OPINION: Mississippi Needs to Make It Easier to Vote; For Now, It's Up to Us
State legislators and the Secretaries of State past and present have decided Mississippi needs a full month to process voter registrations. Such an early registration deadline is not the norm in several parts of the country.
OPINION: Confederate Monuments and White Victimhood
"I think that when white Confederate sympathizers demand that we honor their dead, they ignobly play the victims twice over."
OPINION: Till's Memorial May Be Bulletproof, but America Still Needs Racial Healing
"A bulletproof sign means nothing without justice for Emmett Till and his family. It means nothing if we don't use our circles of influence to help bring about racial healing."
BRICE: Pick Up Elijah Cummings’ Torch
"It is we the living who are left behind that must stand in (Elijah Cummings') absence and speak for him. The road for a black man in America has been paved with pain since his forefathers were forced from Ivory shores and distant lands."
OPINION: Do Jacksonians Know Our Greatness?
"My hope is that everyday citizens and local and state government work harder together to make sure our capital city excels in the Southeast and beyond."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Recovering Out Loud from Loss and Breast Cancer
"We must breathe through it all—the physical pain, anguish, stress, disappointment. We must just be present in our lives and accept and release whatever happens. Honestly, I can't imagine a better Zen practice than recovering from cancer while being a woman newspaper editor in a conservative state."
OPINION: Give Public Education the Ballot this November, Mississippi
As legislators continue to undervalue public education and to systematically underfund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the legal formula that sets a baseline for school funding, districts have become separate and unequal communities.
OPINION: Americans Must Avoid Apathy, Buck Norms, Make Bold Decisions
The American people must realize that it is our right and our duty to demand a seat at the political table of power. It is our duty to call for our political leaders to create initiatives and programs aimed at improving our communities.
OPINION: I Bleed Maroon, and I Call Foul on Ole Miss Chancellor Boondoggle
Public institutions like Ole Miss, and the bodies that oversee them, are by the very nature of their existence obligated to the people of the state to be as transparent as possible in their actions—including the reasons for their decisions and why, in such cases, they can easily disregarded input from the people.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Dehumanization Spreads Racism, Destroys Lives
Dehumanizing other human beings, as Trump does with about any person of color who dares criticize him, is ripping our country apart, just like it did during the Civil Rights Movement and back when the South fought the Civil War to continue its right to dehumanize and enslave human beings and to force new states to allow it.
OPINION: Parenting in the Age of School Shootings
I picked my 8-year-old up from school on Tuesday afternoon to schlep her to her weekly dance lesson. In the car, I began the standard line of questioning: how was your day? Did anything interesting happen? "We had a lockdown drill today," she responded.
OPINION: Climate Change Threatens Mississippi, Demands Action in Jackson
"Climate change is real. It is human-made and poses an existential threat to our planet."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jackson Lessons Learned As I Say Goodbye
"As of this publication, I must say my goodbye as I leave to start a new job at Teen Health Mississippi. Thank you, Jackson. And thanks to all of my co-workers and team members, too. My experience here wouldn't have been as great here at the JFP if it weren't for y'all."
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Press Still Rolls as the JFP Enters Our 18th Year
This issue we celebrate moving into our 18th year of publishing as a voice for Jacksonians who want to see progress in the capital city and the Magnolia State. It's been quite a ride!
OPINION: Use the Arts to Teach History, Math, More
With an arts-integrated curriculum, students have a newly found yearning for education. Such a curriculum is simple but profound—make school fun again. The result is quality education, teaching through art disciplines.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Media: Horse-Race Election Reporting Signifies Nothing
It is vital to stop treating elections like a fun, two-sided thrill ride, which (usually male) political reporters and campaign strategists love—and they're getting paid either way, even if your hospital closes.
OPINION: Has the Heart of America Changed? Justice for Emmett Louis Till Now.
"As the U.S. Department of Justice investigates Emmett Till's murder and Carolyn Bryant Donham's confession, we must do everything in our power to make our voices known and demand that justice be done."
OPINION: Abandon Political Labels and Work Together
Either way that you lean, when it comes to politics, there is much bickering and fighting that I personally believe is unnecessary, similar to two young siblings fighting over who gets to eat first even though they're both going to eat anyway.
OPINION: Put Your Thoughts and Prayers Into Common-Sense Gun Legislation
Many lawmakers in this country on the local, state and federal levels have been slow to speak about guns. Even though there have been many mass shootings in the U.S., many lawmakers have offered their thoughts and prayers; however, there has been no action on this issue.
OPINION: Partners Needed to Fight Homelessness
"You or your organization could be part of helping to end homelessness in the Jackson metro area. But we need you at the table. As with all ambitious endeavors, we will accomplish more together than apart."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Finding Belonging Amid ICE Raids and Hatefulness
"Amid the horrible news that kept breaking around the ICE raids, there was some hope, as always. Yes, there was a lot of deserved condemnation of what was happening, but people were also asking how they could help."
OPINION—ICE: You're Not Welcome in the South
"I'm not safer because my government has decided its top priority is to tear families apart for the sole purpose of stoking racial division. I'm not safer because my elected officials fuel the flames of white supremacy that motivate mass shooters to target Latinx shoppers at a Wal-Mart in El Paso."
OPINION: Answering the Call—Immigration Reform 2019
When I heard the news of the ICE raids in my home state of Mississippi, it horrified me, but I can't say I was surprised. I come from Mississippi, where the struggle for unity and racial harmony has always been particularly tough and violent.
OPINION: After Horrific ICE Raids in Mississippi, How We Can Respond
"How did we get here? How did the nation who once proudly welcomed the world’s tired, poor and huddled masses yearning to be free become the nation that snatches people from their communities to put them in camps?"
OPINION: As An Immigrant in Mississippi, Every Day Is a Waiting Game
Six hundred and eighty people were arrested across Mississippi today. Not all those arrested today have children, but some do. They and their families were dealt with a trauma they may never recover from.
OPINION: The ‘Ole Miss’ I’ve Long Heard About
"As a lifelong Mississippian, I've long heard the tales of this infamous school from people around the community and state, varying in color and age."
EDITOR'S NOTE: None of Us Is Safe from Hate
Each of us must use our gifts to heal our city, our state and our nation. We are kicking off our #MSCitizensAgenda to better understand challenges facing Mississippians through public gatherings, social media and deeper reporting.
OPINION: After Emmett Till Mockery, 'Ole Miss' Needs A Culture Where Reconciliation Possible
Even though we were based at "Ole Miss," often the hardest work I did was at the university. Time and again I was directed not to engage in issues of justice in communities.
OPINION: South Delta Deserves Real Solutions, Not False Hope
Communities in Mississippi's south Delta deserve real solutions for reducing flood damages, not false hope pinned to the Yazoo Backwater Pumps.
OPINION: Reeves Is the Wrong Choice
Normally, I don't like to be wrong. But I wouldn't mind being wrong about next Tuesday's Republican gubernatorial primary. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is probably going to win the primary and the general election in November. That's too bad.