For as long as she can remember, Priscilla White has always had a keen interest in what was happening on her street, her neighborhood and her city.
Over time, that curiosity became her calling card. If something was happening in Columbus, she seemed to know about it right away.
So, when Pacina Maye reached out to her to help with her Facebook group Columbus MS Watch and Information, White considered it a natural extension of what she had been doing, in one way or another, all her life.
“She told me she started the group because all of the other watch groups seemed to have some sort of bias,” White said. “At that point, I was keeping people updated about what was going on my personal page. She saw what I was doing and thought I’d be a good fit.”
It’s been 10 years since White began working as an administrator, moderator and membership director.
The collaboration between the two women has helped grow the group from a few hundred to about 7,300 members, despite a screening process that probes the potential member’s motivation.
“It’s just two questions: Where are you from and why do you want to join the group?” White said. “There are a lot of groups out there where outsiders enjoy talking bad about Columbus. There are times when the news isn’t good and we don’t avoid saying it, but we don’t want a situation where people are just being mean. I love Columbus and want to see things get better. That’s the kind of membership we want. I make the decision about who can join based on how they answer those questions.”
As a moderator, White admits she can be pretty strict.
“I want to be selective about what I say and what gets posted by others,” White said. “We don’t allow an attack on city officials or people in government. And we want people to really think about what they say. What has happened to someone today might happen to you tomorrow. So we don’t use police mug shots and wild talk about people. This is not a place for personal vendettas. People can talk about politics, but we don’t want the page to be a lot of political arguing back and forth. There are other places to do that.
At the same time, we do want people to feel like they can say what’s on their mind. We just want them to be mindful of what they say.”
The bread-and-butter of the group revolves around the daily events in the city, street closures, accidents, community events/announcements and yes, shootings and other crimes.
“I guess sometimes it feels like Columbus is dangerous because of what we and other groups put out there,” White said. “I think that can be misleading. People in other cities kind of keep quiet about the bad stuff. Columbus people are loud. They talk about what’s going on.”
White, 43, has lived in Columbus her entire life, graduating from Columbus High in 2001. The mother of five, she works as a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service.
“I love Columbus,” she said. “That’s why it makes me sad about the reputation the city has for being dangerous. Columbus is a safe place to raise a family. The shooting and all that mess are done by people who know each other and have some sort of grudge going on. That’s what people don’t understand, I think. We don’t have random shootings or car-jacking or people getting mugged. If you’re not involved in the crime life, you’re perfectly safe.”
White said she hopes her work with Columbus MS Watch and Information group, helps inform and engage citizens.
“I really think we do play a role in helping people know what’s going on in the community,” White said. “That’s always a good thing.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
