Editor’s note: This Mississippi Today Ideas essay is published as part of our Brain Drain project, which seeks answers to why Mississippians move out of state. To read more about the project, click here.

I didn’t leave.

That simple phrase carries more weight than most people realize. As a millennial born and raised in Mississippi, I’ve heard all the reasons to go, and I’ve watched many of my peers follow through.

But I stayed. Not because it was easy, but because I believe in the soil here. Mississippi is not just where I’m from. It’s where I’m building something that reflects the best of who we are and what we can become.

I’m Dyamone L. White, a daughter of western Hinds County – Edwards to be exact. I am a banker and housing strategist by training and a community developer at heart. But in this season of my life, I’m something more: a hospitality entrepreneur, a creative economy advocate and the founder of The High Horse: Bite & Beverage Barn of Bolton – a modern-day juke joint and cultural venue rooted in Mississippi pride.  

The High Horse isn’t just a bar or music spot. It’s a bet – a bet that Mississippi’s culture, stories and soul are not only worth preserving but worth investing in. It’s my answer to the question: What if we stopped exporting our best and brightest, and instead created the kind of spaces that made them want to stay?

The idea came to life during a drive through Louisiana when I stumbled upon the concept of beer barns — informal, deeply local gathering spots that once populated the rural South. Curious, I dug deeper and discovered these spaces weren’t just a Louisiana thing. Mississippi had them too. Changing times wiped them out.

Around that same time, I visited Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale. I saw how music, memory and place could intersect to create something magnetic. The vision started to form.

At first, I called the project Beer Run: The Beer Barn of Bolton. But as the idea matured, I partnered with Crema, a marketing and branding agency in Ridgeland.

After hearing my story, they quickly landed on a name that captured the spirit of what I was building: The High Horse. It is not just a brand, but a statement that we, as a people, deserve to feel elevated.

But as I brought the project to life, I saw more clearly than ever how poverty, displacement and disinvestment continue to choke not only our neighborhoods, but our hope. That’s when it clicked. Mississippi’s economic revival must be tied to its cultural revival.

And I still believe Mississippi already has everything it needs. It just takes someone bold enough to light the fire.

The High Horse is that fire. It’s a place where the blues isn’t background noise – it’s the heartbeat. It is where Black Southern foodways, music, storytelling and style converge under one roof. It is where tradition and progress don’t compete; they dance together.

On any given weekend, The High Horse transforms into something bigger than its square footage, hosting everything from blues jams and cultural parades to health fairs and voter registration drives. But the vision stretches beyond events or entertainment. It’s a blueprint that merges culture and commerce, storytelling and strategy, tourism and talent retention.

That’s why the recent Mississippi Today essay by Danielle Morgan of the Mississippi Tourism Association about the importance of tourism in the state moved me so deeply. It gave language to something I’ve lived: the tension of loving this place while working every day to transform it. Her writing made me feel seen. In return, I want this essay to make others feel possible.

We hear so much about those who left. I want to speak to, and for, the ones who stayed. The ones who are building something from scratch. The ones who see potential in the overlooked. The ones who know that investing in Mississippi isn’t foolish. It’s forward-thinking.

This journey hasn’t been easy. I’ve had to teach myself tax law, sift through local ordinances and figure out marketing and operations in real time. But every time someone walks through the doors and says, “This feels like home,” it reaffirms why I do it.

And I’m not alone. All across Mississippi, people like me are quietly – and boldly – building. We deserve a seat at the table in the tourism conversation. We are creating the next Mississippi.

So, no, I didn’t leave. I chose to stay. And every song sung, every meal served, every story shared at The High Horse is a love letter to the place I’m still betting on.

Bio: Dyamone L. White is a housing strategist, community developer and founder of The High Horse: Bite & Beverage Barn of Bolton. A proud daughter of western Hinds County, she works at the intersection of culture, hospitality and economic development to reimagine what’s possible for a rural region and small-towns Mississippi.