Jackson Free Press

As I look back on the many years I spent living in the city of Jackson, romanticism sometimes begins to set in.

When I contemplate the notion of clicking my red Jordans three times to send me back to Jackson, I find myself missing the atmosphere, the restaurants, the hospitality, the people, the nightlife—hell, I even miss dodging the potholes in Jackson.

This romanticism often allows me to imagine the city as a shining example of Mississippi excellence. Then reality sets in, and I ask myself, "Do I miss what the city of Jackson is or what the city of Jackson can become?" As a former citizen, looking forward was, at times, very hard to do. The idea of looking ahead seemed asinine because of the perilous problems that ailed the city at the time. But is the idea of looking ahead that hard to do, along with solving the current ills within the city of Jackson? Doesn't the city deserve both?

I grew up with privileges many folks in the city of Jackson and across the country don't have. In all honesty, I never worried about the bare necessities. Hell, punishment for me was having to turn off one of the many gaming systems my parents purchased so I could complete my homework. Because they obtained degrees and lived in affluent neighborhoods and surrounded themselves with policy-makers, they carried influence; they had a voice as to what direction the city of Jackson should go. As I look back at it, how fair was this? Did my parents and others like them deserve to have their concerns heard? Of course, but what about the other citizens of Jackson who weren't as fortunate as my parents or my friends' parents? Were there voices less important because they lived in Ward 3 instead of Ward 2?

Observing the people who are currently running for mayor in the city I love—with bias—I wonder which candidate has the acumen to presently tackle the issues facing the city of Jackson along with the vision to look ahead.

Out of the 16 candidates, one person successfully stands out, in my opinion, and that person is Chokwe Antar Lumumba. Now, for the sake of full disclosure, I recall only meeting Chokwe once, maybe twice, and besides us both sharing the same profession and having fathers who participated in the Jackson political arena, I don't think we share many commonalities. Well, there is one commonality I would like to add, and that is caring deeply about where the city of Jackson is headed.

Chokwe's campaign focuses the citizens of Jackson, especially those I would consider to be voiceless. The People's Platform was an ideology his father, the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, ran on and one Chokwe Antar co-authored. This ideology embraces the notion of political, economic and social empowerment for every citizen of Jackson, the haves and have-nots.

Chokwe's People Platform is not a policy-less idea. The platform is also centered around infrastructure, a sales tax that would help streamline much-needed revenue, addressing the increasing homicide rate by creating better opportunities so people will have something better to do than commit nefarious activities, revitalizing downtown, bridging the complex relationship between the City and the State Legislature and, most importantly (to me), investing in Jackson's future.

The city's future revolves around inclusiveness, and for its citizens to have a voice, no matter their nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation or income.

Jackson needs someone who has ambitious dreams for its citizens as well as fixing potholes on Mill Street. So again, I ask, doesn't the city of Jackson deserve both?

Leslie McLemore II, a Jackson native, is now in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Jackson State University, North Carolina Central University School of Law and American University Washington College of Law.