WTM Annual Meeting Brings Together 200 Leaders
The centerpiece of the meeting was a presentation by WTM Policy Organizer Jake McGraw, who unveiled results from a major brain drain survey conducted in partnership with Mississippi Today and the University of Mississippi’s Center for Population Studies. The survey drew more than 6,500 responses, making it one of the most comprehensive examinations of why talented young Mississippians leave the state.
A Success Story With a Catch
The findings paint a nuanced picture. Mississippi has made real strides in education — but that progress has outpaced the state’s economic and community development, creating a gap that pushes graduates toward other states.
“We have improved our education system at a much faster pace than our economy and our communities have been able to handle,” McGraw said. Rather than reading this as a simple failure, he characterized it as “a success story for Mississippi” — one that now demands a matching investment in opportunity and belonging.
Survey respondents identified four primary drivers of out-migration: job availability in desired fields, access to healthcare, equality, and sense of belonging. The proposed path forward centers on expanding internship pipelines that connect high school and college students with Mississippi employers — building the professional roots that keep graduates in-state.
As Goes Jackson, So Goes Mississippi
The meeting also featured findings from a Market Value Analysis of Jackson, produced in partnership with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. The data revealed a striking correlation between vacant homes and fire incidents across the city’s neighborhoods — underscoring the human cost of disinvestment in the state’s capital and the urgency of targeted revitalization.
Mayor John Horhn put it plainly: “We have to have a vibrant Jackson, Mississippi. Because, as goes Jackson, so goes the rest of this state.”
Local Chapters Report From Across the State
The annual meeting also served as a gathering point for WTM’s growing network of local chapters. Leaders from Tupelo, Copiah County, Starkville, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, DeSoto County, and other communities presented on their organizing progress, local challenges, and plans for the year ahead — a reminder that this work is happening in every corner of Mississippi, not just in Jackson.
Pastor Tonie Crisler of Belmont Missionary Baptist Church offered a reflection on what makes cross-sector collaboration possible: the shared commitment to improve communities, even across theological and political differences.
The Work Ahead
Mississippi’s population has been declining since 2014. Reversing that trend will take exactly the kind of sustained, data-driven, community-rooted effort that Working Together Mississippi was built for. The December meeting made clear that the leaders willing to do that work are already here — and already organized.
Want to get involved? The Mississippi Brain Drain Survey is still open. Visit rethinkms.org to learn more about WTM’s Rethink Mississippi initiative and find a chapter near you.