Ray McCants III came to Mississippi from Detroit with a scholarship and curiosity about business. What he found instead was a city full of possibilities. Through marketing, mentorship, and a belief in Jackson’s creative potential, he’s helping write its next chapter.

Jackson Indie Music Week returns as a celebration of the city’s vibrant creative scene, bringing together independent artists, music professionals, and fans for a week of performances, panels, and cultural experiences. The multi-day event highlights the diversity of Mississippi’s music community while creating opportunities for collaboration, learning, and economic growth. By spotlighting local talent across multiple genres and venues, Jackson Indie Music Week continues to position the city as a hub for Southern creativity and innovation.

Perhaps the next best thing to sharing a meal with someone is meeting them for coffee. This is especially true in Jackson, where the opening of local coffee shops has been on caffeine for the last few years. But what’s beginning to stand out about the Jackson coffee scene is the opportunities it provides for people to gather. From coffee clubs to latte art throwdowns and annual events like the Jackson Coffee Festival, these events celebrate coffee culture in completely different ways and help to foster a growing sense of community in Jackson.

Born and raised in a West Side community in Jackson’s Ward 4, Seymore is Jackson through and through. He serves as a board member of the Jackson Association of Neighborhoods, but this title only tells part of his story. 

Founded during an age of segregation, Marshall’s opened its doors when African American readers in Mississippi had limited access to books that reflected their history, theology, politics and lived experience. Inside its walls, readers could find authors who were absent from mainstream shelves, along with sheet music, recordings and cultural materials that documented a parallel America.

Azia Cimone has made downtown Jackson home for years, showing up for the City With Soul and organizing spaces long before she ever imagined a formal leadership role. That steady presence and commitment to place have now led her to the board of the Jackson Association of Neighborhoods, where she will help guide the organization’s work to strengthen neighborhoods across the city.

In Duttoville, a historic neighborhood nestled south of downtown between Highway 80, West and Gallatin streets, residents are working to restore a sense of pride and stability through cleanup efforts, property redevelopment and the formation of a formal neighborhood association.

Jackson residents can dial 211 to access free, confidential support connecting them to local health, housing, utility assistance, senior services, and other community resources. Available 24/7, the service offers a simple way to get reliable information and help when it’s needed most.

Jackson grows stronger when we see the success of every community as connected to our own. Civic engagement isn’t limited to where we live—it’s about how we show up for the entire city. Whether through mentorship, volunteering, donating supplies, or simply sharing information, each of us has something to offer. When neighborhoods invest in one another, we create safer streets, healthier public spaces, and stronger relationships across Jackson. Progress becomes possible when we step beyond familiar boundaries and work together for the good of all.

Brown University’s Community Noise Lab is launching a new study in Jackson to better understand how temperature, air quality, noise and personal perception affect residents’ comfort and overall quality of life. The team is collecting community survey responses ahead of field measurements beginning in February 2026, and neighborhood input will help shape the research.

The Jackson City Council has temporarily stopped streaming meetings on Facebook Live as it upgrades to a new digital broadcasting system. Residents can watch meetings through the city’s website or PEG Network YouTube page until Facebook Live resumes.

Jackson residents are invited to share their ideas for improving the city through JXN Rising’s public survey, helping shape future priorities across infrastructure, safety, housing, economic growth, and community revitalization.

The Greater Belhaven Foundation is asking neighbors and more to take its annual stakeholder survey, which helps guide the organization’s priorities and neighborhood projects in the year ahead.

The Hinds County Election Commission has announced permanent polling place changes for four precincts ahead of the November 4, 2025, General Special Election. The updates affect locations in Districts 3 and 5, including moves to Midtown Public Charter School, Pecan Park Elementary, Mississippi Baptist Seminary and Bible College, and College Hill Baptist Church. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

The Jackson Association of Neighborhoods (JAN) is hiring a Community Journalist to lead a community-focused education and engagement effort funded by the Community Foundation for Mississippi through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The role keeps Jackson residents informed about issues that affect daily life and equips them to participate in collaborative solutions.

Andy Frame has called Fondren home since moving to Jackson in 2009 to attend Mississippi College School of Law. He and his wife, Anna, a Jackson native, are raising their two children and a beagle mix named Bessie in the Ward 7 neighborhood.