[Stiggers] Stuck Like Chuck
Taaqweema Jenkins: "This is a Ghetto Science Team Television Network pre-Memorial Day news flash. In the wake of the gas price increase, The Sausage Sandwich Sisters (International Electric Slide Ambassadors for World Peace and Rent Money) will have a Memorial Day Electric Slide Protest Rally for World Peace and Gas Money. Here to speak on behalf of the Sausage Sandwich Sisters is Mo'tel Williams, super producer and board member of the Hair Did University Cold Wave, Pomade and Jheri Curl Council."
[Kamikaze] Tomorrow's Storms
As I sat and watched Fox News a few Sundays back, I had a moment of clarity.
With A Good Intention
People come up and thank me all the time for being "daring." Or "courageous." Or "fearless." No, the Jackson Free Press is not particularly daring or courageous (although admittedly we can be a bit fearless now and then). We're just trying to do our job the best we can. Sometimes we succeed better than others. But "daring"? Not really. Unless you mean willing to risk angering an advertiser or a reader when we tell an unpopular truth.
The Crime: May 2, 1964
The last time Mazie Moore ever saw her boy, 19-year-old son Charles, he was standing in front of Dillon's gas station on Main Street in Meadville, trying to thumb a ride with his friend, Henry Dee, also 19. Mazie had gotten a ride to the doctor and figured she would pick them up when she came back by there.
Proposed Work Program a Bust
This week, the U.S. Senate is considering comprehensive immigration reform that includes the creation of a new temporary worker program.
[Stiggers] Ghetto-Made
Bonqweesha Jones: "It's your favorite on-the-scene reporter, giving you the 411 on the low down faster than you can say 'War Czar!' I'm here with Bruh Sylvester, the controversial Christmas Missin' Toe artist, to talk about his new art exhibit titled 'Ghetto Dada Drama.'
[Viewpoint] My Mississippi Delta
Being born in the Bolivar County hospital on a sweltering day in August is just about my chief claim to credibility as a writer. I was raised in the Mississippi Delta, which seems to produce writers and artists in staggering numbers. I have many ideas as to why this is true, but I've refused to write about the Delta much, because my feelings toward it run deep and very conflicted. There is great disparity in the Delta between the "haves" and the "have nots," although often it's only about who owns the seeds.
Of Chick Balls and Big-Mouthed Women
Frank Melton called me a "big mouth" on Councilman Ben Allen's radio show Friday. Sitting in my bedroom listening as Todd showered, I couldn't help but laugh. Heartily. Loudly. You know, in that big-mouthed kind of way that scares people who fear strong women.
[Grayson] Our Way Of Life
When I was 16 years old, my friends talked me into going to a local teen dance club. I begged my grandmother to approve, and we were off. I spent all evening getting dolled up for my first club appearance. When we pulled up to the club, I was nervous, but the music was blasting, the line was long, and I was ready to dance. When we finally made it inside, I was a little nervous but excited nonetheless.
Step Up, Ledger
If you read the JFP's account of the Mayor Melton's "open" meeting with department heads this week (page 6), and then you read the Clarion-Ledger's online account posted Monday, you would have thought our reporters were at two different meetings.
[Stiggers] It's A Mad Crunchie World
Mr. Announcement: "Gasoline climbs to $3 per gallon. American soldiers remain in limbo and at war. Frustrated males go on shooting rampages. The chemical called melamine contaminates our food supply of pork, chicken and fish. Amidst all of this uncertainty, American consumers still make routine midday pilgrimages to fast-food restaurants.
[Kamikaze] A Weapon For ‘Rage'
My most heartfelt thanks goes out to the controversial rock band Rage Against The Machine. Why, you ask? Simply because, if but for a moment, they've taken a little pressure off us poor rappers. We can take a break from being America's whipping boys as the rock world takes some heat in this crazy freedom-of-speech debate. It also speaks to the leverage that musicians and entertainers hold when it come to politics.
More Than A Maid
Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. I didn't have to; I wanted to. Most of my summer days, we watched "Donahue" re-runs and "Sanford and Son" and "Benson." I stayed over at her house every Friday night from the time I was in kindergarten until the sixth grade, and we started out every Saturday morning watching the "Smurfs." Then, every day after school until I was in the 11th grade (when I started driving myself to school occasionally), my routine was the same: Get off the bus, drop my backpack on the floor in the "little room," make a snack, and then my grandmother and I would watch Oprah. I miss those predictable times with my grandmother.
Get the Mayor to 'Do His Job
A common refrain during the build-up to Mayor Frank Melton's felony trials this past month was that "people should just let the mayor do his job.
[Stiggers] Booty-Gate and the Mystery Pol
Mr. Announcement: "On this episode of 'All God's Churn Got Shoes,' the deputy secretary of state's mishap has inspired the 'hypocrisy division' of the Ladies in Church Hats, Union 203 and 7/8, to conduct an audio/video surveillance mission, across the street from Madame T.J. Hooka's Booty Reportin' for Duty Erotic Fantasy Escort Service. The Ladies in Church Hats have set up their surveillance equipment inside an abandoned church bus. They call this assignment 'Mission Hypocritical—Code Name Booty-Gate.'
