Coretta, Betty and Me
It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States.
[Tisserand] Throw Us Something, America
The silence can be terrifying. Not just the silence that still shrouds so much of greater New Orleans—the silence of neighborhoods on the brink, homes and schools empty, stores shuttered, communities scattered, friends out of touch.
[Stiggers] What Would Kanye Do?
Ghetto Science Public Television and Kunta "Rahsheed X" Toby Film Works present "Moments in Angry, Black History."
For These Are All Our Children
Febuary 8, 2006
[Greggs] Male Rules For Dating
While sitting down and enjoying an "adult beverage" with a few guy friends the other night, the topic of dating came up. Now, I've always maintained that I wouldn't write about dating in a column. I've previously mentioned that I just don't do it well, and recent events in my life prove it. Dating for me at this point consists of believing that Michael Buble speaks to me through the radio. He is commanding me to stalk him. Every time he sings "Save the Last Dance For Me" with that Sinatra-like smoothness, he's shooting a rainbow straight through my heart laced with obsessive compulsion and covered in a restraining order. That man knows exactly what he's doing.
[Stiggers] Angry Moments In Black History
Bruh Jojo: "Thirty years ago, I was one of the first black students to attend a predominately white, private high school. I encountered my most challenging moment during an American history class. The lesson of the day covered slavery, chapter 8, page 246 of the freshman American history book. All of the attention fell on me, Jojo, the black kid, as Mr. Jones asked me to read out loud brief paragraphs about slavery, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
[Kamikaze] Our Victories Are History
I've never really liked the idea of Black History "Month." There'll be another slew of black history programs (yawn). We'll hear the same speakers speak, and my kids will once again hear about Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman in school. Pretty standard stuff. We'll sing, we'll pray, we'll celebrate the lives of Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King. We'll talk about the marches on Selma and Washington. We'll talk about slaves traveling the underground railroad and black folks getting attacked by police dogs in Birmingham, Ala. We'll applaud the passage of the Voting Rights Act and affirmative action. Basically, we'll let America give us a collective pat on the head and a hearty "good job."
Make Friends, And Build A City
What we call the "Best Of" season in January here at the JFP always ends with a big bang in the form of our Best of Jackson party, which happened this year in the Electric 308 building in downtown Jackson. It was an extraordinary event this year, attended by hundreds of folks … and at least one cute little dog. We had exceptional food from a slew of local restaurants (all of whom were big winners in the Best of Jackson 2006 reader poll), and entertainment ranging from bellydancing to fashion models to DJ Phingaprint, who is not only Jackson's Best club DJ, but also the secret ingredient to turning a good party into an outstanding party.
A Hospitality Check
When I saw the fax on my desk, inviting me to a 2006 Breakfast with the Legislature with the Mississippi Hospitality & Rest-aurant Association, all the memories came flooding back. As kitchen manager of my local Irish pub, I had really developed reverence for the relationship between a chef and his patrons. It was my privilege to provide a predictable, friendly experience beyond the daily grind for my customers.
[Stiggers] Working For Mr. Cholly
Boneqweesha: "It's Boneqweesha live, covering the grand opening of the Let Me Hold Five Dollars Insurance Company's Daddy McBride memorial building. I'm with Daddy McBride, patriarch of the McBride family and inspiration for L.M.H.F.D. Insurance Company. Daddy, I know that you and the McBride family are proud of this achievement today."
The Art Of Being The Best
Just mention "the state's inferiority complex" to a Mississippi native, and he or she will likely respond: "God, isn't that the truth?" Let's just say that residents of our dear state haven't been schooled in the fine art of being the "best." Or, to be more precise, no matter how talented we are personally, collectively, we don't believe we're the best.
[Stiggers] Dee-wishious Chocolate
The Qweem-O-Wheat man addresses the Cootie Creek County Community College Black Student Union during their Pre-Black History Month Miss Sausage Biscuit Beauty pageant.
[Greggs] The Love Of Power
I've been reading the "The 48 Laws of Power" recently. I won't take credit for buying it, as it was a gift from a friend. A gift, that once I figured out what the book was about, immediately made him suspect in my eyes. I wanted to question him extensively about Law Number 21 ("Play a sucker to catch a sucker"). Today, as with most days, I feel like a sucker.
Let Us Be Audacious
Let us be dissatisfied until integration is not seen as a problem but as an opportunity to participate in the beauty of diversity.
