OPINION: Reckoning the Right Leader for Jackson State University
"I have no interest in being considered as the next president at Jackson State, but I do have some constructive suggestions and formative recommendations for the Jacksonians who will hopefully be ... actively engaged in selecting the next leader."
OPINION: Trump Presidency Shows 'Whiteness' Protects 'Whiteness' at All Costs
"What we are witnessing now is the rise and solidification of an authoritarian president in the U.S. who has no respect for the fundamental values that the American Constitution holds dear."
OPINION: Hindsight 2020: Jackson Flooding and 40 years of Failed Solutions
"The flooding of the Pearl River in early 2020 has led to high water moving into neighborhoods and businesses, while many simultaneously want a 'flood control' plan for Jackson. These calls have risen and fallen since the 1979 Easter Flood just like the Pearl."
OPINION: Exceptional White Men, It’s Time for a Reckoning
Donald J. Trump's impeachment acquittal was a victory for white male mediocrity. The majority of the 69 white men in the U.S. Senate, engaged in a succession of choices that left in place a man, whom few beyond his base would call exceptional.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Mr. Mayor, Don’t Let ‘One Lake’ Be Your ‘Siemens’
"The mayor is clearly trying to express support for the people who are experiencing flooding this week. But this isn't (just) about sturgeon, Mr. Mayor. And I sincerely encourage you not to make the One Lake project your 'Siemens.'"
OPINION: Black Mothers Harmed Most by Withheld, Missing TANF Funds
For the past several years, Mississippi has been ground zero for a growing crisis as thousands of its low-income residents, primarily single, black mothers, were being turned away from a government benefit intended to help them make ends meet.
OPINION: Democrats, Leverage Our Blessings, Move Toward Unity and Activism
"Our duty is clear. We must endeavor to leverage the blessings we enjoy into the noblest of all pursuits: we must make a better world together. The Democratic Party is one of the principal means of leveraging the whole of humanity into an ever-brighter future."
OPINION: Mississippi Needs Equal Employment Opportunity for All
"If equal employment opportunity for all was the law of the state, Mississippi workers could rest assured they could work to make a living for themselves and their families without facing discrimination and unfair barriers because of who they are."
OPINION: The Black Vote Is Not For Sale
"As we approach the 2020 election, we must ensure issues affecting our communities and our livelihoods are brought to the table and that we have a real voice in moving this country forward. Our vote provides the foundational basis for that."
OPINION: Prison Reform and the State: The Impending Confrontation
The prison-reform rallies held at the Mississippi Capitol on Jan. 24 and Feb. 1, 2020, at the Governor's Mansion are evidence that dubious government-approved rallies don't just happen in "communist" countries.
OPINION: Hinds County Mississippi Defies ADA, and Wins
"Instead of complying with ADA and living our motto of being "The Hospitality State," Hinds County fights tooth and nail every step of the way and, by doing so, reinforces the stereotype of Mississippi as openly defiant of human-rights law. Shame on us. "
EDITOR'S NOTE: In Love, Life and Work, Do the Right Thing and Wait
"The word 'power is often misused. It's not about money or controlling everything. To me, showing unconditional love for a partner, a city, a state or a nation through the toughest times is the most powerful one can be. And I couldn't be prouder than the man on this crazy journey with me."
OPINION: The W Pushes Back on Gov. Reeves' Attack on Gender Studies
Mississippi University for Women President Nora Roberts Miller publicly challenged Gov. Tate Reeves’ criticism of gender studies in his State of the State address. "Gender studies and other areas of study that aim to build a more diverse and inclusive society benefit all of us."
OPINION: I Quit the Republican Party! I Will Now Work Against GOP, Trump
"The Republican Party is now under the complete control of our new national dictator, Donald J. Trump. In the most horrifying display of self-abasement ever seen in the proud history of our country, the United States Senate has proven itself to be spineless cowards."
