OPINION: Jackson Policing Betrays Poor and Working-class Black People
Before rushing to volunteer to be Jackson's political classes' attack dog against racist insult, we should be mindful of Zora Neale Hurston's oft reminder: "all my skin folks ain't my kinfolk."
OPINION: Beloved Rep John Lewis: ‘Son, Your Generation Must Speak Up’
Just days before we close out another decade in American history, civil-rights icon Congressman John Lewis announced on Sunday, Dec. 29, that he has been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer and will be undergoing treatment.
DOSSIER: Chuck Todd’s ‘Naive’ Screw-up Is Warning for Mississippi Reporting, Too
If you were caught up in the spirit of the holiday, as I was on Christmas Eve, you might have missed one of the most disturbing interviews ever with a national journalist that Rolling Stone posted around midnight. In the interview with NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd, also the host of "Meet the Press," the beleaguered and supposedly expert journalist revealed that he has recently figured out that Donald Trump and his supporters are intentionally using his program to spread disinformation (which he inaccurately called "misinformation," but we'll come back to that.)
OPINION: From Memory Holes to 'Alternative Facts,' George Orwell's '1984' Has Endured
Few novels have stood the test of time like "1984" by George Orwell. Since its publication in 1949, many of the ideas and terms in the novel have come into common use, including Big Brother, Thought Police, thoughtcrime, doublethink and memory hole.
OPINION: Soul Work Required for Resolutions to Stick
People make promises to themselves that they won't keep. "Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right," Oprah Winfrey said once. This year, choose you.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Be Clear; Trump (and Clinton) Caused Own Impeachment
"Impeachment is hell for a the country—but the reasons impeachment proceedings begin are very serious. They are the kinds of violations of public trust than set dangerous precedents for the future."
DOSSIER: Mississippi Secrets Revealed, from 'Ole Miss' to RFK to Charles Overby
"Most people in Mississippi who do not agree with the radical-conservative, racist status quo have always been afraid to speak publicly about it—certainly at least the white ones."
OPINION: 'Faith' Is Inadequate, and Dangerous, Cover for Racism
"Racists, segregationists and anti-miscegenists can now back up their mere (and at least occasionally unstudied) religious opinion with the word of the law: they've got a right, so long as a religion (of whatever kind) is involved."
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Engagement, Solutions, Race Equity and IPAs
"As we go into 2020, I think two things could help downtown Jackson become more vibrant. First, interest and awareness in downtown need to be curated. Second, we as citizens and patrons need to participate in those events and make a point of heading downtown."
OPINION: UM Rhodes Scholar: Moving Confederate Statue Sets Example for World
The opportunity to study at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar is a great accomplishment; however, December brings a much bigger opportunity for our beloved university and our great state of Mississippi. If we take advantage of it, all students and faculty, especially African Americans, will feel more welcomed and supported as pertinent members of the UM family and as citizens of Mississippi.
OPINION: Racial Fantasy in Mississippi Politics: ‘Threading the Needle’ Ignores Reality
The future of Mississippi's Democratic Party depends upon its willingness to embrace a platform that premises its politics upon shared economic and racial injustice, rather than trying to thread a needle through imagined racial differences.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Meet the Mississippi Free Press, Focused on Causes and Solutions
The need for a new moral and cultural compass is why I and my co-founder Kimberly Griffin are announcing a new media project today called the Mississippi Free Press, which, like my newspaper, is named in homage to a Civil Rights Movement newspaper in Jackson.
OPINION: Colliding Toward Vienna; Strange, Random Kindness Amid a Merry Romp
Columnist Richard Coupe had a merry romp, and kind help from a connected Austrian, to get to Vienna on time.
OPINION: Mississippi Not a ‘Lost Cause’; Build and Fight
"I chose to make my home here 23 years ago. Mississippi has broken my heart on many more than one occasion. So, I hope everyone who worked hard will take the time to regroup and repair."
OPINION: Even More Thankful This Year With Cancer in Remission
"We shouldn't limit being thankful to the last Thursday in November, especially in America."
