We must reimagine public safety and reinvest in communities. Mississippi and the nation has a violent history of abuse and killings of indigenous, black and cash poor people. The killings of Johnathan Sanders, Rexel Henry, Andre Jones, Willie Jones, Jr. and countless others are state sanctioned murders rooted in the failure of decades of commissions, investigations, police reforms, and oversight to prevent their deaths.

The credible messenger philosophy test on the belief that the answers to our problems are in our community and those of us closest to the pain, are closest to the solution. A Credible Messenger is a person indigenous to the community that oftentimes has lived experience similar to the young person they are mentoring and supporting.

Metropolitan cities across the United States have experienced significant violence for decades, and Jackson Mississippi, has not been immune to this disease. Like the infectious diseases in our history (i.e. cancer and etc.), violence can be better understood and more successfully treated as an epidemic.

As our senior centers, schools, business, and organizations close for safety and precautionary reasons, we continue to learn how to combat the COVID-19 virus effectively, and protect ourselves and loved ones against it.