By Christopher Young,
Contributing Writer,
In Mississippi, where poverty is the highest in the entire nation, and where state leadership continually demonstrates indifference toward African Americans who make up nearly 40 percent of the population, the need for equity is unceasing. Striving to find a way to do more, The Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice (RVAC) was created as a non-profit in 2019 and is dedicated to advancing social justice through community programs, grassroots organizing, and policy advocacy. A reflection and extension of the enduring legacy of its namesake, the bar for the organization was set high and broad – to create a more just and equitable society for all.
Setting aside that it should even be necessary, imagine an organization whose vision is “to build a community where justice and equality are accessible to all. Through our initiatives and partnerships, we strive to create positive and sustainable changes in society,” per https://www.rvacenterforjustice.org.
Last month this writer met with key RVAC leaders to discuss their recently published 2025 Impact Report – a snapshot of just one year’s activity – where four counties were served, a dozen events hosted with 300 attendees. A powerful group of collaborative partners supports the works of four primary programs – Delta GREENS Food is Medicine Project, Tougaloo Agri-Growth Initiative, Harvesting Hope, and Fresh Farmers.
FRESH is an acronym for Food Revival through Economic Empowerment, Systems Change, and Health Security. It is a food procurement initiative that offers food systems training and development, and creates a fresh foods exchange to form relationships between Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) cooperatives farms, and local buyers, enabling them to strategically capture the food market in Mississippi. This is the first BIPOC-led collective effort to organize BIPOC farms and food systems for large-scale institutional procurement in Mississippi.
One recent example – in a five week period, after conducting food environment assessments, the Fresh Farmers Program served 1,000 families – all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients – with produce distribution boxes in Mound Bayou and Shelby (Bolivar County), Clarksdale and Friars Point (Coahoma County), Hollandale and Metcalfe (Washington County), and Drew and Indianola (Sunflower County) – all among the ten poorest counties in Mississippi.
The Tougaloo Agri-Growth Initiative (TAGI) was founded in 2020 by LeBroderick Woods in partnership with the Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice and is Mississippi’s only BIPOC worker-owned cooperative urban farm on the HBCU campus of the historic Tougaloo College. As Woods notes, “Our people are so poorly underserved in the Delta. If you have a vehicle, the closest thing you have to a grocery store might be a mom-and-pop gas station where they barely have any fresh produce.” TAGI employs sustainable and organic practices to manage urban farms and community gardens that double as educational platforms.
TAGI planted and harvested 50 pounds of greens and squash at the Tougaloo Farm on campus for the Fall season. “The Mississippi Fresh Team is deeply committed to rewriting the narrative of what is possible across the Mississippi Delta and the state of Mississippi. We no longer accept the false dichotomy that pits Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities against one another or forces us to beg for crumbs at the policy table,” per Dr. Lawren M. Long, Director of the Eric H. Holder, Jr. Public Policy Program at Tougaloo College.
The Delta GREENS Food is Medicine Initiative, in partnership with Tufts University Friedman School for Nutrition Science and Policy and Delta Health Center, is the one of the largest prescription produce programs in the United States that has already provided locally grown, fresh produce weekly for a year to 300 patients who have enrolled in the five-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The goal of this project is to make Food is Medicine programs permanent in Mississippi and supported by funding through Medicaid, Medicare, and private health insurance similar to prescription drugs.
Harvesting Hope believes that individual transformation blooms from the seeds of small steps – for single and formerly incarcerated mother’s to be exact. “These moms and their children are not invisible to us. They receive job training, flexible employment on farms and food systems in the Delta with a living wage, financial literacy training, and soft skills and career development preparation to transition out of the criminal justice system as part of our current partnership with Share Our Strength,” per Program Director Celestial Gordon-Griffin.
It is difficult to take in the impact of these programs; the lives changed and futures realigned – and not just for the poorest communities in Mississippi, either. Sharon Jimerson and Morgan Stanley began as fellows in the Delta GREENS program, today they are leaders in the Food is Medicine Movement in Mississippi through their work at the RVA Center. Miss Jimerson’s three years at the center led her to a decision to continue food security research at Tufts University, and now at the University of South Carolina.
The team at the Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice is extensive, energetic, and committed – intimately aware that the clock ticks unforgivingly on the future of so many Mississippians. Attorney’s Raina Anderson Lee, a Tougaloo alumna, and Julian Miller are the co-founders of the RVA Center, ensuring that Justice Anderson’s vision is propelled where and in ways it will have the most impact. While some non-profits struggle for support, their list of collaborative partners is lengthy and leading, providing unparalleled investment. The organization has raised over $4 million since it’s inception.
Recently, LeBroderick Woods, a 2014 Tougaloo graduate, recently took the helm as Director of the Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice. Sharon Jimerson, a 2023 Tougaloo alumna, 2025 Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy graduate, and current Ph.D. candidate at the University of South Carolina, serves as the center’s Program Sustainability Specialist. Celestial Gordon-Griffin is a 1999 Tougaloo alumna and is the Program Director of the RVA Center’s Harvesting Hope program. Current Tougaloo Student Government Association President Morgan Stanley serves as Marketing Coordinator for the RVA Center. The list goes on and on.
Go to https://rvacenterforjustice.org to learn more about the many programs and initiatives, the phenomenal impact being delivered in The Magnolia State, a complete listing of collaborative partners, and more of the dedicated Tougaloo graduates that make the work of the Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice known throughout the country. Please follow the RVA Center on Instagram @rvacenterforjustice.
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