Ellington

Something stinks in Jackson. After some careful sniffing, the foul stench seems to be emanating from the downtown area—specifically Farish Street.

If you've been following it for the last decade, some massive renovations were supposed to take place on Farish Street as far back as the Johnson administration. There was a lot of pomp and circumstance, and finally the folks in that area of town saw some hope. A downtown that was in desperate need of a face lift got a much-needed lifeline, with talk of daiquiri shops, comedy clubs and famous food chains—all of which had agreed to set up shop on Farish Street. Longtime businesses like Harmon's Drugs, Ms. Peaches and the Birdland were going to receive a much-needed boost in revenue when this Beale Street-like project was completed. We all breathed a sigh of relief and waited for the promised changes.

Alas, it is some 10 years later, and Farish doesn't look much different. Sure, there are a few scaffolds; a few buildings have been demolished, some have been gutted. But the promise of brand-new business has become nothing more than a cruel joke to the residents of that area. They're tired of hearing empty promises—town-hall meeting after town-hall meeting, prayer circle after prayer circle, talk on top of talk. Nothing has happened. It leads me to believe there are forces at play here who don't want Farish Street renovated. Either that, or they want a particular person or persons to benefit. Or worse still, they want to move out those who've sweated and toiled to maintain a life for themselves in the district so that they can move those they want in. Can anyone say "gentrification"?

It was an honor to be asked to join the mayor's ad-hoc committee for Farish Street, a task force put together with respected community leaders and city employees. Our goal is to address the boondoggle that has become Farish Street and identify the problems before making a presentation to the city council. It has been enlightening for me to speak with city elders and learn about the district's history. It has been equally eye-opening to learn about how screwed up some of this city's offices are, and disheartening to see that no one cares about Farish Street. They tell you they do, but they really don't.

The Jackson Redevelopment Authority has dropped the ball and allowed Performa (the company contracted to refurbish Farish) to miss several deadlines. The JRA chairman admits they are in breach of contract, but refuses to fire them. He then insults the intelligence of all the district's residents by adding, "It's a complicated process; you wouldn't understand." Sure we understand: You think the public is "stupid," and we should just sit back and wait for you "smart" folks to sort things out. You guys should just hand in your resignations now. You've soiled those seats you occupy.

I sit back and watch a convention center go up and a Pinnacle building on its third floor (both projects commissioned after Farish) and watch an area where I have worked both as a journalist and a rapper languish in poverty. I watch the Alamo Theater, rich in tradition and ripe for use, sit dormant because of an out-of-touch board who couldn't put bodies in the seats if they were giving away sacks of free money. I watch a similar community, Fondren, prosper and grow while the old-heads around the Farish district haggle over which buildings should go down and which should stay up. All the while nothing gets done and our kids get older.

I've been in the music business long enough to know that when folks want to get something done, it gets done, despite the obstacles that may arise. In this case, it seems as if no one who has the power wants to do anything to make a new Farish Street a reality.

That's the truth ... sho-nuff.