Opinion

This Is Their Story

Mr. Announcement: "In the ghetto criminal-justice system, the people are represented by two members of the McBride family: police officer and part-time security guard at the Funky Ghetto Mall, Dudley 'Do-Right' McBride, and attorney Cootie McBride of the law firm McBride, Myself and I. This is their story."

What Would Jeff Do?

We become great when we set out to build others up.

A Vision for Jackson’s Future

To be a competitive, thriving and, yes, happy city, Jackson needs to address two categories of infrastructure: the one that moves things between people, and the one that moves things within people.

Editorial: Shop Local, Shop the Best

When we launched the Best of Jackson reader poll back in 2002, we did it in part because we wanted people to fully grasp all of the wonderful and unique local people, places and businesses that Jackson had to offer.

Speak Up, and Show Up, for Jackson Public Schools

Recently, on a frigid winter night a dozen or so advocates for education, including students, sat around a table at the Eudora Welty library and discussed the issues facing public education today, both good and bad.

Lean In to Greatness, Jackson

Jackson is judged unfairly, it is called names and, when we stand up for ourselves to people who want us to shut up and comply (ahem, Legislature), the pushback gets even tougher. How dare we talk back, call them out and aspire for greatness?!?

I Am Not Impressed With Dr. King

I was not one precious little bit impressed with the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C. I was stunned at just how unmoved I was.

Give Teachers Raises

As long as we have had a public-education system, we have debated how much public-school teachers deserve to paid. The answer is simple: a whole lot more than they're earning now.

Stinker Quote of the Week: 'Hip-Hop'

The list of hip-hop artists who attended college is quite long, as is the list of prestigious American colleges and universities that now offer courses in hip-hop studies.

Gov. Winter and the New Mississippi

Charles C. Bolton's "William F. Winter and the New Mississippi" covers the life of Mississippi's 57th governor, who began in politics as a driver for James O. Eastland during his campaign for the United States Senate in 1942.

I Was Wrong About Farish

Design your neighborhood for locals ... and you'll entice the tourists as well.

Stinker Quote of the Week: 'Drugs'

Since Bryant oversees the agency that administers TANF, if there are people receiving benefits who are not working, it's his administration that's not following the law.

Trayvon, Black Manhood and Love

I want to be loved by an unreasonable love that knows the only reason we're still here, breathing, imagining, fighting, wandering and wondering is because of the unreasonable work of a small but committed group of black southern unreasonable lovers.

Make Prison Reform Real

Our story last week about the Mississippi Department of Corrections' decision to end its longstanding practice of allowing conjugal visits has been getting a lot of attention in and outside the state.

Surviving Joblessness

"With support from the Ghetto Science Team's Save the Jobless, Broke and Frustrated Financial Safety Net Program, the Compensatory Investment Request Support Group will execute a series of self-help sessions for recently laid off workers and the long-term unemployed."

My ‘News’ Year Resolutions

By the time you read this, the 2014 regular session of the Mississippi Legislature will be underway. And there's a good chance, by then, we'll all already be kind of over it.

Don’t Assume I’m Angry

I am so sick of hearing about the "mad black woman," whether it's directed at the first lady or someone right here in Jackson.

Council Must Seek Public Input on Fee Hikes

As City Reporter Tyler Cleveland reports this week, the Jackson City Council quietly, on Nov. 19, added a $5 ticket surcharge for events at Thalia Mara Hall when the municipal auditorium reopens after a months-long renovation.

Stinker Quote of the Week: 'Top Priority'

Bryant has actively obstructed other potential job-creating mechanisms that he believes conflict with the conservative mantle. Yes, we're talking Medicaid expansion and the likely windfall that will result from a health-care industry boon.

Overcoming Ableism

When my twins were diagnosed with autism at age 2, I did what most parents do: I learned how to advocate for my kids.

Wellness and Wholeness

You can't have true wellness without balancing the whole. A person who works 24/7 might be great at his or her job. They might be successful or rich. But they aren't truly well.

Mandela and the South

When Nelson Mandela spoke to the U.S. Congress on June 26, 1990, the godfather of modern-day Republican obstructionism, the late U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, wasn't in the chamber.

Wish for Continued Downtown Growth in 2014

Downtown is leaving 2013 with a bang with a number of exciting new restaurants with opening of Tom Ramsey's La Finestra and the reopening of the Iron Horse Grill. Fischer Gallery moved into the Dickie's Building, and even the ACLU relocated to Capitol Street downtown.

Ellington