News

Nick Cave: Feat

Nick Cave, an African American, Chicago-native artist, has produced a cornucopia of works using various mediums to create sculptures, installations, videos and performances.

The 2020 Inauguration Speech of Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves

Gov. Tate Reeves took the oath of office today at the Mississippi Capitol beneath gloomy skies, surrounded by the state's new leadership. The governor's speech centered around unity, even as he called for the protection of the state's special "culture of love and kinship" against the force of "erosion that frays societies."

Womanist Alliance March

The Womanist Alliance in Jackson has been building political power and cultivating Jackson's growing community of activists for the past three years.

Mayor Lumumba: Violence Prevention Must Take Into Account Poverty and Gun Laws

Addressing reporters last Friday in the wake of high end-of-year homicide rates, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba highlighted his administration's efforts to curb violence in the city through a variety of mechanisms.

JXN Welcome Center, Iron Horse Patio and Mural and Food Truck Face-off

Visit Jackson opened the JXN Welcome Center, first full-service welcome center in Jackson on Friday, Jan. 10, inside the Electric Building at the corner of East Pearl and West Streets.

JPS School Closures and Consolidations Raise Concerns in Jackson

Earlier this week, the Jackson Public Schools' board of trustees voted to close and consolidate several schools as part of the district's ongoing efforts to address decreasing student enrollment, teacher shortages and funding woes.

Azia’s Picks 1-10-20

Mark my words: Jackson is the new mecca for innovation and forward progress and will be an example to follow for cities nation-wide with similar backstories. Let me help you be a loyal fan of our Capital City by sharing my weekend picks.

Lawmaker Who Called for Lynching of Confederate Statue Foes Elevated

In 2017, Mississippi House Rep. Karl Oliver wrote that Louisiana leaders ought to be "LYNCHED" for removing Confederate monuments. On Jan. 8, House Speaker Philip Gunn made him vice chair of the powerful appropriations committee.

JSU MLK Convocation, UM MLK Day of Service and MSU Veterinary Camp

Constance Slaughter-Harvey, former Mississippi assistant secretary of state and general counsel, will deliver the keynote address at Jackson State University's annual Martin Luther King Jr. convocation on Friday, Jan. 17.

Mike Jones

After 11 years away from coaching, Mike Jones returned to the sideline on Monday, March 18, after Mississippi College renamed him as its head basketball coach.

Jeffrey Caliedo: Jacksonian High Schooler Accepted into Yale

When colleges open the fall semester, a Jackson native will take his writing skills and experience eastward. Murrah High School senior Jeffrey Caliedo has been accepted to Yale University on a full scholarship.

Police Task Forces ‘Waste of Time’ for Violence Prevention?

Law-enforcement efforts to combat violent crime in Jackson in recent years have increasingly focused on the creation of multi-agency task forces, which identify high-crime regions or criminal activity, gather intelligence, and serve subpoenas, warrants and indictments related to those crimes.

MDOC Hits ‘Breaking Point’

Inmate deaths are not a new phenomenon in Mississippi. Some family members and activist organizations, like the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, have pointed to a lack of funding to explain rising prison violence.

2020 Legislative Preview: GOP In Charge, But Conflict Ahead?

The GOP's newfound dominance in Mississippi does not mean a pacified Legislature, outgoing House Minority Leader Rep. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, says. Baria believes that real political daylight exists between the two men now inheriting the most powerful positions in the state.

Local United Methodist Churches Face Schism Over LGBTQ Inclusion

The future of Mississippi's United Methodist churches and institutions is in question after a group of influential United Methodist Church leaders announced a preliminary agreement to split the church in two on Jan. 3, due to irreconcilable disagreements over LGBTQ rights.

The Dapper Doughnut, The Lost Cajun and La Brioche Renovations

Gabe Jackson, a Liberty, Miss., native and a guard for the Oakland Raiders football team, opened the first Mississippi location of The Dapper Doughnut, a Las Vegas-based donut franchise with 21 locations, together with his wife Eryn Jackson in Flowood on Thursday, Jan. 2.

Hyde-Smith, Wicker 'Gunning to End Roe': Ask High Court to Overturn

Mississippi's two U.S. senators, Republicans Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider overturning its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion nationwide.

Stephen Brown

Stephen Brown, a Jackson native who performs as hip-hop artist 5th Child, has worked as assistant director of outreach for Get2College since 2013.

10 Local Stories of the Week

There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.

New DA Jody Owens Promises Reform, Alternatives to Incarceration

Earlier this week, civil rights attorney and avowed criminal-justice reformer Jody Owens officially took over as the new Hinds County district attorney, succeeding the controversy-plagued Robert Shuler Smith, who served eight years.

Azia's Picks 1-3-20

How do you plan on welcoming in the first weekend of the new year? Let's see what's to do in the Capital City 2020 style with my top weekend picks.

Reggie Perry

One player making early season waves is Mississippi State University sophomore forward Reggie Perry.

Mississippi Prison Deaths Follow Warnings of Meager Funding, Shortages

Three more Mississippi prisoners have died at the hands of other inmates in the six days since the Mississippi Department of Corrections initiated a statewide prison lockdown last Sunday, bringing the week's death toll to four.

Statewide Gas Taxes a Bridge Too Far for Lt. Gov.-elect Hosemann

Lt. Gov.-elect Delbert Hosemann will not consider raising gas taxes statewide in 2020, he told the press on Dec. 17. But he is opening the door for county supervisors to pass their own local tax raises.

James Kenyon

Jackson resident James Kenyon says he has a heart for "telling stories that might not otherwise be heard," which he has had the chance to do since co-founding the Hearth and Mantel Theatre in 2017.

Elizabeth Spencer, UMMC NASA Grant and MSU State of Black Men Symposium

Author and Belhaven University alumna Elizabeth Spencer died on Sunday, Dec. 22, at her home in Chapel Hill, N.C. at age 98.

JPD Arrests 82 People Under 'Operation Targeting Gun Violence'

Days after U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst chided Jackson public officials for being too soft on crime, Jackson Police Department Chief James Davis held a press conference to highlight 82 arrests in the city.

Dana Larkin

After working and living in Jackson for 52 years, Executive Director of Growing Up Knowing Dana Larkin has stepped down from her position and moved to the Washington D.C. area to be closer to her family and grandchildren.

Hood Wants 15-week Abortion Ban Appeal Reconsidered by Full 5th Circuit

Mississippi wants a redo after a federal appeals court struck down its 2018 law that bans women from having abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood filed a motion asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to reconsider the law's constitutionality on Dec. 27.

Azia's Picks: NYE Edition

Like every year, 2019 has certainly been a ride full of ups and downs. The Capital City has much to offer if you are looking for a place to unwind and count down until midnight. Several venues offer Jacksonians with ways to bring in the new year with both our loved ones and with new faces.

Ellington