OPINION: Gov. Tate Reeves' Willful Ignorance Is Not the Gravest Sin
On Monday, Gov. Tate Reeves gave his first State of the State address on the steps of the Mississippi State Capitol, where he touched upon several topics: educational attainment, teacher pay, and workforce training. Reeves also took a clear shot at higher education:
OPINION: Healing Communities from Within: How to Survive Tough Times Together
Columnist Kevin Fong argues that emotional wounds are deeper, longer lasting and more toxic today, and they require more intensive work. He calls it Radical Healing.
OPINION: Granting Clemency One Solution to Mississippi Prison Crisis
"Over the last few weeks, news about the conditions of Mississippi's prison system have exposed the need to see the humanity of people in prison."
OPINION: RIP 8 and 24: Kobe Bryant's Legacy a Blueprint for Overcoming Flaws
"Ultimately, (Kobe) Bryant's death at 41 teaches that people must strive for quality of life and not quantity of life. It is the dash between one's birth and death that signifies who one is and what one means to others."
Sen. Roger Wicker to Jackson Man: ‘President Trump Will Be Acquitted’
"By impeaching President Trump on a partisan basis and with little evidence, House Democrats have ignored precedent and set a dangerous course. The rules in their process raised serious concerns because they did not provide the president with the same constitutional protections given to past presidents. My Republican colleagues in the House were also excluded from much of the process, raising basic issues of fairness." -Sen. Roger Wicker
OPINION: Love Letter to Jackson: You Need My Grind, Sweat and Tears
"Jackson, Miss., is the new mecca for innovation and forward progress and will be an example for cities nationwide with similar back stories. I refuse to leave you right when you need my grind, sweat and tears to help set you on a hill where your light can shine."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jackson’s Need for a Collaborative ‘Growth Mindset’
"On vexing community issues like violence, we can find and embrace solutions that are evidence-tested in other cities and that make a hell of a lot of sense for Jackson if we bother to get off the mental treadmill."
OPINION: Ugly Mississippi Prison Conditions Need Humanitarian Reforms
The era of mass incarceration involves both prison overcrowding and the nature of private prisons, a controversy to which the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman has also been linked.
OPINION: Pelicia Hall and the Political Emptiness of 'Black Girl Magic'
Many believe "Black Girl Magic" improves on the silences in "black power" and is validly wielded against patriarchy. Columnist Adofo Minka argues that a closer look reveals it is an idea that serves those who seek to rule above society.
OPINION: Southern Evangelical: Trump 'Fits the Scriptural Definition of a Fool'
"I can find very little in Trump's deeds as president that promote the message of the Gospel. I am afraid this hypocrisy will set the Evangelical movement back by decades."
OPINION: Probation for Profit; Little More Than a Scam
Profiting off probation has become big business in Mississippi, and it is costing us all in ways we don't even realize.
OPINION: D.J. Durkin as UM Football Coach Reduces Life of Jordan McNair
D.J. Durkin's hiring raises important questions for the sport of college football: Are there any consequences for elite, white men in positions of power? And just how low are we willing to stoop to help them redeem themselves?
DOSSIER: Shame on WLBT for Dishonoring Past with Empty Crime Rhetoric
WLBT, the NBC affiliate of the Atlanta-based Gray Television, climbed fully on board with U.S. Attorney Hurst's false rhetoric that Jackson leaders and other locals are somehow "denying" gun violence in the capital city.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A Series of Very Fortunate Events; My First JFP-iversary
"Today marks a year since I began working for the Jackson Free Press. Much has happened since I meekly walked through that door. Before I get into that, though, allow me to tell you my 'JFP story.'"
OPINION: Educator; What About Us? Who Will Help the Helpers?
"I am one of four daughters who descends from a very long line of ancestral educators. They instilled in me that education is the rudiment to a forward-thinking life of exploration, self-discovery and financial stability."
OPINION: 'Chaos or Community'? Citizens Co-conspirators in Broken Criminal System
"Mississippi leaders have historically created and encouraged incarceration as an intentional pathway for a segment of Mississippi's society, disproportionately the African American community."