Emergency Community Meeting - Redeveloping and Revitalizing the Ida B. Wells Plaza
/To the people of West Jackson
,
Cooperation Jackson purchased the West Park Plaza in May of 2019 and officially renamed it in honor of Ida B. Wells in August. The Plaza is the newest and largest property within our Fannie Lou Hamer Community Land Trust. As the owners of the Plaza we have a vested interest in making it an active and vibrant commercial center that serves the needs of the surrounding neighborhood and the broader community.
That being said, we are disappointed that Dollar General is leaving the Ida B. Wells Plaza this february. As many of us know, the Plaza has been struggling for many years, taking a major hit in 2017 when Cash and Carry left the complex and relocated to South Jackson. Dollar General’s departure unfortunately will create and even greater gap at and food desert in our community. This will be short term as we continue the work we began in 2019 to create a community driven vision with goals for the entire plaza’s redevelopment.
WE CAN NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU! Please join us Thursday, February 27th, 6pm at the Balagoon Center located at 939 W. Capitol Street.
We want everyone to know that we fully intend on serving the need for quality food and so many other needs for goods and services we do not have immediate access to. Our Freedom Farms Cooperative is working to start a black farmer’s market at the Plaza. We have been actively working with Cash and Carry to return to West Jackson and open a new grocery store. We have also explored the opportunity to open a grocery store that is a multi-stake holder community cooperative; meaning that community members and the workers would own, operate and govern the business and we hope thousands of Jackson residents will join.
Again, in order to make sure we are putting into practice our goal for a community driven process that meets our collective needs, we need your participation and leadership. Please join us for an urgent community meeting to strengthen the plans for collectively redeveloping the Plaza. The Ida B Wells Plaza can enrich the health and wealth of our community and truly become an asset that benefits us all!
In Solidarity and Cooperation, The Cooperation Jackson Team
Cooperation Jackson is an emerging network of worker owned cooperative businesses and supporting institutions, such as the Fannie Lou Hamer Community Land Trust. We are based in West Jackson at the Kuwasi Balagoon Center for Economic Democracy and Sustainable Development. Our mission is to build a solidarity economy that strengthens our community.
