and artists and see Jackson, they're going to start wondering what this place is about," Goodman explains.

Marlow points to the Crossroads Film Festival as an event that could put Jackson on the map if publicity is handled correctly outside, as well as inside, the Jackson area. "People know Sundance and Cannes, and Crossroads could be up there with those eventually," he says, adding that bringing more people into Jackson for such events will only improve Jackson further.

"We need to bring art and ideas from other places to show Jackson what is going on outside of our world."

Kamikaze points to the changes in Atlanta over the past decade as proof of the correlation between art and civic change. He notes that recording artist Babyface's studio in Atlanta brought more musicians into the area, which in turn brought more development and money.

"It was just a few people doing stuff in Atlanta. This handful of people put a recording studio there, then Atlanta just blew up because people went there and started to like it," he says.

Uncool Politics?

But money and "more stuff" aren't all that young people care about. The conformist, traditionalist politics of Mississippi are a recurring problem for many young people. Northern-born Amy Buchanan, 22, admits that Mississippi's sharp, divisive political nature scared her when she first moved here from New Hampshire with her parents three years ago.

"I was shocked at the distribution of wealth," she recalls, pointing to a need for a better mix of wealth and ideas among different communities.

Rukiyah Fahimah, 24, even left Jackson because of the politics. "I didn't want to be somewhere were there was still a black and a white side of the cafeteria," she explains. "There are restaurants in Jackson where I get slower service for having dreadlocks."

Jackson was too divisive for her tastes. She was tired of all-white events, tired of all-black events. She left Jackson for Chicago and Memphis, bigger and supposedly better cities, but she found her way back. She moved back due to a better cost of living and familiarity with the writing circles in Jackson.

Though Fahimah admits that Jackson has changed a lot in the past two years, she is worried that a lot of these changes aren't manifested through local elections. "People talk a good game, but you see the results of the election and it's like 'What's up?'"

Kamikaze boils it down to a simple sentence: "We need cooler people in office."

The age gap between politicians and young people is too big, Kamikaze says. "It's a gaping hole," he says. "Politicians are just out of touch with what young people want. Jackson needs an update."

Fear and Self-Loathing

But many young people agree that something other than electing better officials must be done. Jackson has a self-esteem complex, they say. And that needs to be fixed.

"There is a real self-loathing here," Kamikaze says. "Especially in the African American community. They think they can't succeed here. They're not supposed to."

But people can succeed here, he says. "If a lot of those people who took their degrees, their skills, businesses and intelligence elsewhere would just stay, Jackson would be a lot better socially and economically."

More creative production in Jackson will directly affect the city's self-image, Williams says. She explains that many of the old conservative values parallel the conservative art still often found in Jackson. An influx of progressive, modern art could directly precipitate a newer, more modern and progressive Mississippi.

Exhibits like the under-attended "Baroque Dresden" do nothing to excite young people in Jackson, do nothing to make them feel good about staying, Kamikaze says. "We need bigger sporting events, cooler artists in the big spaces and more concerts. I don't care who it is playing; we just need more."

Jackson also needs its own movie theater, he says, one that the JATRAN route passes for people without cars. A cinema in Jackson would help those with cars, too, he says, because many African Americans are afraid to drive through Flowood to the Parkway Place Theater. Their perception is that they will be racially profiled, he says. The JFP reported recently that African Americans fear being profiled by law enforcement in both Madison and Rankin counties, even as whites also complain of over-zealous policing against them.

All of this just corroborates what Goodman has thought all along: "Art is community," he says.

It is about believing in possibilities, not drowning in negativity, these creatives say. "When you have this positive energy, you'll get positive results." Goodman explains. "Racism and ignorance will be overcome by building a community based on flourishing ideas and production."

Transforming Jackson into an interesting place for younger people will solve their other hesitation, too, they say: crime. Kamikaze says crime in Jackson isn't as prevalent as many citizens think it is. But though city crime rates are at a 30-year low, the city suffers from a "dangerous" rep, just as the burbs suffer from a "racist" one.

Johnson explains that the city's residents need to work harder to overcome faulty crime perceptions: "Kids think downtown is dangerous, so the city needs to make a bigger effort to shape the way both kids and parents see downtown."

"There is a lot of flight toward Northeast Jackson, where people stay in their houses, because people don't feel safe," Williams says.

Park the Damned Car

For Goodman, this is easily solved by developing downtown with more residential areas and clubs. "That'll get kids walking around downtown. Memphis was in a lot worse shape, crime-wise, than Jackson is now, but they turned it around by making it safe for people to walk around."

Walking is a key ingredient for many young people. Goodman, Williams and Marlow all see it as essential in renovating the mood of downtown. Johnson sees walking as an effective means for revitalizing neighborhoods, too.

"Walking or riding bikes through neighborhoods helps to foster relationships with strangers, even if it's just looking in each other's eyes and saying 'good day,'" he explains. "People need to walk to each other's houses and host things in neighborhoods for charities."

Physical activity also leads to better mental health and a more positive outlook, which could shape the way Jacksonians feel about their surroundings.

In fact, physical activity is so important to Buchanan that she's hesitant to remain in Jackson. "I just can't stand the layout of the land," she says, explaining that she doesn't mean this shallowly. "I want to be near an ocean or land because I want to do more hiking and swimming."

The reservoir offers Jacksonians a taste of water, but Buchanan thinks something more needs to be done for people not interested in just riding in boats—those who prefer more active recreation like hiking, biking and kayaking.

Though the outdoor community is in its nascent stages in Jackson, Goodman thinks anything is possible. "I wanted to leave, too, a couple of years ago," he concedes. "But there's such a new community here. People believe in us. They see that things are getting done. Businesses support us, and they want to help get things done, too."

His friends nod in agreement. They know Mississippi isn't perfect, but they're unwilling to wait around hating themselves and the state and complaining all the time. "I'm very southern," Williams says. "I love my state, for the good and the bad."