North Minneapolis basketball coach renovating church, creating change for kids

MINNEAPOLIS -- Jamil Jackson is the head basketball coach at Henry High School. He's a visionary and an entrepreneur trying to create space that keeps the kids off the streets.

Jackson is in touch with what have been some tough nights on the north side. 

"We're a long ways away from being where we want to be, I think that the city is starting to see what works and what doesn't work," Jackson said when asked about gun violence.

But he recently bought a church on 9th Street and 4th Avenue last year. It's 24,000 square feet with a basketball court inside. It was donated by the Timberwolves 22 years ago in memory of Malik Sealy, who was killed in a car crash in 2000. Now, the court is getting old.

"A year ago I got the space, so we're trying to get it back up," he said.

He wants to get the church back up and running, and has a rendering for his idea on what he hopes can revitalize the entire city block. He's hoping for a public-private partnership that'll also help provide housing in the area. Jackson has the goal of making it a destination for kids in the city.

There will be an arcade, and they're already working on the renovation with the help of at-risk kids from the city. They've collected donated bikes for the kids as well.

"We take them to different locations around the city that they wouldn't normally go to on their own, right," he said.

They're in the middle of remodeling the bathroom, and they now have new wood floors in the theater that give it a stately look and a stage for performances. The walls are filled with art made by young people impacted by gun violence.

Despite some growing pains, Jackson believes the north side of Minneapolis is a special place.

Jackson is also one of the founders of Freedom Fighters, a city-based group committed to safety.