[Stiggers] Hot Treats In The ‘Hood
Still Bill the Funk Doctor: "Happy holidays, groovy people! This is your 'funk doctor' broadcasting live from the Ghetto Science Team's Telecommunications Center, WGST, 107-and-a-half on your raggedy radio. You've been listening to the holiday hip-hop sounds of D.J. M-Dog's mixtape titled 'Crunk fo' Christmas.' More music is on the way, after these community announcements.
Consider The Alternatives
Is it possible that the LeFleur Lakes proposal—a project to damn the Pearl River and create a system of lakes in the name of flood control and Hinds/Rankin development—isn't the only solution for the Pearl?
[Sawyer] Man At His Worst
I have been away from the writing world for a while, away from the whirling dervishes that are American politics. But I must admit, it's hard to shake off a bad habit, so here I am again, back on my proverbial soapbox.
[Stiggers] Girls Gone Wild For Christmas
Jojo: "The older women in my family have a fascinating holiday tradition. Every Christmas they decorate their living room couch next to their coffee table with doll displays. Relatives, friends and visitors also admire the variety of these dolls' arrangements. My grandma's doll display is quite diverse, with dolls of many races, sizes and styles.
[Kamikaze] Lighten Up
After reading all the controversy surrounding the Borat movie, two things have become painfully clear. One, some Americans lack a sense of humor and two, alcohol is a bigot's truth serum.
Anatomy of An Error
On Saturday, Nov. 18, 2006, The Clarion-Ledger published an editorial titled "Will DA Accept Another Plea Bargain?" in which the writer made a huge error when he wrote the following:
[Parks] There Is No Other
In journalism school, we were taught not to intervene in our stories. After working in Mississippi, where I helped organize benefits to raise money to help fix some of the problems I covered, I felt a little iffy about the rule of never intervening.
[Stiggers] When Kramer Cracked
Nurse Tootie: "This is your favorite nurse sitting in for Boneqweesha Jones on the Boneqweesha Report. As you all know, that Kramer dude from the sitcom 'Seinfeld' had some N-words for two African Americans while performing his comedy act at the Laugh Factory. Providing some insight on this recent incident is my third cousin Buddy McBride, author of the book 'Some White Men Can Say the N-word When They Get Really Mad at Black Folk.' Cousin, I'm anxious to hear your perspective."
Tarring and Feathering Faye Peterson
I was sitting in the student center at Belhaven College Friday afternoon, participating in a media-ethics forum with several other media leaders from around town. The conversation was compelling, and there was a great deal of mea culpa (not to mention JFP back-patting, I'm happy to report) over how local media covered, or did not cover, Frank Melton's shenanigans during the campaign and in the early months of his tenure as mayor.
[Kamikaze] Don't Blow It
After I signed my first recording contract, an old industry mentor asked me: "You've bought the album. Now what are you going to do with it?" In other words, now that you got what you wanted, how are you going to handle it? I'd have to say that same question stands before the newly empowered Democrats.
[Stiggers] A Dose of Holiday Reality
Boneqweesha Jones: "It's 'Late, Late, Late Night Conversations,' the television show for insomniacs who are tired of looking at those food-processing and real-estate infomercials. My special guest is Sis. Judy McBride, representing the esteemed members of the McBride family and their new book titled 'No Crying Towels for Christmas.' Judy, that title reads more like an affirmation."
[Parks] Mississippi: America's Africa
Before New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and I left on our trip to Africa in September, WNYC's Brian Lehrer interviewed us on his radio show. A caller asked us why we were leaving the country to cover poverty when plenty of domestic poverty remained unabated.
Welcome, Mr. Whitaker
Just in case y'all missed it last week, The Clarion-Ledger's most recent publisher, John Newhouse II, has left his post at the C-L, and we're told, the employ of the Gannett Co. chain entirely.
[Chickdom] Parenting From The Box
Just three weeks into our marriage, I called my new husband, Mr. Steam Jeans, to ask a very simple question, "Honey, do you want to do 'Wife Swap?'" His immediate response to this question was a significant pause—the kind of pause a bride may expect if she'd asked, "Do these jeans make my butt look big?"
[Parks] Fear of Stigma, Here and There
The Central African Republic was a long cry from the Gulf Coast, but looking into the eyes of the Africans I met, I saw something familiar each time. When New York Times columnist Nick Kristof and I found ourselves stuck for a few hours on a red clay Cameroonian road at the end of the rainy season behind a logging truck that had flipped over, I pulled out my camera. Everyone wanted his or her picture taken. Teenage boys put on their toughest faces. Teenage girls grimaced because they didn't feel pretty enough. Young kids hammed, putting bunny ears over each others' heads. Older couples smiled sweetly.
