All results / Stories / Donna Ladd
‘Blood Sells’ No Excuse to Sell Out Young People
It's as if struggling media outlets want a quick fix of attention from trotting out young faces accused of bad things more often than they feature kids doing amazing things.
The Curse of the Mississippi Flag
The 1894 Mississippi flag, with the Confederate battle emblem as its canton, represents much more than an antiquated piece of cloth.
Anita Hill: Keep the Faith and Keep Moving
Anita Hill has dedicated her work to raising awareness of sexual harassment, domestic abuse, equity and workplace discrimination.
The 42 Vote: Mississippi’s Time of Reckoning
When Mississippi Rep. Lester "Bubba" Carpenter stepped to the microphone at a Republican rally in Tishomingo County and started warning about a "black judge" taking away funds from white schools and giving it to blacker ones, it was deja vu all over again.
Conceiving a Smarter Future
We're on an arc of history where too many of our lawmakers (and voters) aren't willing to address the disparities that our racist history created—unequal school funding due to forced, ingrained poverty—and aren't willing to say out loud what many of them actually know intellectually: that quality public education is key to Mississippi's future.
Hop on the ‘No More’ Bandwagon
In many ways, I believe tackling domestic abuse in the football arena is the exact right place to focus. It's hard to imagine a more macho sport where power is the goal.
Mississippi: Clawing to the Top
As we've all been riding high in recent weeks over the Mississippi State football team's meteoric rise on the media radar, we've all seen those tweets. You know, the anti-Mississippi ones that we all know go deeper than football rivalries.
Of Charles Barbour, TEDx Jackson and Decent Role Models
Simple facts about what built today's inequality are not discussed by people like Charles Barbour. They still use the same old-school scare tactics that should offend white voters because they assume we're too dumb to see through the lies and reject them.
My Only Egg Bowl Regret
David Rae Morris and I both really wish our dads were here to witness this magical season—one in which both teams have helped take a lot of glory away from the usual football powerhouses and captured the country's imagination.
Why Don’t We Value Black Lives?
Young, black men are often killed because white people fear them, and they kill each other because society tells them their lives are worthless. But the most terrifying part is that white people still defend others killing black folks because we have been socialized for generations to accept it.
Revisiting the Kerner Report: How Much Has Changed Since the 1960s ‘Riots’?
To get at the causes of the riots, and potential ways to prevent them, President Lyndon Johnson assembled the 11-member National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders in July 1967 to explain the riots and compile recommendation for the future.
From Affleck to Baltimore: Sh*t Our Ancestors Did
Forget a "sagging feeling"—it's a gut-punch to discover you descend from a slave owner or plantation overseer, especially when your relatives have laughed off such a notion your whole life, always adding, "Our family was too poor to own slaves." Right.
From Terrorists to Politicians, the Council of Conservative Citizens Has a Wide Reach
When I clicked on Dylann Roof's alleged racist "manifesto" yesterday, I wasn't surprised at all to see the name of the Council of Conservative Citizens name-checked. In some ways, I was happy to see it.
O, Speak and We Shall Live
On the night of June 16, 1964, Bud and Beatrice Cole, along with four other adults and two children, were attending a stewards' meeting to discuss finances at the Mt. Zion Methodist Church east of Philadelphia, Miss.
Mrs. Truth, Mr. Humanity
I first visited Battle Creek's monument to Sojourner Truth, an illiterate woman who shed her slave name and chose "Truth," saying "... and truth shall be my abiding name."
Love, Anyway
No, not all men abuse or hurt, but collectively we have condoned a society that excuses it too often when they do.
The Beautiful and the Damned
The courageous young activists of Freedom Summer 1964 bestowed on us the ultimate gift: They freed us from our past. It's up to us now to build a very different future.
About Those Pesky ‘Soft Skills’
I want young Mississippians to have a shot at their full potential—and not have to leave their own damn state to do it.
Learning Academies: Vital for Work Readiness
The Jackson Public Schools district is embracing a strategy that promises to make a huge difference in young people's lives, as well as improve their future success and earning potential with its new focus on freshman learning academies.