[Greggs] I Am Mississippi
I love this place. This state, I mean. I love the fact my neighbors showed up the day after Katrina with chainsaws in hand because they noticed a tree blocking my car in the driveway. I love my mamaw, and I love her cooking. I love the orange blossoms that are still blooming outside my friend's apartment in October.
[Stiggers] Scary Nation
I'm Boneqweesha Jones on the scene at Jo-Jo's Discount Dollar Store during his Scary Nation: Trick or Treat Halloween Costume Sale. He has an interesting selection of spooky/non-traditional costumes at discount prices.
Born To Be A Thug
A couple weeks back, culture czar Bill Bennett said crime would go down if all black babies were aborted. A couple months back, a business publication editor in Brandon said that the inner city is breeding young criminals. A couple years back, a city councilman told a group of North Jackson adults that "young tigers" are roaming our streets, looking to hurt us.
Wanted: A Strong , Safe Jackson
The decision by Mayor Frank Melton and Chief Shirlene Anderson to eliminate the eight-member Crime Prevention Unit of the Jackson Police Department (along with approximately 10 other JPD positions) upset many Jacksonians. The crime prevention specialists in Precinct 4 were regular contributors to Community Oriented Policing (COPS), a citizens' crime prevention group whose meetings I help moderate.
[Stiggers] Hands Off My Grandbabies
"While locating my favorite weekly broadcast of The Rev. Cletus Car Sales program on the radio, I accidentally tuned in a talk radio show. A discussion about Social Security caught my attention —since I'm a senior citizen with grandbabies and stuff.
Bennett And His Black Boys
"If you wanted to reduce crime, you could—if that were your sole purpose—you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down." No, that quote did not loom anonymously on some racist Web site, nor did some bigot boom it at a Council of Conservative Citizens rally. A former member of Ronald Reagan's Cabinet—his Secretary of Education, in fact—uttered it on the public's radio airwaves.
[Kamikaze] God Is Smiling
It's a testament to the human spirit to see how Mississippians have responded in this time of crisis. Hurricane Katrina may have devastated property, homes and businesses, but it didn't crush hope. Out of the rubble that is now the Gulf Coast rose a renewed sense of worth.
[Stiggers] You're Doing A Heck Of A Job, Cletus
Dr. Peanut speaks to the G.S.T.E.M.A.'s (Ghetto Science Team's Emergency Management Agency) during their post-catastrophe planning session.
[Greggs] Like Bourbon For Chocolate
Last week, after spying the ever-growing acreage of my cat's butt, I begrudgingly headed to the store to buy her diet food for the first time. I felt badly about it. Mainly because I would think one of the perks of being a cat is the fact you never have to diet. That and naps being two of the things that make up for the daily indignity of crawling into a box of your own crap.
[Hutchinson] The Real Reasons New Orleans Is So Poor
A year ago Total Community Action, an anti-poverty activist group in New Orleans, issued a devastating whitepaper that warned that poverty in the city had reached epidemic proportions. This was not another anti-establishment grouse by a fringe group of activists. The figures on the city's poverty were appalling. The poverty rate was nearly triple that of the national average. More than 40 percent of public school kids were illiterate, and half would drop out before graduation. Many of them would wind up in Angola state prison, an antique facility that, in a throwback to an Old South plantation, forces inmates to do manual farm labor at peon wages.
This Is My Fault
Since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and thrust her spotlight on the abhorrent conditions of the poorest Americans, I have been pondering poverty. First, I got angry.
[Morris] The Mule Packer
Being married to Willie Morris was never dull. I never knew who might turn up at our house. One day he announced, "An old friend from California is coming to Jackson for the wedding of someone who goes on his mule-packing treks with him. He'll be staying with us for a few days. Great guy. You'll like him."
[Fleming] Learn From Our Mistakes
In sports, it is all about follow-through. Whether it is a pitching motion in baseball or a swing motion in golf, if you don't follow through, you lose power. The same can apply to government.
[Stiggers] Help Is On The Way!
It's time for "Rescue 911 is a Joke" with Flava-Flav: "Yeah boyeeeee! Check out this phone call between Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans and Sis Ernestine, the Emergency Operator."
[Kamikaze] The Beat Goes On
I have been busy planning the Music To Heal Mississippi Benefit (which was a huge success, thanks) and recording a new album. But I'm back this week and talking directly to music lovers of all ages and colors who always whine that there's nothing to do in Jackson.