[Kamikaze] Relax, And Hire Young
Without thrusting myself into the political fray, I must say that Ward 4 Councilman Frank Bluntson and Ward 5 Councilman Charles Tillman were dead-on last week in response to Mayor Frank Melton's appointment of Marcus Ward as city lobbyist. There certainly does need to be a place in government for the next generation, my generation.
[Stiggers] Dr. Collard Greene Goes Organic
Chef "Low" Fat Meat: "My health-conscious friends complained about the food I used to serve at my restaurant.
Let Me Count The Ways
When my assistant editor, Casey Parks, left the JFP last month to go on to graduate school, she wrote a goodbye editor's note that made me cry. I admit I was touched by what she said about me, the city and the JFP's mission, but more than anything, I cried with pride at the love and maturity such a young person was showing for her community, and herself.
[Stiggers] Tricklin' On Down
Brutha Hustle, the Carlton Sheets of the ghetto, introduces Hustle-Nomics 2006, a plan that helps financially challenged individuals supplement their current income within an inflated economy.
[Greggs] An Angry Young Woman
Topics often jump out at me over the course of a week. This week, everything was jumping, and not a one of them was staying down. I went over my last columns in my head wondering what to pontificate about this week. Gay? Did it. Woman? Been there. Sex? Several times.
The Cult Of Irresponsibility
Just how bad of a newspaper is The Clarion-Ledger? A hint comes three-quarters of the way into Executive Editor Ronnie Agnew's "end of the year" column (Jan. 1, 2006). The paragraph is about Mayor Frank Melton:
[Kamikaze] Disrespecting Rappers
The year 2005 was a great one for hiphop. As a genre, it continues to dominate the music industry and pop culture in general. Here locally, hiphop has almost (and I stress almost) gone from a red-headed stepchild to a respected art form. Surely now Jackson's intelligentsia would think twice before blaming hip-hop for this city's ills, right?
[Stiggers] Bring Your Own Soap
Picture this scene: You're at home in the dark without water, gas and telephone because you cannot afford to pay your utility bills. You seek help from your neighbor. But you also discover that he or she is in the same predicament. Frustration, desperation and depression stab at you like the prongs of a pitchfork—indeed, a sticky situation. You question your moment of suffering: Is a rich person's heaven a poor person's hell?
[De Groote] Devil Worshipers of the Mid-'90s
Troy's "Big Mini" was our favorite means of conveyance on many high school adventures back in the mid- '90s. We drove that Ford minivan through absolute hell and back, and it bore the scars and peeling paint as proof of our youthful driving escapades. I wasn't around for the incident that secured the doors in a permanent, firmly shut position, but it was a perfect vehicle for the fledgling driver.
The Best Of Times, The Worst Of Times
Last year began on a high note for the Jackson Free Press, and it's closing on a high note—with our readership at an all-time high, our position as the city's most-read weekly publication cemented, and the biggest advertising issue we've published to date.
[Stiggers] The Spooks Outside Yo' Door
The following is an excerpt from the script, "The Spooks outside Yo' Door" by Kunta "Rasheed X" Toby:
[Greggs] Ali G's Magnificent 2006 Predictions
Last year on New Year's, I made a resolution against resolutions. My logic for this decision was knowing that if I truly wanted to change something about myself, I could wake up some random Tuesday in March and make the same promise with the same results. I guess this gives a pretty good idea how well my resolutions have previously been integrated into my life. Yes, like hurricane relief in the Senate. Empty. Freaking. Promises.
[Kamikaze] The CNN Of The Streets
Over the years hip-hop music has been effective in uncovering many truths. The L.A.-based group NWA shined a bright light on rampant police brutality in songs like "F_*ck the Police." Rapper-turned-actor Ice T practically predicted the L.A. riots that followed the Rodney King verdict on his sophomore album, "Rhyme Pays." Quite frankly, rap music has been, as Public Enemy front man Chuck-D once said, "the CNN of the streets."
Do Not Take Revenge, My Friends
Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." But the LORD said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Loving Thy Neighbor
Last week, the day after the JFP's first "Race, Religion & Society" panel discussion, I looked at two e-mails within a couple hours of each other. The first, from a white man in Brandon with a subject line of just "Donna Ladd," opened by dressing me down for devoting so much ink to young Emmett Till's life and death.
[Stiggers] The Night Before Kwanzaa
Welcome to a Ghetto Science Christmas with the Fifth Alternate Financially Challenged and Concerned Citizens Community Choir, directed by Auntie Church Hat. Here's a song from their first Christmas CD titled "Broke, Busted and Frustrated during the Holiday Season."