If Not for My Size
"You are such a beautiful woman for your size." Yep. In 2017, someone said that to me.
Cheers to Bi-partisanship in the Mississippi House
The blame for the budget meltdown belongs to both the House and the Senate, but if you believe that bipartisanship, maintaining the state's infrastructure and compromise are important in how laws are made, give your House members a high-five the next time you see them.
What ‘Confederate History Month’ Really Is
Celebrating Confederate History Month without even attempting to put it in its proper context of human slavery and racism is just another one of the things we do to refuse to let go of our white supremacist past.
Growing Jackson’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
There's a word for what Jackson has developed for certain industries, especially food, medical-technology, nonprofit and government work, even law—it's an "ecosystem."
The Last Confederate Stronghold in America
"This is no longer a Mississippi fight. This is a battle for the soul of America."
Americans for Prosperity: Online Sales Tax is Wrong for Mississippi
The Jackson Free Press recently published an editorial criticizing my organization, Americans for Prosperity, for opposing a bill that would impose sales taxes on all online purchases made in Mississippi—even when the seller has no presence in the state.
Last-Hour Gang Law Overhaul Is Self-Defeating
When Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, stood up at the last hour to amend state gang law at the Mississippi Legislature on March 8, he committed what can be called a "tell."
Stinker Quote of the Week: 'No Evidence'
On his personal Twitter account, President Donald Trump used Clapper's decision to not comment on the ongoing investigation into the Trump administration and campaign's ties to Russia to conclude that there must be "no evidence" of such collusions.
Caution: Oligarchy Ahead
Brother Hustle: "Welcome to this very important Compensatory Investment Request Support Group meeting. While democracy transitions into an oligarchy, the common, poor and financially challenged communities must brace themselves for a severe beatdown."
Jackson Needs More Camaraderie
It's great to have a sense of pride in your neighborhood, but it's also important to remember that we're all part of one city.
Conserving Fannye A. Cook’s Legacy
When Fannye A. Cook was born in Copiah County, women were almost 80 years away from gaining the right to serve on a Mississippi jury and 95 years away from the Mississippi State Legislature's symbolic ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
Calling on Our Ancestral Mothers
Each year I make deliberate efforts to study women throughout history. This year I have dissected my celebration. With intentional focus, I am celebrating black women. I am dedicating myself to who I am because of who we are.
Use the T-word: Trauma Matters, Must Be Treated
Without an understanding of trauma—what often lies beneath the surface of a child who was taken out of an abusive home or a teenager in juvenile detention—the wounds won't heal.
Want Change? Get Involved
Some exciting things are happening in technology and entrepreneurship in Jackson this year.
Mississippi’s Women Deserve a Lot More R-E-S-P-E-C-T
"Improving women’s access to fair and equal pay not only uplifts them, but their entire families and their communities as well."
Harsh Words (and Love) for Jackson and Mississippi
As a former Jacksonian looking into the city from D.C. with a powerful set of binoculars, I can't help but ask myself, "What the hell is going on?"
Denying Sanctuary Spreads Fear
In the midst of a souring national climate toward immigration—thanks in large part to President Donald Trump's executive order, which authorizes more detention facilities to hold detained immigrants, among other costly revamping measures—Mississippi's leaders have stubbornly aligned themselves with Trump's fear-mongering, one-dimensional view on immigration.
Trump’s Dark Shadow Shouldn’t Surprise Anyone
A dark shadow has been cast over the land in the wake of chants of "Make America Great Again" and "America First."
An Editor and a Gentleman
An odd fluke of fate brought me to the patch of dirt where three civil rights workers were murdered in my home county, holding the hand of James Chaney's daughter 40 years after he died there.
Celebrate Progress, Yet Push Forward on Criminal Justice Reform
"We are moving in the right direction, but we still have much more to do."
Danny Glover and the Rights of Workers
I'll never forget Danny Glover as the drifter Moze in the 1984 film "Places in the Heart." It was a Depression-era story of a widowed mother in the South trying to keep her children and save her farm with the help of Moze and a blind war veteran.
Killing Online Sales Tax Bill Is Hypocrisy
The state's budget is shrinking, and whether a lawmaker blames slow economic development or large tax breaks given to corporations that never came to Mississippi, the budget squeeze is on most legislators' minds this session.
Stinker Quote of the Week: 'Pioneers'
DeVos called historically black colleges and universities "living proof" that more options for students means greater access and quality, when in actuality HBCUs were not so much a choice as they were a necessity for African Americans looking to attend colleges and universities back when the law barred them from "white" colleges.
Miss Doodle Mae’s Safe Haven from Fake News
Miss Doodle Mae: "In a time of 'fake news' and 'alternative facts,' Jojo's Discount Dollar Store has become a safe haven for the common people."
Try Everything, Learn Something
Like a lot of people, when I was younger, I tried my hand at everything in the hopes that I would also be inexplicably great at everything.
Of Racial Profiling and Scarlet Letters
For a lot of immigrants—especially immigrants of color—part of the relief of becoming a citizen is that you won't get scarlet-letter documents that are different from everyone else's.
Lawmakers: Stay Off the Trump Immigrant Road
With a president hell-bent on securing borders and going after undocumented immigrants in the name of drug wars and criminal activity, it is a scary time to not technically be legal.
Love Is All You Need
Take a good look around the world today. Many people present hate in the face of love daily. We spend a lot of time trying to correct hatred in this country. I personally believe we are in a place now where hatred is governing us.
‘Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor’
I've talked about this before, but we are a nation of many immigrants. Unless you're Native American, you can likely trace your roots back somewhere across the seas or down in South and Central America.
From Council Schools to Today’s Fight for Public Ed
Yearbooks and classmates prove that Gov. Phil Bryant is the product of white flight and segregationist education, which may explain his efforts, along with others in his party, to undermine public education in this state.