Jackson mayor attending inaugural Black Mayors' Coalition on Crime summit. What we know

Brooke Muckerman, Mississippi Clarion Ledger

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba will attend a summit in Memphis dedicated to fighting crime across the nation.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young and the African American Mayors Association teamed up to launch the Black Mayors' Coalition on Crime. Its inaugural meeting in Memphis starts Wednesday and ends Thursday afternoon, with 21 mayors across the United States traveling to the city for the closed-door meetings. Dr. Russell Wigginton, President of the National Civil Rights Museum, will facilitate the two-day event.

Mayors from major U.S. cities and small cities are expected to attend the summit. Young has said crime reduction is a top priority in his administration. Since he was elected, Young has met with gang leaders in the city and come up with a set of wide-ranging initiatives to combat crime with his transition team. The press release said that Young has been "outspoken" about addressing crime in Memphis.

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba

Young, now almost four months into his first administration, said that the participation is not limited to only Black mayors and is "open to anyone who can contribute to solving the issue."

“My hope is that this will be the start of a broad ongoing national effort to find real solutions to this very complex issue. I believe we can leverage our collective platforms to create change in the policies, laws, and resources needed to reverse the trend and heal our communities. We cannot wait,” Young said in the release.

Some of the closed-door sessions will involve talks on effective policing strategies to combat homicide rates and motor vehicle thefts.

The confirmed attendees are:

  • Mayor Mitch Colvin: Fayetteville, North Carolina

  • Mayor Jaylen Smith: Earle, Arkansas

  • Mayor Julian McTizic: Bolivar, Tennessee

  • Deputy Mayor Lindsey Appiah: Washington, D.C.

  • Mayor Eddie Melton: Gary, Indiana

  • Mayor William Rawls Jr.: Brownsville, Tennessee

  • Mayor Courtney Welch: Emeryville, California

  • Mayor Tishaura Jones: St. Louis, Missouri

  • Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba: Jackson, Mississippi

  • Mayor LaToya Cantrell: New Orleans, Louisiana

  • NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick: New Orleans, Louisiana

  • Mayor Beverly H. Burks: Clarkston, Georgia

  • Mayor Frank Scott Jr.: Little Rock, Arkansas

  • Chief Operating Officer Lisa Y. Benjamin: Atlanta, Georgia

  • Mayor Rex Richardson: Long Beach, California

  • Mayor Cory Woods: Tempe, Arizona

  • Mayor Leonardo Williams: Durham, North Carolina

  • Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Brian Williams: Los Angeles, California

  • Maj. Torrie Tellis, CMPD: Charlotte, North Carolina

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS mayor attending Black Mayors' Coalition on Crime summit

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