There are few faces in his community that Virden Addition Association President Jimmy Robinson does not recognize. He is the epitome of what draws a neighborhood together: a talkative nature and the kind of ambient nosiness associated with Mayberry's Aunt B.
Robinson, 73, is an Army veteran and business owner who has been living in the city since he moved from rural Hinds County in 1947.
"I've seen my city grow and I've seen my city stand still and I'm interested in people, especially young people, because those are the leaders of tomorrow and we need to invest in them more time. Not money—time," Robinson said. "There's a big difference."
The longtime resident complains that neighborhoods all over the South started to lose interest in its young people after the 1960s.
"We got on the fast track after integration, and that wasn't always a good thing. … Young people—who know very little about parenting—started having babies, so we blame the community. We in the community should step in and say, 'There's a young lady who's made a mistake. We should pick her up and help her. If she needs to go to school we should teach her and help her along the way,'" Robinson said.
Robinson's interest extends to community policing. He knows firsthand that the police department is the most vulnerable minority in any neighborhood, and has no power without the backing of the larger community. Robinson helped form the Jackson Police Foundation in 1999, a program that raises money for training and equipping the Jackson Police Department.
"One of the most important things in community policing is for the police officer to know the people on his beat. He should be able to stop and get a drink of water and say, 'How are y'all doing?' … because people in the community are an officer's best resource for information. Also, people need to know their beat officer. If your beat officer passes by, make sure you know his name. You're paying him. Go introduce yourself."
Robinson also emphasizes a need to ease children's fear of the police.
"Parents need to stop threatening to call the police on their kids. They're messing up the children's minds about police officers," Robinson said.
Robinson vouches for community policing, claiming his connections in the neighborhood have kept his two businesses, Factory Liquidation Furniture and Sweet Fit Medical Supply, off the target lists of most burglars.
"I've only had one burglary in 15 years," Robinson said. "I attribute this to how you treat people and how many people you know in the community."
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