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EDITOR'S NOTE: Celebrating Teen Excellence at Crossroads Film Fest
Little pleases me more than seeing teenagers from all parts of Jackson achieve great things and be recognized for them such as their inclusion this week in the Crossroads Film Festival.
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.
UPDATED: City May ID Cops Who Discharge Weapons Within 72 Hours, Establishing Task Force
The City may require that the Jackson Police Department start releasing names of officers who fire on civilians within 72 hours of the incident.
Oh, the Places You'll Go: Project EJECT Expels Gun Offenders to Faraway Prisons
U.S. Attorney Michael Hurst has charged 35 people since he first announced the anti-crime initiative Project EJECT in late 2017.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Right, Left Must Work Together for Criminal Reforms
It is time that criminal-justice reform be on every candidate's agenda in Mississippi, regardless of party. The goal should be to lower mass incarceration, especially for drug and victimless crimes—which both parties here voted to begin back in 2014.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Parkland Teens Lead by Talking Back, Listening
The Parkland, Fla., teenagers who became activists against gun violence while locked in closets on Valentine's Day are giving many of us life during a dark period in our country.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Move On from ‘Antiquated and Useless’ Gang Bill
A very bad "gang bill" has died in the Legislature for the second year in a row. This death occurred after the Senate passed the bill to criminalize gang association and give expanded sentences to associates of gangs or crews or cliques for up to 15 years.
Never Back Down: Mississippi Escalates War on Gangs
Mississippi law enforcement may soon be able to decide young people are a gang even if they're not part of a larger criminal enterprise with a hierarchy and criminal connections beyond whomever they got the pot from.
'Anti-Gang' Bills: One Alive As Experts Warn About Downside
Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, did not want to debate the "anti-gang" bill for long this morning, and after about half an hour, he tabled House Bill 541, noting that the Senate had already passed its version of the legislation.
'Anti-Gang' Bill Heads to Full House to Expand Policing Powers
Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, called the "Mississippi Anti-Gang Act" one of the most significant pieces of legislation the Legislature could pass in 2018. The bill would make "criminal gang activity" a separate offense from any underlying misdemeanor or felony a person is accused of if prosecutors can prove they are gang members.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Reps. John Lewis, Bennie Thompson to Attend Grand Celebration of Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
U.S. Reps. John Lewis and Bennie Thompson are attending the Grand Celebration and Gala at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Feb. 23 and 24. Both will receive awards.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Fighting Like a Woman in 2018
Like many women, I grew up in a world where our careers were already subject to the approval of the men who tend to run and fund stuff, and if I was too loud, too outspoken, too sassy, the powers-that-decide would move along to a woman, or probably a man, who wasn't.
Lumumba Praises Retiring Chief Lee Vance As Maybe 'Best', Day After 'Project Eject' Tweets
Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance suddenly announced his retirement effective in a about a week after 30 years on the force.
Interrupting the Poverty Cycle: Looking Back to Move Forward in Mississippi
Otibehia Allen's days in the Mississippi Delta start and end with her five children—three boys and two girls. She feeds them. Clothes them. Their well-being rests on her shoulders. She does it all on her own.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Tis the Season to Stop Judging the Poor
Bare feet don't have bootstraps. You catapult from day-to-day, trying to stay ahead enough not to go hungry or have the lights turned off, even if you eat milk and cornbread for supper a lot.
Truth and Pandering as Mississippi History, Civil Rights Museums Open
When the 90-year-old man slipped into the open seat next to me, the opening ceremony for Mississippi's duo of history museums was about to start.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Trump Crashes Mississippi’s Coming-out Party
Inviting Trump is a lurid distraction from what the civil-rights museum finally admits about Mississippi, even using state dollars to tell these truths. Maybe that's why Bryant invited him.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Media, Cops: Choose Crime Solutions Over Perp Shows
It has never occurred to me to call up the police and ask them to stage a special "perp walk" so I can send someone to photograph someone accused of a crime. And I would certainly never request the depraved privilege of capturing images of a juvenile accused of killing another child.
EDITOR'S NOTE: 2017 is a Year to Be Thankful ... Really
Look, it's been a tough year. Donald Trump's election last November was the precursor to so much hell breaking loose on the national and international stages.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Lies Scientific Racists Told About Jackson’s Children
I did not know a federal judge in the 1960s had codified lies about how black children in Jackson were genetically inferior.