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Aliyah Veal

Stories by Aliyah

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‘The New Southern Belle’ Latrice Rogers Demonstrates that Mississippi can be Fertile Ground for Entrepreneurial Success

“Belle Collective” first aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network earlier this year and stars Latrice Rogers, as well as Dr. Antoinette Liles, Lateshia Pearson, Marie Hamilton-Abston and Tambra Cherie, who all hail from Mississippi.

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Rapper Condo Bo Spreads Christian Message Through the Metro

Music is entrenched in Jeremy Thompson's family, he says. The Jackson native said his brother and cousins used to own a studio when he was a child and that he used to sit back and watch them make music.

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Q&A: Yung Jewelz, Mental Health and Representing Mississippi

Rapper Yung Jewelz spoke with Culture Writer Aliyah Veal about her new album, “MVP: Moods, Vices and Problems.”

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Yung Jewelz

Rapper Yung Jewelz, aka the Paid Hipster, defines herself as a versatile artist, a rapper you can play on your good and bad days. Whether going to the club or looking for gospel, Jewelz said she has a song for you.

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Laeland, Ryan Warnick Take Center Stage at Jackson Indie Music Week Showcase

Bradley Davis, better known as Laeland, performed for an artist showcase during Jackson Indie Music Week.

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The Man Behind the Column: Exploring Eric Stringfellow and His Legacy

Journalist and former Clarion-Ledger columnist Eric Stringfellow has passed away at the age of 59 after a brief battle with cancer.

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Angie Thomas Producing 'On The Come Up' Film, Happy with Fox 2000 Team

Jackson native and author Angie Thomas is on a roll as her second novel "On The Come Up" is set to be adapted to film. She announced last week that "This Is Us" producer and writer Kay Oyegun will write the screenplay.

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Ladies' Night at the 4th Quarter Exchange

The crowd inside Offbeat in midtown formed a stage around Rapper Unknwn at the 4th Quarter Exchange, a musical event bringing artists and consumers face-to-face through performances and networking.

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Vick Allen

Jackson native and soul-music singer Vick Allen said his interest in music started at a very young age. He sang in his church choir and also played the piano for the church.

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Seeking Alta Woods’ Former Glory

The Alta Woods community was predominantly white when Stephany and Herbert Brown became the first black family to move there in 1996. "When we moved over here 20 years ago, none of this looked like this," she said as the car passed another dilapidated house.

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Q&A: Brittney Morris on 'Slay' and Celebrating Blackness

Brittney Morris, a Corvallis, Ore., native, visited Jackson on Sept. 24 as part of a book tour celebrating her first published book, "Slay," which released the same day.

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Brittney Morris

Author Brittney Morris grew up in Corvallis, Ore., a place she describes as very quiet and where there is not much to do unless your interests include hiking or football. She said she had a really strict upbringing, and her interests as a child included putting together puzzles, playing video games and writing.

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More Love Than Hate: Rappers’ Deaths Sobering, Yet Inspirational

Lil Lonnie was a young rapper on the cusp of major success when he was gunned down in Jackson in 2018. But his legacy is inspiring those coming after him.

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William Magee

As football season gets under way, David Magee remembers his son William Magee's love for the University of Mississippi's team. He remembered taking William to Egg Bowl against Mississippi State University when he was 8 or 9 years old and did not want to leave.

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Rapper Vitamin Cea Wants to Bring More Realness To Hip-Hop

When Charity Hicks was in eighth grade, her friend Jasira introduced her to Nicki Minaj after Jasira remixed one of Minaj's songs. Hicks loved the remix, and it inspired her to write her own.

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The Millennium Temptations

The city council honored the Millennium Temptations with a resolution for enriching community through music of reflection at the Aug. 20 city council meeting.

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Dowell Taylor

At the Aug. 20 city council meeting, the council recognized Dowell Taylor with a resolution for being a world-renowned musician and for his leadership.

