Jackson Free Press

It's been a rough couple of weeks for Jackson, with two highly regarded local men meeting untimely deaths. First, Hal White of the iconic Hal & Mal's restaurant succumbed to a brain aneurysm. Then, a suspect, who later turned the weapon on himself, gunned down Det. Eric Smith, an 18-year veteran of the Jackson Police Department at JPD's downtown headquarters.

Take a few deep breaths, Jackson. It's time for a fresh start.

It's easy to turn inward when tragedy comes knocking on our doors. But as trite as it may sound, life does go on. Fortunately, when Jacksonians are ready to rejoin the world, there's an awful lot of life to be lived. Jackson is a city ready to burst at the seams with creative energy.

This week heralds the return of the Crossroads Film Festival. Over four days, the festival offers the best of independent filmmaking, workshops, musical events and more. Crossroads has become a premier go-to event in the South, in a city that has tremendous potential to become a go-to destination. It's exactly the kind of fresh, vibrant energy that will have Jackson grow and prosper in the coming years--an outlook that dares to try something new, or take a good idea and model it into a totally fresh, completely Jackson, Miss., kind of happening.

It's easy to become cynical in a city where it seems to take forever to get something accomplished. Certainly, the incessant talk of Farish Street's renewal, and promises for a convention center hotel and a flood-control plan that benefits most of the city instead of a select few can become background noise--it doesn't stop, and it never seems to change, either.

So what's an ordinary Jacksonian to do?

Begin by recognizing the small changes that will eventually bring big shifts to the city's demographics. Changes like creating an artist's haven in the heart of downtown, a project spearheaded by Jackson's BlackWhite Development. This project, which will transform a bit more of the urban blight so evident in the city, has tremendous promise to provide both beautification and low-cost housing in the heart of Jackson--two ideas that may seem counter-intuitive, but they work.

Begin by getting off your couch and getting involved with the dozens of creative endeavors going on around town. Take in a play or a concert. While you're at it, take in the public art on the many traffic signal boxes around town. That's a project that combines the lofty (fine art) with the mundane (big grey metal boxes) to create something 
entirely different.

It's spring, Jackson. Time to come out and play. And get involved.