Haley Barbour's Katrina Special-Session Speech
[verbatim transcription]September 27, 2005—Thank you. Governor Tuck, Speaker McCoy, ladies and gentlemen of the Legislature*. Fellow Mississippians.
[Lott] The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful
Mississippians should be proud of the way we've met Hurricane Katrina's challenges. Since Katrina, we've seen just about everything this world can offer – a lot of good things, some downright bad sights and some very beautiful people.
[Fleming] On Earth, As In Heaven
Hurricane Katrina was truly an act of God. God in His own way reveals things to us and forces us to act upon them no matter how reluctant we are. A reporter from the Chicago Tribune nailed it on the head when she stated that the current administration in Washington had done their dead-level best to perpetuate poverty in America as a myth, but Katrina washed these huddled masses onto our screens.
[Stiggers] To Whom It May Concern
Dear F.E.M.A.: This is Brotha Hustle applying for a job with your organization. I figure if Mr. Brown can get a job with ya, so can I. Please check out my resume!
[Greggs] Finding My Manners
Emotions are interesting things. Because I am a therapist and ultimately a huge nerd, I spend at least three hours a day explicating mine. Due to this, if you cut in front of me in line, I will tell you this makes me angry. This is because in the second grade, a nun at my elementary school thought I struck a child while waiting in line and made me go to the back. I hadn't hit the other little girl, and I always felt powerless when I thought about that situation. As with most other humans, feelings of powerlessness in situations lead me to get angry.
Letters No. 1, September 22-28
<b><u>The Repressive Regime</b></u>
In George Bush's televised prime-time speech to the nation revealing his plan to move forward after Katrina, he dropped this little bomb: "It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces."
[Lott] Worst of Times; Best of Times
<b>Web Exclusive</b>
Three weeks after America's worst storm directly hit Mississippi, the Katrina recovery effort has miles to go, but we are making progress. As we recover, we must continue addressing immediate needs while formulating mid and long-term strategies to deal, not only with this disaster, but also the next. As we do, the best of America will show through, even during some of our worst days.
[Chick] Your Racism Is Not Wanted
I don't know about y'all, but the Monkey and I were needing some Jesus real bad this last week, so we got ourselves to church even though I was very uncertain about the message we might receive. Chalk it up to a rural Southern Baptist upbringing, but I for one was not up for the wrath of God sermon if you know what I mean. Our family was thirsty for some hope and for a place to direct some helpless energy.
Focus On The ‘Mayor Stuff'
It wasn't until Friday, five days after Katrina had blown through Jackson, that a visibly uncomfortable Mayor Melton fielded questions about city response from what was a visibly frustrated, angry even, Jackson City Council.
[Tisserand] City of The Dead
<b>Unabridged version</b>
"I can't go back there," says my wife, Tami, talking on the cell phone. We're driving from Carencro into Lafayette to find an insurance office and check out the food stamp line.
[Stiggers] Save Money With Pass-N-Gas
The following is an unpaid testimonial for the GST and LMHFD National Bank's Pass-N-Gas discount and roadside assistance card.
Essay: ‘The Uses of Disaster'
A compelling essay by Rebecca Solnit in Harpers:
[Greggs] The Storm of the Century
This is the first time I've written since The Storm of the Century hit the Coast. This has bothered me more than not sleeping in my own bed, as writing is my own form of sustenance. I've been a "displaced person" since Monday. I'm not quite sure when I will be able to return to my house, as I will probably be one of the last people to get power. During the storm, a 150-year-old oak tree fell on the power lines in my front yard. Minus it being one of the scariest moments of my life, it also means there is a lot of work to be done before I am restored on the Almighty "Grid."
[Johnson] An Imperfect Storm
I'm sitting in my modest but comfortable Fondren home on a Saturday night, nursing a summer cold. My power is finally back on; my AC, television and Internet are working, and my car even has some gas! My wife and I are expecting our first child any minute now, and I feel fairly confident that we'll be able to bring him into this world with some semblance of safety. And although I am grateful for all of this (except the cold), I am also extremely angry, almost to the point of despair.
The Hope Sleeps Tonight
What a week of pure, unadulterated emotion. As we put out this issue—the first one with power and resources and staff fully restored—I am spent due to what I've seen, read and experienced in the last week.