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City’s Water Crisis: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

At its Aug. 20 meeting, the Jackson City Council passed an ordinance to allow administrative hearings for water-and-sewer bill complaints. The City will hire a hearing officer to consider evidence and findings from both customers and the water and sewer business administration manager.

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Reducing City's Health-Care Costs Is Priority for Jackson City Council

Rising health-care costs prompted the Jackson City Council to focus on ways it can help at its Aug. 22 budget meeting.

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Mayor Touts 'Dignity Economy' as Refill Cafe Opens In West Jackson

Jacksonians, businesspeople, cafe staff and local leaders filled Refill Cafe to capacity in celebration of the opening of the city's newest local eatery.

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Jackson Opts for Hearings for Water-Bill Complaints

Residents now have a new process for appealing their water bills after the Jackson City Council passed an ordinance at the Aug. 20 meeting to allow administrative hearings for water- and sewer-bill complaints.

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Evelyn Edwards

Tchula, Miss., native Evelyn Edwards grew up in poverty, but she did not have the mentality of one who grows up that way, she said. She was her mother's, Annie Waddell, 10th child, and Waddell did not resent their circumstances.

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Jackson Repaving to Turn ‘Crumbling’ Roads Into ‘Frontier,’ Mayor Says

Standing in a church parking lot near the intersection of Northside Drive and Manhattan Road, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba announced the start of a street repaving project that will help turn the city into an “economic frontier,” he said.

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Godfrey Morgan

Godfrey Morgan's upbringing in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, was full of water, sun and great Caribbean food, he says. His grandmother, Emiline Leer, was a chef who owned her own restaurant, and after seeing her in action, he decided to pursue a career in the culinary arts.

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‘It’s Positivity’: Refill Café Preps Young Adults for Workforce

Refill Cafe will soon serve lunch weekly to the surrounding Jackson community. The restaurant will also act as a job training site for members enrolled in the program.

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Most Teachers Want Mississippi to Nix State's U.S. History Exam in Schools

Some Mississippi social studies teachers see the state-mandated high school U.S. history exam as a "double-edged sword," bestowing importance on a discipline they feel does not get enough respect, but also burdening teachers and students with yet another standardized test.

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Jackson to Repave More Streets and Repair Sidewalks, Suspends Recycling

The City of Jackson may be ending the recycling program, but the city could soon see better infrastructure after officials announced plans to repave some streets and sidewalks in Jackson at a Ward 7 town hall meeting on Aug. 15.

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Hinds Democratic Committee Calls Off Special Election

The Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee has decided to cancel the special election for Precinct 51 voters who filled out the wrong ballot for the Aug. 6 primary elections.

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Hinds County to Hold Special Election Over Primary Irregularities

The Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee will hold a special election on Aug. 20, 2019, for voters in Precinct 51 who filled out incorrect ballots for the Aug. 6 primary elections, an Aug. 13 press release said.

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Waller Says Yes to Equal Pay, No on LGBT Hate Crimes Law

In a series of campaign stops for the Republican runoff for governor on Tuesday, former Mississippi Chief Justice Bill Waller reiterated his views on health care and education, while also sharing his thoughts on equal pay for women and LGBT hate crimes.

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Amber Johnson

At the Aug. 6 city council meeting, members gave a resolution to Jackson native Amber Johnson for becoming the first African American woman to graduate with a Ph.D. in computer science from Purdue University.

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City of Jackson Suspends Recycling Program

The City of Jackson announced on Monday, Aug. 12, that it will suspend the curbside recycling program starting on Sept. 1. Residents will receive one more collection before or by Aug. 31, 2019, a press release said.

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Martin Shields

The City of Jackson recognized Jackson Police Department Officer Martin Shields with the I AM COJ award, an employee-recognition program from the personnel department that acknowledges the service of the City of Jackson employees on a quarterly basis, at the Aug. 6 city council meeting.

