Councilman Kabir Karriem has spent the greater portion of his life giving a voice to the voiceless and restoring hope to the hopeless. His years of public service are a testament to his unwavering dedication and diligence to fulfill and exceed the expectations of the people of the City of Columbus and Lowndes County. Karriem, a native of Columbus, is a business owner representing four generations of business owners in Columbus and Lowndes County. Karriem is a product of the Columbus Municipal School District. He is a graduate of Mississippi State University.

 

Throughout his early youth and during his pursuit of higher education, Karriem began to cultivate his passion and develop his God-given talents for grassroots political activism. As a youth he helped to organize voter registration drives for African-Americans across the state.  After graduating from college, Karriem began aggressively pursuing a career in politics. He served as a member of the Lowndes County Economic Development Authority, in which he was instrumental in job creation. During his tenure Servastal, Eurocopter, Aurora and many more industries were located in Lowndes County with an overall positive economic impact of more than a billion dollars in North Mississippi. Elected in 2009, he currently serves as City Councilman for Ward 5 which is located in the northern region of the city. As a Councilman, he represents the interest of local constituents of the fifth Ward as well as all residents in Columbus, MS.  

 

Karriem has been instrumental in revising many of the policies within the city. He has championed many causes for the poor and disenfranchised which has contributed to the upliftment of people in all walks of life. Just to share a few of the causes that Karriem has fought for while on the City Council:

-He introduced the” Complete Street Ordinance” that made it mandatory throughout the city for sidewalks to be handicap accessible.

-Karriem lead the charge to allocate additional funding in the summer youth program to allow the city to hire additional youth during the summer.

-Understanding and holding firm on the belief of second chances, Karriem made it possible for the city to hire non-violent felons so that they are able to take care of themselves and their families and become, once again, viable and productive citizens.

- Karriem hosted the city's first Expungement Clinic where he along with local attorneys helped over 250 people clean their criminal records and have a new start.    

 

Karriem is deeply involved in many facets of community service and plays an active role in numerous social, civic, and political organizations.

-Member of Mississippi Democratic Party State Executive Committee.

-2012 Received the distinct honor of becoming a certified Public Elected Official

Alumnus of Congressman Bennie Thompson's Mississippi Black Leadership Institute

-Spearheaded a delegation to Washington D.C. of over two-hundred people to the second inauguration of our esteemed president Barack Obama.    

 

Karriem continues to volunteer with various community organizations for the betterment of his community and the forward mobility of the city of Columbus. The grandson of the late Sallie Mae Jones, the son of Mrs. Helen Karriem and the late Minister Kamal Karriem Sr., Karriem is the father of three sons and two daughters with one child deceased. He is married to Carolyn Turner-Karriem, the daughter of the late Senator Bennie Turner.