Jennifer Perry Middleton/Jefferson Jimplecute
The city’s recently-created Diversity Committee held a healthy discussion during its first meeting August 19 at the Transportation Center.
A variety of topics was presented by the more than 20 attendees, including how U.S. Hwy. 59 divides the town between the Historical District and Frogtown, how many properties need to be cleaned up and maintained and the fact that many town residents don’t know who their leaders are.
The group piggybacks on a Citizens Action Committee meeting held a week before in the same location. Both created by Mayor Rob Baker, some of the same topics were raised in both meetings, but the organizations will remain separate because diversity is one of the most important issues facing the populace today, Baker said.
“Diversity means something different to each person and there is diverseness among us,” Baker told the group. “Your mayor may be launching it, but the community owns it. In today’s world we need a forum. We need the ability to speak and bring things that are bothering us about our community. Come to the meetings with problems and concerns, but come with solutions too.”
Mary Spearman, who works with the Marion County Diversified Civic & Social Concerns Organization (MCDCSCO), an organization which provides scholarships and activities for youth in the community. They also hold the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. banquet, youth program and march, along with a weekly youth program at the Primary School. Their annual Denim & Diamonds event raises the funds for scholarships, Spearman said, and added that last year they gave five $1,000 scholarships to area youth.
She said that while there are a lot of positive things that work for that group, they need more people to participate.
“We have had many positive outlooks over the years and it has grown,” Spearman said. “This group is just starting tonight and with the next meeting at the community center, it’s up to us to get more people to the community center, y’all hear me?”
April Taylor Johnson with FRESH, which stands for Future Respectful Educated Successful and Humble, also said there needs to be more representation from younger people in the African-American community. Over the five years FRESH has existed, she said they have served thousands of people through events like the Fall Festival, all of which are free to everyone. Johnson added that a lot of focus is on out-of-towners, but that Jeffersonians don’t get the support they need from the community.
“In Jefferson, we take care of our tourists, but what about the people who live here?” She asked the group.
Johnson said her group has been successful due to local support from citizens and elected officials.
“There’s nothing that I’ve asked for that I haven’t been able to get,” she said. “Other people should be able to feel that.”
She also stated that everybody doesn’t know who Mayor Baker is, but that they should, and that residents should also attend city hall meetings and stay actively involved in the town’s happenings.
“As a community, we need to hold different events so we can get to know people and so we can get to know who people are,” Johnson said.
Jefferson resident Jerry Smith addressed the issue with the division between Frogtown and the Historical District and that it’s difficult to get people to cross that divide to get to know one another.
“It is about communication. These kids in our community depend on us. We need to inspire and cultivate our children,” he said. “It’s reality in Jefferson that there is a great divide. Will it ever change? I don’t know, but we have to start to make changes. It takes all of you to see what you can do and we have to be open-minded and not look down on people. If we don’t try to change, these meetings. they don’t mean anything.”
He also complimented Johnson on the work she was doing for the area.
“The key words about the group is awareness,” Smith said and compared her to Fred Lockett, Coach Taylor and Coach Bonner and those who worked to integrate Jefferson.
Another issue addressed was the fact that the different organizations in the city have different calendars and consolidating those is important.
Mayor Baker said there were at least seven calendars and that until the city’s website was refreshed, that Colleen Taylor, working with the Chamber of Commerce would work to consolidate the calendars. A combined calendar with events from the Chamber, City, and Krewe of Hebe, is also on the Jimplecute website, as well.
“This will collectively let people know where they should go,” Baker said.
The Marion County Community Center was also a point of discussion, and Jefferson resident Homer Norris said he had worked with the community in the past to repair it, but that those were basically makeshift.
Mayor Baker said the city had set aside matching grant funds in the 2021-22 budget and that hopefully they would be able to find a grant to repair the structure. The city is also taking steps for the Center to become a 501c(3) non-profit, which will also open other avenues for repair money.
In closing the two-hour meeting, Baker said it had been a really good discussion.
“I want everyone to leave here tonight and do two things,” he said. “Talk to your neighbors and go find somebody you can bring back.”
Baker added that residents didn’t need to see the division that 59 makes through the city and that they all need to come together and find solutions.
“Jefferson is a historical town,” he said. “At the end of the day we are all Jeffersonians.”
The next meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Sept. 20 at the community center.