Economy Matters

Meridian, Mississippi, describes itself as a "city on the move," and during a recent visit Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic commented on the progress he witnessed in the five years since his first trip there in 2019.

"There are a bunch of things here that weren't here then, and I think it's a testament to the people who are working here and the folks who have invested in this community," Bostic said to a roundtable of civic leaders who serve the city of Meridian and a micropolitan area that includes Clarke and Lauderdale counties, about 90 miles east of Jackson.

The things Bostic saw during his trip in November include tangible developments in downtown Meridian: two health schools at Mississippi State University that complement programs offered at Meridian Community College; an arts and culture center; a children's museum that provides space for partners to offer well-child services, and a hotel that opened in a restored, art deco office building. Bostic also noted an intangible aspect: a growing spirit of collaboration among civic leaders.

"It sounds like there's a pretty strong consensus that the way the place is working has improved considerably because parties are coming together, viewing themselves as partners as opposed to competitors, and trying to build a momentum," Bostic observed to a local group. "That's all quite positive."

Meridian visit is part of a commitment to grassroots learning

Bostic's listening tour in Meridian was the latest in his series of visits with business and civic leaders in southeastern towns. The roundtable conversations give Bostic and his team a sense of how people perceive their local economies.

Local leaders took Bostic at his word when he asked them not to gloss over woes in their community. The list was considerable, though not unique in the Southeast to Meridian. Concerns include rising costs of labor and shortages of skilled labor, economic uncertainty, declining high school graduation rates, access to healthcare, affordable energy for homes, workforce housing, poverty, and crime.

City records show police staffing is at a 10-year low: The city had 100 sworn officers in 2013 but only 60 sworn officers in 2022, according to Meridian's latest annual comprehensive financial report. Meanwhile, when federal prosecutors in southern Mississippi announced results of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program, four of 10 major cases were based on crimes allegedly committed in Meridian.

About a third of the 33,551 residents in the city of Meridian live in poverty, according to census estimates for 2023. The city's median annual household income was almost $32,800—less than half of the US annual median household income of just over $80,000. In another perspective on poverty and its related challenges, Meridian holds the dubious distinction of having Mississippi's second-highest rate of homelessness, according to the federally mandated and state-administered 2024 Point of Time survey.

Change is achievable, albeit difficult

One message Bostic conveyed during his visit illustrated the growing pains that can face communities and institutions as they seek to make change. Bostic provided an example of changes he and his executive team have implemented at the Atlanta Fed. Seeking to increase the Bank's impact and effectiveness in the communities it serves, leadership settled on an approach that values the involvement of all employees. Over time, the method became ingrained in the way the Bank operates. Bostic said Meridian's leaders have the potential to make similar changes in the way it conceptualizes and seeks support for community improvement projects that might face opposition.

"They want to be part of the solution, but just don't know exactly how to do that in a refined, elegant way," Bostic said. "We have to, I think, collectively learn how to hear it and do our own translation to understand what they're trying to say and how it can help advance things forward. But that's been a really useful thing."

Having brought forward their many concerns, several roundtable participants emphasized that Meridian's challenges should not overshadow the good things taking place in the city, such as contributions by the Riley and Hardin foundations, which were founded by old, established families in the city who amassed wealth through hospitals and bakeries, respectively.

One project Riley helped finance was the renovation of Mississippi State University's Riley Campus, which includes an opera house from the Gilded Age that serves as the focal point of the city's blossoming cultural and tourism center. It also serves an academic function, housing the university's new health science programs. Hardin's community contributions include the first major donation to the Mississippi Children's Museum-Meridian, which features exhibits on the history and culture of east Mississippi and an array of healthy child initiatives.

One case that highlights significant community collaboration is the Mississippi Children's Museum-Meridian. Local leaders had a vision of a facility similar to one in Jackson that would focus on what supporters described as the "keys to helping children mature into healthy and productive adult learners." The keys are literacy, STEM education, health and nutrition, cultural arts, and Mississippi heritage. The child wellness outreach includes vision and hearing screenings and staff awareness of developmental or sensory issues that could be brought to the child's parent or guardian. Financing the project was the initial hurdle, but through systemic networking, advocates found the Hope Credit Union, which was established to benefit underserved communities in the Deep South. Its leadership agreed to provide expertise on financial strategies to fund the museum.

Glimpsing tomorrow's possibilities

Looking to the future, Bostic shared insights with Meridian's leaders on opportunities to collaborate with the Bank and regional partners to promote Meridian's economic mobility and resilience. One program Bostic cited is the Southern Cities Economic Inclusion initiative, to which the Atlanta Fed provides data in support of an effort among the National League of Cities, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Bostic also noted that although the Atlanta Fed doesn't provide grants, it can extend a nonfinancial helping hand to Meridian's civic and business leaders by sharing its wealth of information about how other communities have addressed situations like those facing Meridian.

"We can be a useful resource to help you just make some judgments about what a good idea is, and what something that might be worth making progress on could be," Bostic said. "What I'm hopeful for, is that you all take all this tremendous energy—there's great energy, there's great passion about what this place is and what it could be and what you want it to be—and leverage the Bank on how you can move things forward."

David Pendered

Staff writer for Economy Matters