JACKSON, Miss.—Standing outside the front doors of Jackson City Hall on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 26, Keisha Coleman said that shifting the conversation around violence in Mississippi’s capital city from punishment to prevention is the way to “create a safer Jackson for everyone.”
For the past two years, she has led the City of Jackson’s Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, meant to support community-led efforts to de-escalate conflicts before they result in violence.
The City of Jackson established the office two years ago, thanks to funding from The National League of Cities and the Wells Fargo Foundation. Over that time, Coleman worked with the Jackson Police Department and local violence prevention organizations to collect data about “who’s shooting, who’s being shot, the age ranges and time of day,” she said.
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Strong Arms of Mississippi Co-Founder Benny Ivey (left) and Living with Purpose Founder John Knight (center) look on as Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba talks about the City’s violence prevention efforts during a press conference outside City Hall on Feb. 26, 2025. Photo by Shaunicy Muhammad ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad.jpg?resize=780%2C519&ssl=1″ alt=”A white man and a tall black man stand in the background of a another man speaking” class=”wp-image-213291″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad.jpg?resize=1568%2C1045&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Benny-Ivey-and-John-Knight_credit-Shaunicy-Muhammad-1024×682.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px”>Strong Arms of Mississippi Co-Founder Benny Ivey (left) and Living with Purpose Founder John Knight (center) look on as Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba talks about the City’s violence prevention efforts during a press conference outside City Hall on Feb. 26, 2025. Photo by Shaunicy Muhammad
That data aided the City in deciding which organizations are serving the populations most in need, she said. On Feb. 26, the City awarded Operation Good, Strong Arms of Mississippi and Living with Purpose with $50,000 each to help the organizations build capacity and infrastructure to continue serving Jackson’s most at-risk youth.
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