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Let Us Be Audacious
Let us be dissatisfied until integration is not seen as a problem but as an opportunity to participate in the beauty of diversity.
With A Little Help From My Friends
My childhood was filled with strains of country—Hank Williams Sr. and Jr., Merle Haggard, Tammy and George, Porter and Dolly, Mel Tillis. Actually, I did know the music of one black man, Charley Pride. My mother played his music over and over again, and I pop in the CD of his greatest hits when I'm especially missing her.
The Choices Chicks Make
I spoke to a roomful of young chicks recently. We were all packed into the charming old depot in Forest, Miss., some 40 miles from where I grew up in Neshoba County. They've renovated the building into a downtown art gallery and performance space in a small town where such cultural offerings are unusual.
Let Me Count The Ways
When my assistant editor, Casey Parks, left the JFP last month to go on to graduate school, she wrote a goodbye editor's note that made me cry. I admit I was touched by what she said about me, the city and the JFP's mission, but more than anything, I cried with pride at the love and maturity such a young person was showing for her community, and herself.
'Racism,' In Context
You've surely heard the heads exploding by now. "She's a racist!" "Maria, er, Sonia Sotomayor said she's smarter than white men!" She made "an unambiguous statement of bigotry."
We Shall Overcome
There is a certain despair spreading among many Jacksonians. Some devoted citizens are even saying they might leave the city because of Mayor Melton's antics and poor leadership. One JFP blogger, "justjess," posted under Adam's last cover story about the administration's apparent lack of a plan for fighting crime: "I try very hard to keep the optimism of 'ladd' that 'the city can and will prosper despite this administration'; however, I have the concern of 'madd' that 'this city is not going to prosper under this administration.'"
Hello, and Goodbye
I've never been great at goodbyes. When I meet people I dig, I want them around. But I've learned that a life filled with interesting experiences and people does mean, sometimes, saying goodbye. Since I've been in the weekly newspaper business, I've figured out that putting out a dynamic, fresh newspaper means embracing change, even when it makes one a tad grumpy.
Teach Kids About Safe Sex
Adecision by a Department of Education task force earlier this week confirmed what some of us have suspected for some time: Schools in Mississippi really don't have any legal way to teach comprehensive sex-education. A recent law gives school districts a choice between abstinence-only and "abstinence-plus" sex education in theory; in reality, they're just different names for the same policy.
...To Make a Thing Go Right
I often give talks about journalism and my crazy journey that began when I left the state the day after graduating from Mississippi State, and vowing never, ever to return. I was headed off to go to law school in Washington, D.C., to learn how to change the world. Or stay out all night. Or something.
Lost in Translation
"He is like a prodigal son, pondering whether he should return to his native soil." So wrote now-freelance Clarion-Ledger columnist Eric Stringfellow this week in a hand-wringing column about the future of Jackson.
Real-Life Horror Stories
John Grisham says Haley Barbour should sign a moratorium on executions in Mississippi. "Absolutely. If I had my way, we'd stop all of them," Grisham said.
The Truth Can Hurt
A reckoning happened last week in the James O. Eastland Federal Courthouse in Jackson. A lot of truth came out before anyone ever took the stand to testify in the James Ford Seale trial for the kidnapping of Charles Moore and Henry Dee.
The Path of Least Drama
Everyone who reads me regularly knows that I despise the question "Why does she stay?" when asked about domestic-abuse victims.
Voter Shenanigans Could be Costly
A curious exchange took place between Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville, and Republican Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton over the weekend, as the Legislature hammered a budget for state agencies.
The Best We Can Be
Last week, I attended one of those uniquely Jackson events that national media never seem to know about when they paint us with a broad brush. It was a performance of "Defamation," a play by a Chicago playwright that allows the audience to act as jury and decide whether a black woman or a Jewish man should win a defamation suit she brought against him because he assumed she stole a watch from him and then caused her to lose business as a result.
‘Jackson is the New Jackson'
When we started the JFP, we had the vague notion that we could help turn Jackson into "the new Austin." For us, that is no longer the goal. Austin is cool, and its turnabout from a boring capital city not long ago to a musical Mecca (with the help of its alt-weekly) is legend. But that was their path; this city is on our own. We don't need to be Austin.
How To Be Pro-Life
It was peaceful in Fondren this week, the "no public restrooms" signs gone from store windows, locals lunching outside Basil's without worrying about their children's growth being stunted by horrifying political photos.
Rethinking "Tough on Crime"
Gov. Haley Barbour left a lot of people reeling with his recent round of pardons and clemencies. Among the list are vicious, premeditated murderers. It wasn't the first time he's done this--remember that we broke the news of his string of woman-killer pardons in 2008--but this time the state and national media actually paid attention.
Sanctuary City
Stop the presses. They're calling Jackson a "Sanctuary City." The only one in Mississippi. Pass the Champagne!
Celebrate the Best, Fix the Rest
The JFP applauds every person, business and organization that is making the capital city into a very special place. The world is starting to take notice.