We live in fractious, hyper-partisan times. These days, scoring political points is the center of public engagement. When that happens, governance takes a back seat to political warfare and any notion of the common good or compromise is thrown out the window by both the right and the left.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Politics is really about negotiation and compromise to achieve the common good. Politics is how we decide to live together, and is the alternative to violence or litigation. And to effect change, we must build power to effect change in ways that move beyond partisanship and sectarianism.
In recent years, the organizing work of Working Together Jackson has grown significantly beyond the capitol city into other parts of the state and was the genesis of what would become Working Together Mississippi.
Working Together Mississippi is an emerging coalition of more than 270 congregations, parishes, synagogues, mosques, and nonprofits that reflect the religious, racial, and geographic diversity of the state. We seek to build relationships with diverse institutions around the state to build the power to effect political change in a non-partisan way while strengthening the institutions we engage with to help them execute their institution's mission and priorities