Jackson Free Press

Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi's only Democrat in the U.S. Congress, believes state and local government should be spending the federal money it has available. The state's senior Congressman doesn't understand why Jackson's government isn't taking advantage of the money, programs and opportunities at its disposal.

At today's Friday Forum at Koinonia Coffee House, Thompson answered questions from a crowd of about 100 people on topics ranging from housing to education to the arts. The resounding theme of almost every answer was that Mississippians, and Jacksonians in particular, have to take the lead in making their city and state better.

"If we're going to make this community better, we're going to have to really demonstrate that if people are together, that we can spend that money, get it out the door, and then come back, and ask for more," Thompson said. "But if you don't spend it in a timely manner, it's tough to come back and ask for more."

"'Change' is something that people love to say. But unless you have the tools necessary to make change, to understand how to get it done, it's much easier said than done."

Thompson said that for the arts to thrive in Mississippi, artists and legislators need to work together.

"Every community is trying to do their own thing, rather than to do it as a collective," Thompson said. "But if we want to attract people, we need to not have the 'crabs in a bucket' theory."

The arts were part of the required curriculum when Thompson was in school, he said, but over the years, they have lost funding in public schools. He said that he will continue to help schools find funding for the arts wherever and whenever he can, but said citizens and local government must learn to work together to tap into the resources arts offer communities.

Jackson and Hinds County governments also have to learn to use the opportunities available for raising funds, Thompson said. One suggestion the congressman had was to sell naming rights to the Jackson Convention Center.

"Every convention center that I know of has somebody (who) pays to put their name on it," Thompson said. "I just think with a little imagination, we could go a long way. I think a lot of the things are not reinventing the wheel, because they've proven successful in other areas."

"The notion that we have the opportunity to set the high-water mark for this state, given the fact that we're in the capital city, is so important. And (we should) not let other areas continue to pull us apart."