Throughout the month of June, dads have shared their experiences and their challenges with us. Each of them has been touched by and believe in our mission and vision: that families are partners in their children’s care, and that all children will have the opportunity to reach their potential and succeed. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is one of those dads.
This week we talked to the mayor and asked him to share his experience as the dad of two young daughters. He said he sees a focus on children and their development as a key to the future of the city he leads.
“My dream for the children of Jackson is that they live in an environment that reflects the inherent dignity that they deserve, that they be supported by the same resources in all areas of the city, that they have equal access to a life of equity, a life of self-determination and that they have the ability to dictate or determine what they want to be,” he said. “What I want for my city is access to self-determined lives.”
You can hear more of what he shared by clicking on the video above.
Mayor Lumumba’s father, former mayor Chokwe Lumumba, was a supporter of and partnered with Families as Allies on our first early childhood initiative. When Chokwe Antar became mayor he continued that relationship, which included he and his wife Ebony becoming spokespersons for our early childhood mental health awareness campaign.
As part of that awareness campaign, we have produced a brochure for families that provides information and resources about early childhood mental health, and tells them about what kind of support Families as Allies can provide. We also created a companion video to the brochure, and both the video and brochure will be available to families and organizations throughout the year. Contact us at info@faams.org to get copies of the brochure and video for your family or your organization.
We thank the mayor, his wife Ebony, and their two daughters for their participation in filming the awareness video and for being so generous with their time and their commitment to the health of children and families in Jackson.
In 2017 Mayor Lumumba and his wife Ebony received the Helen Reddy Johnson Valuing Every Child and Family award from us in recognition of their work with Families as Allies and with families and children in Jackson.
