Politics

Subscribe

Tease photo

Mike Espy

A Mississippi Democrat who was President Bill Clinton's first agriculture secretary officially announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate on Friday, saying he'll run in a special election to finish the term started by longtime Republican Thad Cochran.

Tease photo

Poor Treatment of Local Media Comes to Head at Sanders, Lumumba Town Hall

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders travelled from one predominantly black city to the next on Wednesday for public appearances in commemoration of the 50-year anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.

Tease photo

Bernie Sanders, Mayor Lumumba Have Campaign-Like Chat on MLK Anniversary

Cries of "Bernie 2020!" accented the conversation between U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba at a town hall on economic justice 50 years to the night since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis.

Tease photo

OPINION: Mississippi Women's Activist—Bernie Sanders Can't Come to the Cookout

"This town hall isn't special; they are taking the usual Bernie town hall and putting Martin Luther King's name on it. It's glaringly obvious, offensive and frankly it is just gross."

Tease photo

EDITORIAL: Legislature Budgets for Critical Needs, Neglects Others

The 2018 legislative session's story largely revolves around Republicans' inability to get a lot done due to failed negotiations between the House and the Senate.

Tease photo

OPINION: Tickled to See Teenagers Restarting the Revolution

Writer and champion of social justice Dorothy Day once said that "fighting for a cause is part of the zest of life. ... What we need is a revolution. Each one of us can help start it."

Tease photo

Women, Whiskey, Watchdogs (and Dead Bills) at Session's End

Late in the 2018 legislative session, Rep. Jeff Smith, R-Columbus, talked about a night that his son broke curfew. His boy had spent his father's money on "whiskey, women and wasted the rest," Smith described.

Tease photo

Jackson City Council Pays for $1.6 Million Winter Emergency

Last week, the city council ultimately approved the $1.6 million in various emergency contracts for repairs to water lines and other engineering services, but not without some pushback.

Tease photo

Mississippi Outs Legal Immigrants on Drivers' Licenses

Abigail Pina Mandujano had to start carrying her visa with her when she drives because her license is not enough to fend off questions from law-enforcement officials at roadblocks, she says.

Tease photo

Rep. Andy Gipson

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Thursday appointed a third-term state lawmaker to be the state's new agriculture commissioner.

Tease photo

Dead or Alive: What Bills Survived, Or Didn't, in the 2018 Legislative Session

While the budget is intact, many other Republican priorities and proposals died this session. Here is a short list of what survived and what did not.

Tease photo

Only Black People Prosecuted Under Mississippi Gang Law Since 2010

In the lead-up to this year's legislative session in Mississippi, supporters of a tougher gang law in the state talked a lot about the need to arrest white people. But in an ironic twist, the Jackson Free Press has learned that everyone arrested under the existing gang law from 2010 through 2017 were African American.

Tease photo

UPDATED: Mayor Lumumba Planning April 4 Town Hall Event in Jackson with Bernie Sanders

The City of Jackson will be commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King through a conversation titled, “Examining Economic Justice 50 Years Later.” This will be a moderated conversation between Senator Bernie Sanders and Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba.

Tease photo

EDITORIAL: Mayor, JPD, Get on Same Page About Officer Shootings

When it comes to police transparency, Jackson is on a volatile tectonic plate that could cause tremors at any moment. Especially when City officials are the ones off-kilter and inconsistent.

Tease photo

OPINION: Police-State Violence, the Elephant in the Room

We live in a police state. That is when a government uses organized force to act arbitrarily and violently against the interests of the masses of people, rendering them subjects instead of citizens.