[Mott] Feed Them On Your Dreams
Earlier this week, my friend Terry e-mailed me a link to a short film from 1947 called "The Secret Lives of Cats." Two things struck me as I watched: First was the obvious affection of the two adult cats toward each other and their kittens, which was, in my experience, extraordinary. The second thing that occurred to me was the old adage, "Even a cat can have kittens."
Fight or Fight
It's an odd world where Councilman Kenny Stokes is standing with FOX News celebrities who care more about profiling young blacks than protecting citizens' rights. But in the aftermath of the Frank Melton acquittals last week, we are living in a bizarro-land populated by strange bedfellows, led by a mayor and police chief who yelp about "drug houses" but arrest no drug dealers.
[Gregory] Becoming Blonde
As a woman, there are quite a few ridiculous things I do to myself in the pursuit of "pretty." The least of these is my weekly scouring of local drugstores for my favorite fake eyelashes, and the most of these is my regular salon appointment to keep this crazy platinum mess on top of my head from looking like a Jerry Springer special.
[Stiggers] Sticks and Stones
Aunt Tee Tee Hustle: "The way I see things these days is that people live in critical times where critical people criticize with critically destructive words and actions.
[Kamikaze] The Real World, Jackson
This probably isn't the best time for "I told ya so's." But … I told ya so.
The Folks Are Coming
A JFP reader commented on our Web site Tuesday that it is a very different world in which citizens can watch live feeds of a trial on WAPT's Web site and then click to jacksonfreepress.com and comment on it, ask questions and have them immediately addressed by the lawyers obsessed with the site. It is, indeed.
[Mott] What Would Jesus Drive?
My sister Lisa accused me of being a communist. She was kidding, I hope. Lisa is a die-hard Republican by her own admission; I'm fairly certain that she prays for my lefty-liberal soul. We have some "colorful" conversations because we disagree on many issues, including global warming. While she admits there might be a problem, Lisa believes that most of the science is "junk," and she simply doesn't think that humans have the power to threaten the well-being of the entire earth.
[Stiggers] Imus Be Dreaming
Readin' Rain-Bro: "Will bicycles become the transportation alternative for the financially challenged individual who cannot afford to pay $3 for a gallon of gas? I might not have the answer to this question, but I do know critical thoughts regarding certain events will become hot topics this summer."
[Collier] Connect the Dots
The folks at WJTV must have been particularly bored April 16. In what was presumably an attempt to localize the Virginia Tech tragedy, WJTV reported live from the Jackson State campus and paralleled the 1970 school shooting that occurred at JSU to the recent Virginia Tech massacre. The two have nothing in common, other than the fact that they both occurred on college campuses, and bullets were involved. Other than that, the WJTV correspondents played a masterful game—or not—of connect-the-dots.
The Big Lie
The felony trial of Mayor Frank Melton and police detectives Michael Recio and Marcus Wright begins Monday. Although we cannot yet know what defense their lawyers will mount, it seems evident that Melton did in fact demolish the duplex on Ridgeway Street. There are multiple witnesses, and prosecutors have filed a motion suggesting that there is even videotape of the incident.
[Gregory] Sweet Bird Of Nokia
My office downtown is close to Smith Park. Often, during my 15 minutes of government-mandated break time in the afternoon, I walk to the park and sit on a bench to enjoy my state-sanctioned five-minute cigarette. I like Smith Park for the bossy squirrels and the large fountain. The sound of water running—besides making me want to pee—relaxes me and allows me a few minutes where the worries of the day aren't nipping at my heels.
[Stiggers] When Life Gives You Lemons
Pookie Peterz: "Welcome to the Ghetto Science Economic Summit for Unemployed Folk Forced into Entrepreneurship. Tonight, Rudy McBride of the Let Me Hold Five Dollars National Bank presents the Residual Income Initiative: a new perspective into overcoming joblessness."
[Tucker] The Bigger Question
By now, everybody has heard about syndicated-radio personality Don Imus and his comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. While almost everyone acknowledges that Imus' comments—calling the members of the Scarlet Knights "nappy-headed hos"—were out of line, there are those who wonder, "Why the fuss now?"
[Grayson] No Longer a Supporter
I must admit, I was a devout Melton supporter. Initially, I was drawn in by Mayor Frank Melton's ideas for this city and its inner-city youth. He mesmerized me. Every time somebody talked low of him, I defended his honor by speaking up for his character (which I used to think was great). I was not old enough to vote in the 2005 mayoral election, but I encouraged my family and friends to vote for Melton. I even drove my grandmother to the polls.
Lost in Translation
"He is like a prodigal son, pondering whether he should return to his native soil." So wrote now-freelance Clarion-Ledger columnist Eric Stringfellow this week in a hand-wringing column about the future of Jackson.