By Ayesha K. Mustafaa,
Contributing Writer,
Pam Confer came into Jackson, Sept. 16, 2026, for a day long series of events she planned to spread harmony, bringing with her Mayor Linda Carter of Benoit, Mississippi, who appointed to the municipal court, Judge Assma Ali, who is Muslim.
Confer’s opening at the International Museum of Muslim Cultures was a call for “harmony”: “We can talk about our differences without fighting. We do not have to meet hate with hate. There is a lane for outcry, and it should be, because that is how bills get passed. When the public cries out, things get changed. But there is also the lane for harmony.
”That is where people like us who want to see change but don’t want to fight, don’t want to engage in an aggressive way. This is where harmony comes in. It gives us a way individually to say, ‘What can I do?’ We are three different women (referring also to Carter and Ali) from three backgrounds.”
This Comfort Tour comes on the backdrop of the past two months in Mississippi, where there was a cloud hanging over the state that threatened to rain down animosity and outright fear. It first appeared in the fearmongering charge by Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce and Mississippi gubernatorial candidate Andy Gibson.
Gibson launched a series of social media posts that projected fearmongering as “the Muslims are coming” and “how did they get here (in Mississippi)” as if in a war chant. He targeted two entities – the recently appointed Ali, a Muslim woman, and the International Museum of Muslim Cultures that has been in Jackson for nearly 26 years.
In the “Harmony Talks” facilitated by Confer, she explained that Carter hired Ali based on her qualifications, not knowing there would be this backlash.
“People react according to fear more so than about hate,” Confer said, “rather than fighting, sharing curiosities, using understanding and appreciation and even some hugs to get to know each other. We will turn the tides.
Then Confer recited with the attendees at the Museum an oath: “I am responsible for harmony; I will do my part – consistently with all my heart.”
Notably the Harmony sweep started with lunch at “Visit Jackson Welcome Center,” followed with the tour of the International Museum of Muslim Cultures, then to Patton House and Gallery and closing with the Harmony Talks Session at the Visit Jackson Welcome Center.
Confer called it, “A Day of Hospitality, cultural learning, thoughtful connection, and practical next steps….”
As founder of Harmony Talks, Confer’s objective is to “help organizations and communities move from conflict, confusion, and reputational strain toward clarity, dignity, and constructive action.”
Built into the day was a “Personal Action Plan.” Confer is a “bilingual human resource leader with 20 years of experience with a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Jackson State University (www.pamconfer.com)
Benoit’s Mayor Linda Carter became mayor in a 2022 in a special election. Under Carter’s leadership, Benoit has secured major investments in essential infrastructure and quality of life, including a $1.8 million water-well improvement project, a $604,000 Mississippi Department of Transportation grant for a community walking trail, and more than $400,000 in Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality funding for sewer renovations.
She remains committed to strengthening Benoit through progress, opportunity, unity, and responsive service to its residents.
Ali, who had a law practice in Ridgeland, Miss. – Ali and Associates, P.A., is an immigration law firm. Ali was admitted to practice before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Northern District of Mississippi – licensed to handle immigration cases in all 50 states.
She is a member of the Mississippi Bar, the American Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Association of Muslim lawyers. Judge Ali describes herself as a “daughter of Yemeni immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1970s”; she was born in the U.S.
An earlier rally in August around the Museum was formed by interfaith groups, Working Together Jackson and Working Together Mississippi – holding a press conference and issuing a joint-statement.
Their statement read in part, “… a rejection of any attempts to demonize and exclude fellow Mississippians from living out their faith, as guaranteed by the Constitution or from participating in our communities and government because of their faith.”
The two organizations – WTJ and WTM – along with the Museum leader, co-founder Okolo Rashed, extended an invitation to Gibson to visit the Museum and meet with the organizations for clarity – their statement read: “Rather than spewing divisive rhetoric.”
For more on Dr. Confer’s ‘Harmony Talks’, visit pamconfer.com
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