Changing Our Narrative
By MeShonya Wren-Coleman, Ph.D.
So many of us have come from poverty-stricken rural areas. Not much was expected of us. Some of us had positive influences in our lives and some were self-motivators determined to not allow where we came from to define us.
This is true for four individuals who had the vision to find ways that they could not just give back to the community from whence they came but also change the mindset of young people who need someone to encourage them and push them to greatness.
As of 2022, Gloster, Mississippi had a population of 887 with mostly open countryside and a small downtown community. When these four people grew up in this town, it didn’t even have a traffic light, just stop signs. The closest it came to a big city was McComb, Mississippi (Pike County) and Baton Rouge, Louisiana where many of us would flee for entertainment and shopping.
Habakkuk 2:2-3 says. “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”
After a couple of years and several monthly meetings, in 2023 the 889093 Rural Initiative was birthed with a written vision to build educational programs, give military training opportunities, and provide year-round youth programs for Amite County and the counties surrounding it. It is one thing to leave and never look back, but it’s another to reach back and make a difference in the life of another young person.
During the planning phase our secretary, Douglas Griffin, who was a pillar in the community, transitioned and now his replacement is Shemika D. Selman. Founding members Matthew Thompson, Board President, MeShonya Wren-Coleman, Board Vice-President, Monzella Robinson, Board Treasurer, and Alfonso Robinson, Board Executive Director stood the course of not giving up on this mission to ensure that whatever we did had a purposeful meaning and is done in the order that God had ordained for us to do it.
That meant getting the 501c, Mississippi state licensure, websites, email, bank accounts, and all the legal language and documents in order so that they could begin fundraising and build partnerships nationwide to fund these initiatives.
It is with great desire that the 889093 Rural Initiative will only be the beginning of being the example and setting the example for others from the area to want to reach back and pull other youth along to travel paths that have helped them achieve their goals and become productive citizens throughout the world. President Thompson adopted a quote from actor Denzel Washington: “At the end, it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.”
You can support the 889093 Rural Initiative by visiting our website at http://www.889093ruralinitiative.org/ and donating any amount toward the goals that have already been established. All donations are tax-deductible. If there are any questions or concerns regarding this effort, please email us at 889093ruralinitiative@gmail.com.
Yesterday it was a vision, today it’s a reality, and tomorrow it will change the lives of many. We may have left Amite County, but never will we forget where we came from and how so many plugged into our lives. For Ms. Yvonne Robinson, Mrs. Christine Spears, Mr. Alvin Jones, Mr. Maurice Fowler, Coach Charlie Floyd, Ms. Daisy Wilson, Mr. John and Mrs. Cathy Carter, Coach Ernest Ray, Ms. Janice Stewart, Ms. Jane Martin, Mr. Leroy Billy Johnson, Coach Earnest Dunlap, Ms. Jean Chapman, Mr. Elliot Davis, Jr., Coach Charles Jackson, Mr. Marcus Robinson, Mr. Ardell Chapman, Jr., and Mr. James Otis and Mrs. Sandra Huff, just to name a few of many, the 889093 Rural Initiative is here to continue your legacy of plugging into our youth and making a difference within our communities. You are the heroes and sheroes on whose shoulders we stand.
