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Jabari Simama

Senior Contributor

Jabari Simama is an education and government consultant and a senior fellow with the Center for Digital Government. He served two terms on the Atlanta City Council, from 1987 to 1994; as deputy chief operating officer and chief of staff for DeKalb County, Ga., from 2009 to 2012; and as president of Georgia Piedmont Technical College from 2012 to 2018.

Simama received his bachelor's degree from the University of Bridgeport, his master's degree from Atlanta University and his Ph.D. from Emory University. He is the author of Civil Rights to Cyber Rights: Broadband & Digital Equality in the Age of Obama, published in 2009, and has been a columnist for Creative Loafing and Southwest Atlanta magazine and a feature writer for Atlanta magazine. He blogs at Jabari Simama Speaks.

Many of them want to develop their properties to help revitalize their communities. Partnering with them can be a challenge for governments, but there’s much they can do to help these institutions build capacity to help.
Even as cities’ African American populations decline in the face of gentrification, Black candidates can win elections if they focus on the needs of the public.
We've made it far too easy for minor disputes to erupt into deadly violence. Rather than simply throwing more money at police, we need to get serious about mental health treatment, mediation and other approaches that can save lives.
The larger issue is the high and rising cost of higher education. There are ways to hold those costs down. An educated workforce is good for everybody.
The Williams sisters’ story is about more than glory, grit and power. Among other things, it shows how investments in public parks and recreational programs can help many reach their potential.
They’ve outlived their usefulness and stand in the way of getting anything done for Americans. We should turn to electoral approaches that diminish their impact and influence.
An apology by public officials would be the first step toward acknowledgment of government’s role in the sins of our past and the effects that linger today. And it would be the start of racial healing.
We shouldn’t give in to the idea that it’s too large and complex to be solved. The policies most responsible for homelessness were enacted by public officials, and it’s within their authority to fix them.
America has plenty of genuine heroes, people who have put everything on the line for our freedom and safety. Those who did no more than stand up to a defeated president’s lies don’t qualify.
Gentrification’s pressure on homeownership is threatening a rich history and culture while worsening the racial wealth gap. There are some steps governments should take to preserve as much of it as we can.