Ellington

A TIME TO SPEAK: Due to it being the 40th anniversary of Freedom Summer, 2004 seems to be the year of activism in the state of Mississippi. In fact, at a Feb. 24 press conference in the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., members of the Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner Justice Coalition officially launched what they're calling "Freedom Summer 2004," to honor the memory of the three young men killed in Neshoba County by Klansmen in 1964. And the group isn't just about memorializing; they want positive action. A 20-bus caravan will leave New York City on June 9 bound for Mississippi, making 20 stops along the way for memorials, door-to-door voter registration and anti-racism workshops. Alice Walker, Andrew Young and Marian Wright Edelman are honorary chairmen of the group. …

MORE RABBLE-ROUSING: It seems about everybody in sight has a bee in their bonnet, and, get this, much of the activism is centered around progressive causes, whether it's protesting Entergy's new nuclear reactor plans in Port Gibson or questioning the environmental impact of the proposed Two Lake project on the Pearl (more on those soon). State workers turned out en masse in February to protest Gov. Haley Barbour's budget streamlining (which directly affects their health insurance), and education professionals gathered at the Capitol on Feb. 24 to protest the governor's, and the Legislative Budget Office's, lukewarm support of adequate funding of public education funding. … STOP EXECUTIONS: An anti-death penalty group that formed last year, Mississippians Educating for Smart Justice, has organized a concert by renowned singer-songwriter—and death penalty opponent—Steve Earle at Hal & Mal's on March 12. He will appear with former Greens gubernatorial candidate Sherman Lee Dillon. … BELLES FOR CHOICE: The local chapter of the National Organization for Women—who knew!?—is organizing a group of locals who support abortion rights to attend the March for Freedom of Choice in Washington on April 25. E-mail [e-mail missing] for details. … TILL CASE, REOPENED? At a recent screening of the documentary "The Untold Story of Emmett Till"—presented at Jackson State in conjunction with the "Without Sanctuary" lynching photography exhibit—black filmmaker Keith Beauchamp announced that he is helping lead an effort to get the state to re-open the case of the 14-year-old boy brutally killed in Money, Miss., in 1955 for supposedly whistling at a white woman. Even though the men believed to be the actual murderers—acquitted by a white jury—have died, Beauchamp says a case can be made for prosecution of others involved. … SAFECITY'S MAKEOVER: Here in Chimneyville, the name of a crime watchdog group, which historically has seemed as interested in unseating certain elected officials as they are in reducing crime, has once again morphed. First, last year, it was the Metro Jackson SafeCity Watch—we think—that launched with a flourish; then it merged with the old Metro Crime Commission and, thus, doubled its whine power, calling itself MetroCrime Commission SafeCity Watch. No doubt, that name needed to back up and take off an accessory or two. So this month, a press release went out calling the group simply "SafeCity Initiative," promising a "technology-based centralized Criminal Justice Management System," and "utilizing special statutory powers" to reduce prosecutorial and court backlogs. (Note the shifting focus from the police to courts.) To the group's credit, we hear that it's trying very hard to be less political, and keep its eyes on the prize of a safer Jackson. We're hoping. … CHASTAIN KICKS BUTT: Chastain Middle School took top prize in Jackson Public Schools' Middle School Challenge Bowl. Students from Chastain, Blackburn, Powell, and Siwell met at Northwest Jackson Middle School on Feb. 12 to battle over social studies, algebra, and Harry Potter. Questions were selected from among those used by middle graders nationwide. The bowl was started 20 years ago to celebrate academically accomplished kids. … HYBRID TO THE RESCUE: Amid the many environmental problems Mississippi suffers (stormwater, wetlands, large animal-feeding problems, etc.), the State Department of Environmental Quality presented a report this month that featured a hybrid car made by Toyota. The car will be powered half by gasoline and half by battery power. Also, Nissan is said to be building a similar car possibly here in the state. We definitely dig hybrids, but we're hoping to see some more "green" reports forthcoming. … BUNCH OF OLD FARTS: Say what? You never heard of the Boos-Offs? That old-farts collective who loiter in Jackson parking lots during their eternal waits between gigs? Well then, you've missed out on a soul-rejuvenating experience—trudging out to your car at the end of a hard day to find it won't crank, then to be greeted by deranged-looking coots who mean you no harm but just want to recharge your battery. You probably never heard their non-hit "Jumpstart Me Up" either, and no, they never played W.C. Don's (see story elsewhere in this issue), but they'd love to hear from you if you did. E-mail [e-mail missing] and give these codgers a vicarious joyride down memory lane. … THEY MIGHT BE KINGS: Only one member of King Elementary is old enough to buy cigarettes, but their complex rock/pop songs suggest otherwise. They're too good to be so young. Though they aren't old enough to hang out in bars, the four-man band has already played at such prestigious clubs as the Viper Room in California. Their Web site, http://www.kingelementary.com, currently hosts several of their perfected indie-rock gems, but fans will have to wait until this summer for the band's full-length. Their next show is at the Mad Hatter in Clinton on Feb. 27 with Alexander's Dark Heart at 7 p.m. OH, OUI, OUI: The art show we've all been waiting for through endless landscapes arrives March 6 at the Mississippi Museum of Art. "Paris Moderne: Art Deco Works from the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris" promises to be as divine as its name. Is it us, or is the museum staff looking even more chic than usual of late? And we could have sworn that every other word on the Art Ball program was in the language of the U.S.' favorite, well, uh, most fashionable ally. Really, mon cherie, this exhibit of modernist works from the 1920s and '30s is not to be missed. ... A FRIGGIN' DUCK IN A GRASS SKIRT?: Gov. Haley Barbour on education funding: "If it walks like a duck, it is a duck. You can put it in a grass skirt and put it in a Hula-Hoop. It is a tax increase. I said I would veto any tax increase and I meant it." … HELL, FROZEN OVER: The absolute best quote we saw was in a Clarion-Ledger editorial calling for funding of Adequate education: "Lawmakers cannot say they are not raising taxes when their cuts in state funds force local tax increases." Amen, bruhs. Cheers to the Fourth Estate. (This time.)
— Staff reports