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Where The Pavement Begins
On a recent Tuesday a bunch of folk gathered for a cookout outside John Lawrence's place. It was kind of like the stoop cookouts we used to have when I lived at Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. John had a grill and tons of hamburgers, hotdogs, Bocas, all sorts of chips, sodas, beer. His guests—some from the Ironworks Building, others from the Dickies Building near the downtown post office, others of us who love downtown in spirit—came to the Downtown Neighborhood Association's first gathering outside the Hal & Mal's complex; John has a loft upstairs.
Loving Thy Neighbor
Last week, the day after the JFP's first "Race, Religion & Society" panel discussion, I looked at two e-mails within a couple hours of each other. The first, from a white man in Brandon with a subject line of just "Donna Ladd," opened by dressing me down for devoting so much ink to young Emmett Till's life and death.
[Ladd] Just As I Am
I was baptized when I was 13 in a Southern Baptist church in Neshoba County. I wasn't particularly spiritual; there was more anger and selfishness and confusion in my heart than love. I couldn't have been ready to live a godly life; I didn't know what it meant. I just walked down the aisle because everybody else was doing it.
Jane, You Ignorant Snit!
The other day, an e-mail popped up with the subject line, "tired of insults." I grimaced a bit and opened it. The correspondent first told me that she reads my paper most every week, and "I like the Free Press." But then she got to the point: "I wanted to let you know that you do have some conservative readers and I, for one, would like to read more articles by liberals that are not SO OFFENSIVE."
Is Political Change Afoot?
"Bullet proof." "Political invulnerability." "Going to win." "Sure loser." The problem with conventional wisdom is that it is usually more self-fulfilling than wise, especially when promulgated by folks who just want to be right.
Alleged Victims
Jackson Family Wants Closure From the Church
The year was 1970, and 11-year-old Francis Morrison lay in his bed in the big house at 771 Belhaven St., listening for heavy footsteps, the covers pulled all the way up to his neck, his eyes squeezed tight in pretend sleep. His heart racing, he wondered if his room would be the first stop for nightly prayers.
Fall Arts Preview 2010
Four times a year, the Jackson Free Press presents an arts and events preview issue packed with listings of what is happening over the next three months in and near Jackson. The fall issue is one of the biggest: the 56-page issue is filled with answers to the question, "What is there to do in Jackson?"
Artists To Watch
<b>Skipp Coon</b>
You gotta love the new mayor of Jackson. No, not that one. Skipp Coon, born Joecephus Martin, calls himself "the mayor of Jackson," and even raps about the current mayor of Jackson from time to time. Skipp Coon—a name he created to talk back to the stereotypes of the Jim Crow era—is an honors graduate of Jackson State with a degree in education, now working on his master's. Calling himself "more of a rapper than a hustler," Skipp says he is not solidly in the Dirty South rap-music camp with a lot of other area rappers. The Forest Hill High graduate likes Project Pat, 8 ball and MJG—and even Maroon 5. He said in a recent blog interview that he admires David Banner "because he reps Mississippi" and Kanye West "cause he made it big without killing anyone or selling dope." Last summer, Skipp toured Europe with his friend DJ Phingaprint, and played the biggest hip-hop festival on the continent—in the Czech Republic, where he was a sensation. Skipp is working on his new album with about a dozen tracks ready to go; you can hear "I'm Just Skipp" on the jacksonfreepress.com Podcast #1 right now. So come listen to the mayor.
Obadele Visit Ignites Old Fires
Councilman Kenneth Strokes is being lambasted by police organizations and other critics for inviting Dr. Imari Abubakari Obadele to speak to young people at City Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 1, in honor of Black History Month. Obadele—formerly Richard Henry, a contemporary of Malcolm X in the early 1960s (but not Nation of Islam) and a black separatist today—started the Republic of New Africa on March 31, 1968, "to free black people in the United States from oppression," and to promote self-sufficiency as well as self-defense.
948-CHIP
Talk about an ironic bumper sticker: "ANNOY The Clarion Ledger: VOTE PICKERING"
I Was a Teenage Curfew Violator
January 6, 2005—For the third time the Jackson City Council is considering implementing a youth curfew law. The recent curfew, which expired in August, affected kids under 18 who were driving, walking, riding or otherwise present, unsupervised, in the streets of Jackson without an adult guardian between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
[Talk] No Discernible Effect
With no discussion to speak of, the Jackson City Council re-instituted its youth curfew ordinance at its Aug. 26 meeting. With City Councilman Ben Allen out of the room temporarily, the rest of the panel voted unanimously to re-up the curfew. The ordinance makes it unlawful for any minor under 18 "to remain in or upon any public street, highway, park, vacant lot, establishment or other public place within the city" during the forbidden hours of midnight to 6 a.m. Saturday and Sundays, and from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays. The curfew also includes a truancy clause requiring school-age kids to be in school from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on school days.
Up In Smoke
A sure-to-be contentious campaign to raise Mississippi's cigarette tax kicked off Nov. 18 in the rotunda of the state Capitol. A coalition of about 40 county and state groups calling itself "Communities for a Clean Bill of Health" called for the state to "Buck the system" by supporting a $1-per-pack increase to raise $184 million to help pay for the state's Medicaid costs (which would become $550 million with the federal matching funds added in, they say).
Babes in Liquor-Land
Every day Poindexter Elementary students pass by Super Discount Wine and Liquor. This store poses an interesting dilemma for these under-age students because in the back there is a convenience store where many students go to purchase after-school snacks.
[Media Talk] Romper Rhetoric
Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger admitted in a Sept. 24 column that his paper might have screwed the pooch on "tort reform" coverage, as we detailed in our last cover story ("Hoodwinked"). But he started out whining about the "crybabies" who question his paper's coverage of the topic. "Wah-wah-wah. Oh, boo-hoo-hoo," he wrote about the critics' complaints.
Taking the Long View
Once again, determined legislators beat the Medicaid drum at the Capitol on Monday, Aug. 9, when about a dozen of them gathered to demand that Gov. Haley Barbour reconsider his plan to shrink the Medicaid rolls in Mississippi.
DIY: Daniel Johnson on Dreadlocks
Daniel Johnson's face is distinctive: eyes bold and blue, nose prominent. He sat across from me with a comfortable reception of each question, his hair down by his face, fine and straight. But, upon closer observation there are intricately matted groupings of hair mixed in with the fine strands. No warning, just growing a personality of their own.
Tea With Lydy
I've thought often of Lydy Caldwell since she was so horribly murdered in October. But I thought of her often when she was alive, too.
Dems Challenge Melton's Qualifications
Read full report here.
TALK: 2nd Amendment Tort Reform
Right before Congress adjourned for Easter, Rep Chip Pickering (R-3rd District) was getting busy, doing his part to spread the "tort reform" revolution. His staff happily released a statement saying that, right between helping implement an "amber alert" system for kidnapped children and preventing postal-rate increases, the Mississippi Republican helped spread a little joy to yet another industry that just hates to be sued.