The Mississippi Delta has produced blues legends, literary giants, NFL stars, and enough political intrigue to keep a small army of bloggers employed. But can it produce a comeback?
State Rep. Otis Anthony joins Grant Callen on the Empower Podcast for a discussion that covers just about everything short of the designated hitter rule: poverty, jobs, education, economic development, fatherlessness, manufacturing, school choice, and whether all those ribbon cuttings are actually helping the places that need it most.
Anthony, an Indianola native, argues the Delta's greatest asset isn't its farmland, casinos, or catfish. It's its people.
The two also tackle redistricting, partisan politics, and the increasingly rare art of Democrats and Republicans having a conversation without trying to set each other on fire.
Agree with them or not, it's a thoughtful discussion about one of Mississippi's toughest questions: How do we help more people climb the ladder of opportunity?
Have at it.
11 comments:
The problem lies in the ingrained racial conflict that permeates every area of Delta life. It doesn't matter what a person's race is that holds office or positions of leadership - what matters is that they should act competently and in the best interests of their town, county, or the Delta as a whole. That's no longer happening and it hasn't happened for a long time now. The movers, shakers, and playmakers that once made the Delta a good place to live (quality of life) and do business (economic development) have been replaced by people who see those things as a threat to them. So they opt for the status quo of blight and decline.
Sounds like the people in charge are scared of losing the power. It’s all about them and not about the voters. The voters are conditioned to stay in poverty, otherwise they would vote differently.
Kids need to be taught that it’s okay to move. Teach them a trade from an early age and let them get the hell out. Go to areas of the country that have population and money. It’ll take a generation, but if the delta were empty short of farms and rec land things would look a lot different.
The people are the problem not an asset
These Empower Podcasts are HILARIOUS.
No. Jackson isn’t “coming back”.
No. The delta is t “coming back”.
Same goes for Natchez, Vicksburg, or most other locations.
In addition, liberal-think will eventually creep into any successful Mississippi town or city and destroy it as well.
These people are delusional.
So it is safe to say that Mississippi isn’t coming back. But what would it be coming back from? It never happened anyway!
The Delta's greatest asset is its dirt.
@1:36 PM: Amen! Those poverty pips wanted ignorance and poverty not improvement for their own selfish gain. What representation? If you're on the ground and the rope needed to pull you up is on the ground, how can you pull yourself up? Make that make sense.
12:35 and 12:59 are exactly right. As a lifelong Mississippian, I hate it, but the "tipping point" in those cities / areas has been reached. They're done, and they only get worse from here on out. Again, I hate it, but those are just the facts. If you've lived here long enough, you can remember what they once were and see what they are now. There just isn't a way back from what they've become - not with the present political structure and demographic remaining the same.
That WAS happening, 12:13. But certain parties, in order to enrich themselves, have been constructing instaslums all over the Delta: apartment communities which instantly develop social dynamics like the ones in Canton. Previously, several generations of the Delta's poor evacuated themselves to Detroit and Chicago - then to Atlanta. Such cities are rich with opportunities and services, and most transplants have done well.
Now, both the poor and their "apartment community" landlords (one was recently exposed, in a JJ article), are firmly attached to the government teat. Neither they, nor their landlords, have to wonder where their money is coming from.
The hopelessness multiplies.
Will the Delta 'come back', whatever 'come back' means. And, no, there is no more racial conflict there than any other area of the Southeast.
With the exception of Cleveland, every delta town now has or has had a black mayor, black supervisors, black school superintendent, black police chief and sheriff and the usual chicken, rib, turnip green and burger shacks that inundate any impoverished areas.
It's cute that this liberal think tank would attempt to take the spotlight off Jackson and shine it on the Delta. The only difference between the Delta and the rest of the state is that the Delta towns are relegated to 19 Delta and part Delta counties and the rest of the state is a bit more spread out. Otherwise, Mississippi is Mississippi.
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