[Stiggers] Work Those Steps, Brotha Hustle
Judy McBride: "I'm guest facilitator for this week's Bootleggers Anonymous meeting. My objective today is to help individuals addicted to gaining personal income through the means of piracy or copyright infringement—or shall I say bootlegging!
Pity Would Be No More
In a few hours, I would be leaving Africa. After two weeks traveling through Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Central African Republic with New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Nick Kristof, I stood in the Bangui, C.A.R. airport ready to leave. I had won the trip through a New York Times essay contest—"Win A Trip With Nick"—that 3,800 people had entered.
Ronni's Wild Ride
"Have you ever noticed? Anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac."
[Stiggers] Legends of Chief Crazy Brotha
Miss Doodle-Mae: "As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, the staff of Gadus Discount Dollar Store and I want to share with our customers what we believe is the true meaning of Thanksgiving by presenting a brief one-man play titled 'Thanks for Giving Us Casinos and Hotels Without Reservations: A Black Indian Speaks on Thanksgiving,' featuring our resident playwright and stage actor (who claims one-third Native American ancestry) Ralph 'Chief Crazy Brotha' Wilson.
[Kamikaze] The Show Must Go On
First of all, let me say that the Mississippi's Best Awards, held on Oct. 28 at the TelCom Center, was an excellent idea. The vision honoring the best our state has to offer was long overdue. Not everyone excels in music or athletics. There are restaurateurs, hairdressers and authors who deserve our kudos. Why should we wait for some other entity to validate what we already know: Mississippi matters.
14 Cents To The Promised Land
"We must not let anything interfere with the ability of the youth of this region to secure here in the region as good an education as is available anywhere in the country, and this opportunity must be available to all of the bright young men and women and not just to the chosen few. Only in this way can the South be true to its promise."
[Stiggers] Tune In, Drop Out
Broth Hustle: "Greetings, bootleg satellite dish owners! The Ghetto Science Team's telecommunications division and I have joined to provide poor folk with a new listening experience called the Broth Hustle Underground Satellite Radio Network. When the skies are clear (or your satellite dish is unobstructed by debris from your neighbors' yard or subdivision apartment), listen to high-fidelity programming such as music, news, public affairs, sports, weather, etc.
[Hutchinson] Was Dr. King A Republican?
Civil rights leaders, black Democrats and Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele went ballistic when the they heard a woman in a 60-second radio ad say that "Dr. King was a Republican." The ad, which is bankrolled by the National Black Republican Association, is purportedly running on several Baltimore radio stations.
[Stiggers] Spook The Spooks
Lil' Momma Roscoe: "Since the Y2K scare, corporations, media and government have waged scare campaigns on the poor and helpless. These entities use buzz words and/or phrases like terrorism, global warming, mad cow disease, West Nile Virus, sexual enhancement medicine, contaminated spinach, etc., to spook folk into frenzied spending habits.
I Got Mugged by the NOPD
It began, as it always does, with beer. It was my first trip to New Orleans, in October 2004, to see Voodoo Fest with my girlfriend Melissa. We had checked into our hotel and caught a cab to City Park, tickled by the novelty of legally drinking beer in a moving vehicle. But as we walked into the festival, those two beers and hours on the road caught up with me. I needed immediate bladder relief.
For The Girls
While reading the first draft of Natalie Collier's cover story this issue about domestic abuse, I was overtaken by emotion and memories.
[Greggs] Not That Many Bullets
It used to be that when you wanted to lose it and shoot a bunch of the idiots hanging around you, you would say you were about to "go postal." It seems to me that after the recent uprising in school shootings we almost have to call it "going to school." Is this freaking anyone else out, or is it just me?
[Stiggers] One Giant Leap For Ghettokind
Dr. Silas P. Rathbone III: "It's a defining moment in Ghetto Science history. Two of our finest will embark on a journey where very few in the ghetto have gone before.
[Kamikaze] Watch What You Say
One of the most controversial rap groups of all time, Public Enemy, had a song called "Freedom of Speech … Watch What You Say" from the seminal late-'80s album "Fear of a Black Planet." It was a testament to the hypocrisy of the First Amendment as it relates to hip-hop. Frontman Chuck D. used his platform to let his million-plus listeners know how he felt about a number of social issues. Whether it was Hollywood, black-on-black crime, drugs or the government, Public Enemy always managed to put a message in their music. That was the golden era of hip-hop: when the lyrics had meaning, and a raunchy rapper out of Miami named Luke Skywalker went all the way to the Supreme Court to defend our right as artists to say what we want—even if you don't agree. That's the school I come from.
The Next Americans
Last week, President George W. Bush signed The Secure Fence Act, which adds 700 miles to the 83 miles of fence on our border with Mexico. Along with the fence, which will cost at least $6 billion, Congress approved billions of dollars for more border patrol officers, more prison space for illegal immigrants and more raids on employers.