Opinion

OPINION: The Mayor’s Task Farce

In the "most radical city on the planet," the "emperor" has no clothes. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has repeatedly provided cover for the Jackson Police Department, which has consistently exacted violence on residents.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Celebrating Teen Excellence at Crossroads Film Fest

Little pleases me more than seeing teenagers from all parts of Jackson achieve great things and be recognized for them such as their inclusion this week in the Crossroads Film Festival.

EDITORIAL: Lumumba Administration Must Be Proactive, Appoint Promptly

There's a modern-day adage that is good advice for the Lumumba administration: "Stay ready so you don't have to get ready."

OPINION: No Matter the Zip Code

Equity in education has been a hot topic of conversation around the nation over the last few years. How do we ensure that children who face extra barriers like racism and classism or live in areas with underfunded school districts have the support and funding they need to have the same academic skills and confidence of their peers who do not face those barriers?

OPINION: Mississippi Women's Activist—Bernie Sanders Can't Come to the Cookout

"This town hall isn't special; they are taking the usual Bernie town hall and putting Martin Luther King's name on it. It's glaringly obvious, offensive and frankly it is just gross."

EDITORIAL: Legislature Budgets for Critical Needs, Neglects Others

The 2018 legislative session's story largely revolves around Republicans' inability to get a lot done due to failed negotiations between the House and the Senate.

OPINION: Tickled to See Teenagers Restarting the Revolution

Writer and champion of social justice Dorothy Day once said that "fighting for a cause is part of the zest of life. ... What we need is a revolution. Each one of us can help start it."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Mississippi, the Birthplace (and Future) of America’s Music

Maybe there is a problem with just saying we're the "birthplace of America's music." It doesn't really say that the music still lives here.

EDITORIAL: Mayor, JPD, Get on Same Page About Officer Shootings

When it comes to police transparency, Jackson is on a volatile tectonic plate that could cause tremors at any moment. Especially when City officials are the ones off-kilter and inconsistent.

OPINION: Police-State Violence, the Elephant in the Room

We live in a police state. That is when a government uses organized force to act arbitrarily and violently against the interests of the masses of people, rendering them subjects instead of citizens.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Complacency vs. The Permission to Care Deeply

One of the biggest letdowns of the modern era—and the money involved in American politics—is the complacency that sets in once someone gets into office.

EDITORIAL: Public Officials, Get Facts Straight on Project EJECT

There are two sides to the proverbial Project EJECT coin: what the public hears and what actually happens.

OPINION: White People, Respect Our Struggle

The mere suggestion that not seeing my skin color should somehow make me feel comfortable is ignorant. I am proud of my race and my skin color. You don't see me? Why not?

EDITOR'S NOTE: All Those Crazy Jackson Ideas

When Mississippi Arts Commission Executive Director Malcolm White first moved to Jackson in 1979, he said it was a fairly straight-laced city where people went to work, church, school and raised their kids, but they would go out of town to do anything fun. He didn't like that, so he set out to change it.

Op-Ed: Entergy

In an op-ed filed by the CEO of Entergy Mississippi, he claims that the state's Public Service Commission has already approved the charges for electricity purchased by Entergy. That is very misleading.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Right, Left Must Work Together for Criminal Reforms

It is time that criminal-justice reform be on every candidate's agenda in Mississippi, regardless of party. The goal should be to lower mass incarceration, especially for drug and victimless crimes—which both parties here voted to begin back in 2014.

EDITORIAL: Stop Hurting Women as a Campaign Strategy

Constituents need to hold lawmakers accountable who are more interested in scoring political points than they are about ensuring women, especially black women, are protected.

OPINION: Justice for Reggie Harper

For Reginald Harper, Jan. 4, 2018, is a day that will forever live in infamy. On this day Jackson Police Department officers shot at him.

Civil Rights Museum Enjoys ‘Trump-less’ Grand Opening

Bryant hit a nerve with his invite last December after the racially tone-deaf president failed to disavow white nationalists during recent neo-Nazi demonstrations.

EDITORIAL: Cheers to Senate, But More Ed Attacks Ahead

Bravo to the Mississippi Senate for actually listening to their constituents and killing the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula proposal.

OPINION: Take Down the Flag

I was born and raised in the South. It's my home. I want it to live up to its potential. I am not a Democrat, nor am I a liberal. I am a white man born here, and I say take the flag down.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Parkland Teens Lead by Talking Back, Listening

The Parkland, Fla., teenagers who became activists against gun violence while locked in closets on Valentine's Day are giving many of us life during a dark period in our country.

OPINION: Police Violence is Not Déjà Vu

In Jackson, police violence is not deja vu; it is real and systemic.

EDITORIAL: JPD, Identify Cops Who Shoot Civilians

Mayor Lumumba's order does not address the glaring need for JPD to release names of officers who use excessive and/or fatal force on civilians—the progressive needle does not move without this transparent practice, which departments around the country embrace often within 48 or 72 hours of an incident.

OPINION: Wakanda Forever

"Black Panther" is a depiction of the Africa that our ancestors knew could exist. Its portrayal of royalty and tradition is what we come from. It's in our DNA. It's a bright, new morning light that awakens pride that Hollywood has controlled for generations.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Move On from ‘Antiquated and Useless’ Gang Bill

A very bad "gang bill" has died in the Legislature for the second year in a row. This death occurred after the Senate passed the bill to criminalize gang association and give expanded sentences to associates of gangs or crews or cliques for up to 15 years.

Ellington