DOSSIER: Shanda Yates' Win in Mississippi Inspires Voters, Teaches Lessons
If the last week has proved anything, it's that people in the U.S., in Mississippi and especially in the Jackson metropolitan area are excited about a political newcomer, Shanda Yates, defeating a long-time incumbent for the District 64 seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
OPINION: Caution; Numbers in Presidential Polls Don't Count, Yet
President Donald Trump's approval ratings are in the basement, and he could be impeached. But with about a year to go until Election Day 2020, it's too early to write off the tweeter-in-chief.
OPINION: Kentucky, Virginia and Louisiana Voted for Change; Mississippi Still Has Work to Do
"While the rest of the country is erupting in action by using the power of the vote to elect more progressive officials, it seems apathy has gripped a large portion of Mississippi."
DOSSIER: From Bashing 'Boys of Spring' to Unpacking a Mississippi-Brexit Love Affair
"TV networks may live and die on ratings and people screaming opinions at each other from two "sides," but our democracy really can't take much more of this kind of dangerous political gamesmanship."
OPINION: Women in Mississippi—So Strong and So Tough
"Over the 25 years that we have lived in Mississippi, we have taken quite a ribbing. Whenever we told them of our children's successes, they always scoffed and said 'but it's Mississippi' as if that lessened the accomplishment."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mississippi Women, It’s Your Time to Speak Up, Lead
Election season was tough for Mississippi women as usual. It was a time for broken promises and slights as we watched male candidates, and their women enablers, show little apparent interest in our safety, prosperity, health and voices and be elected to all statewide offices.
OPINION: It's Not Easy Being a White Democrat in Mississippi
"There is never a perfect, seamless match between a political party and its people. But I think the Democratic Party in Mississippi can do a lot better."
OPINION: Running While Black—Dem AG Nominee Reveals Privilege, Ghosts Faced in Race
I boxed the glaring ghost of a broken and unsupportive party structure. I guess I am not supposed to say that out loud, but we might as well tell the truth out loud. Everyone is whispering it anyway.
DOSSIER: Of Corporate Media and Insulting Shenanigans
What a week. The last 10 days saw not only the official demise of the Mississippi Democratic Party, at least the way it's run and strategized now, but it was filled with disillusioning encounters with local representatives of national media corporations for us, revealing a certain callous regard of other reporters and editors.
OPINION: Cowards Never Win—Mississippi Democrats Lose from Lack of Courage
It is time to tell the plain, unvarnished truth about Mississippi politics. We have wasted too much time being dishonest with ourselves and others. We have coddled one another, whined and complained, and frankly just surrendered when we should have been in the thick of battle.
Mississippi Democratic Party Needs to Overhaul Strategies, Outreach, Diversity
Prominent novelist Angie Thomas is planning to leave Mississippi due to the toxic politics here, on prominent display in last night’s election outcome. The wildly successful graduate of Belhaven College grew up in Georgetown in Jackson and travels frequently to Atlanta, Los Angeles and beyond. Her first novel became a popular feature film, and now her second film is in production.
OPINION: City of Jackson Leading on Goals to Reduce Carbon Emissions
The City of Jackson is working on a comprehensive action leading to the ultimate goal of carbon neutrality. Mayor Lumumba was one of the major supporters and a signatory of the "Resolution on Support of a National Price on Carbon Emissions."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Stepping into a Mentor's Shoes, Hoping They Fit
"As future-oriented as I am, I understood early on that I needed to work really hard in school to help me achieve my goal. ... I continue to learn my own capabilities, and my own limits."
OPINION: My Abuser Apologized, and I Forgave Him
A few years ago, I wrote a column evaluating my emotions for never receiving an apology or even an acknowledgement from my abuser for basically hurting me and demolishing my self-value.
OPINION: Tate Reeves Is Always Right. Ask Him.
"If Reeves had been a European king, he's the type who would have inspired a revolution as soon as he put on the crown. He might be inspiring a revolution in Mississippi even before he moves into the Governor's Mansion."