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Jackson City Council Honors Mississippi Book Festival, Approves Road Projects

The City of Jackson recognized the Mississippi Book Festival's influence and importance at an Aug. 6 city council meeting.

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Mississippians Mobilize Against ICE Raids: 'Who They Gone Come After Tomorrow?'

The Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance hosted a press conference in response to multiple ICE workplace raids on Aug. 7 in which 650 special Homeland Security Investigation special agents executed unspecified administrative and criminal search warrants at seven sites in Mississippi.

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U.S. Attorney in Mississippi to 'Aliens,' Employers: 'We're Coming After You'

Mike Hurst, United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, discussed Homeland Security Investigations and ICE operations at an Aug. 7 press conference inside the Homeland Security Investigations building.

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Reformer Jody Owens Wins Hinds DA's Seat, Other Races Head to Runoff

Jody Owens, a civil-rights attorney running on a "decarceral" platform with national backing, will become Hinds County's new district attorney following the Aug. 6 primary.

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Mississippi Artist Comes Home to Paint Big K.R.I.T. Mural

Michael Roy goes by the moniker Birdcap and describes his style as a hodgepodge of 
motifs inspired by graffiti, world mytho-logy and Saturday-morning cartoons.

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Christina Cooper: Combating Gun Violence with Film

When Christina Cooper was 19 years old, her ex-boyfriend, James Boyston, was shot and killed in Los Angeles, and to this day, police still haven't found his killer. His death set her on a path to use the medium of filmmaking to speak out against gun violence.

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Rebuilding Community in High School Park

Isaac Norwood said he has noticed a change in the High School Park community over the last 10 years. People have started to move out of the neighborhood, there have been a few incidents of burglary and violence against elders and some of the property is dilapidated.

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Reforming Hinds Criminal System Takes Center Stage in DA Race

The national trend of reforming the criminal-justice system, even from inside prosecutors' offices, emerged dramatically in Hinds County during the current campaigns for the next district attorney, who will be decided in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary, or a run-off if needed.

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Mayor's Basketball Event Encourages Peace, Unity and Honors Father

Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba announced that the City of Jackson will host a Peace in the Street 3-on-3 basketball tournament to help combat violence in the community at a July 23 press conference outside city hall.

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New City Grants Focus on Early Childhood Education, Community Building

At the July 23 city council meeting, Robert Blaine, chief administrative officer, gave an overview of the $3.1-million grant the W.K. Kellogg Foundation awarded to the City of Jackson.

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Collaboration Key to Ending Homelessness in Mississippi?

Putalamus White is hoping to change the state of homelessness in the capital city through the Jackson Resource Center, which The Healing Place is set to build in west Jackson.

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Jackson's Elders at Risk and Looking for Solutions

West Jackson has seen several home invasions in the past few weeks, including the assault of a 95-year-old woman. Residents want solutions and for the police to take the threat to the elderly seriously.

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Mayor Endorses Williams for Senate, Shaun King Backs DA Hopeful Owens

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba endorsed Marcus Williams, a candidate for Mississippi Senate District 26 and former president of the Young Democrats of Mississippi, during a press conference at the Capitol this morning.

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Conference Aims to Boost Black City Leadership

African Americans must look to city leaders in the absence of supportive leadership from the state and national government, Jackson Ward 4 Councilman De'Keither Stamps said at a July 17 press conference.

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JPS Unveils 'Transformational' Plan for Public Schools

Jackson Public Schools now has a plan to "transform" education in Mississippi's capital city. City leaders say it will help ensure that all children in the district get a high-quality education. It would also expand access to pre-K programs for 4-year-olds.

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A Bong, A Vest, A Torch: JPD Busts Dispensary Parties, Contraband

JPD arrested five individuals for possession of ecstasy and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute in connection to a dispensary party on Woodside Drive.

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Stamping Out HIV Stigma in Mississippi

Alecia Reed-Owens and Linda Dixon Rigsby discussed HIV stigma and discrimination at Refill Cafe's Friday Forum on July 12.

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