Jackson's Kimberly Jones Merchant shares Five Things She's Learned about America
View the latest in our ongoing series of messages, ideas, and inspiration – shared directly from Americans we admire.
Hello, and thanks to you again for being part of Five Things I’ve Learned.
We’re looking forward to our newest collection of live classes beginning this September. In the meantime, we’re again offering new entries in something we’re equally proud of – our ongoing series of reflections about our country from people we admire, Five Things I’ve Learned about America.
We recently shared links to archives of some important conversations first offered last summer in partnership with the folks at Lincoln Square – conversations about America with people like Stuart Stevens, Beto O’Rourke, and Jennifer Mercieca. If you missed them, you can find these free sessions here.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing new reflections – some written, some video-based, each again reflecting the thoughts and experiences of a fellow American we admire.
Today: A reflection from Jackson, Mississippi’s Kimberly Jones Merchant. Kimberly is a nonprofit leader and justice advocate who for almost three decades has been working to advance racial and economic justice. Kimberly leads The Mississippi Center for Justice, the nonprofit, public-interest law firm committed to advancing racial and economic justice by means of legal services, policy advocacy, community education, and media outreach.
Five Things I’ve Learned about America
“My name is Kimberly Jones Merchant, and I’m the president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Justice.”
In America, race is a foundational construct: It doesn’t exist short of what we say it is, and it can mean life or death.
“What we see on the ground with our citizens is the intersection of race and poverty: The importance of understanding that anytime you have a concentrated amount of people of color, you’re gonna have a concentrated amount of poverty.”
Repeated myths become fact, and that’s why counter narratives are essential.
“There is this push and pull, this struggle, this fight that’s happening right now to redefine what America is – to redefine what a place like Mississippi is, who gets to say what it is?”
Our democracy is fragile. And right now we are under attack.
“We are redefining what it means to be an American. We’re redefining what our values look like. Are we aligned with our constitution? With the very ideals that this nation was built on?“
In America, people vote against their own self-interest – motivated by the seductive idea of proximity to power.
“People will vote against their own self-interest, even in a space where it’s detrimental to them and their families and their communities.”
We will reinvent ourselves, and America will – at some point – be great for everyone.
“I stand with great hope because I’m surrounded by an army. I’m surrounded by an army of advocates.”
MORE ABOUT KIMBERLY
Kimberly Jones Merchant is a legal strategic, nonprofit leader, and justice advocate with nearly three decades of impactful work advancing racial and economic justice nationally and across the state of Mississippi. She is the newly selected President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ).
Prior to this role, Kimberly led the private firm of Kimberly Jones Merchant P.A. as principal, where she served as City Attorney for Indianola and Greenville, Mississippi, as well as Board Counsel for the Hollandale School District. Through her consulting practice, KEA Collaborative, she offered specialized training and consulting services to legal aid and public interest organizations, with a strong focus on race equity in both internal operations and external advocacy.
Kimberly has been a featured speaker on race equity and justice at numerous national conferences and events, and she provides consulting and training services to legal aid and public interest organizations across the country.
She is the former Senior Director of Advocate Resources and Training and first-ever Director of the Racial Justice Institute (RJI) and Network at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, where she provided strategic oversight for the growth and expansion of the annual Racial Justice Institute and its alumni advocacy network. Prior to joining the Shriver Center, Kimberly led the Educational Opportunities Campaign and served as Managing Attorney for the Delta Office of the Mississippi Center for Justice.
With over two decades of legal experience, Kimberly is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi (B.S. in English) and the University of Mississippi School of Law (J.D.). She is a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Fellow and holds a number of leadership roles in her local community, the state of Mississippi, and nationally, serving on the boards of the ACLU of Mississippi, and the Mississippi Center for Justice, a member of the Equity Advisory Council for Justice in Aging, and a member of the Leadership Council for Frontline Justice, a national movement to cultivate justice workers to fill the gap in access to help people resolve their civil legal needs. In addition to her professional roles, Merchant co-hosts a quarterly Pro Se Clinic in partnership with the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project and the Washington County Chancery Court, providing crucial legal assistance to her local community.
The Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) is a nonprofit, public-interest law firm committed to advancing racial and economic justice through a comprehensive approach that combines legal services, policy advocacy, community education, and media outreach. MCJ is supported and staffed by attorneys and other professionals working to develop and pursue strategies to combat discrimination and poverty statewide. Mississippi Center for Justice was organized to address the urgent need to re-establish in-state advocacy for low-income people and communities of color.
MORE ABOUT FIVE THINGS I’VE LEARNED ABOUT AMERICA
Five Things I’ve Learned about America presents live, personal conversations with leading thinkers, organizers, and advocates for our democracy. We’re also soliciting and sharing written pieces, short videos, and other bursts of ideas and inspiration from people whose ideas and experiences are equally inspiring and instructive.
If you’ve just recently discovered us, check out these inspiring reflections by clicking on the corresponding image below.
Or, discover our full archive of reflections about America from people we admire here.
-More soon.
