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[Stiggers] The State of Dee-wishous Queem-O-Wheet
The Cream-O-Wheat Meals on Wheels Foundation International (We Got A Big Hot Pot In the Back) presents Commentary Concerning Cream-O-Wheat by the Cream-O-Wheat man.
[Spann] The Power of ‘Passion'
A year or so ago, a young man visiting my Wednesday night Bible study class relayed his encounter with a non-Christian who questioned how Christianity could be a monotheistic faith yet have a God who describes himself as three beings: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. "He explained to me that 1 + 1 + 1 = 3, not 1," said the young man. "I had to admit that he was both clever and correct, but then shared with him that 1 x 1 x 1 = 1."
Eating Popcorn and Paying Dues
This week marks the Sixth Annual Crossroads Film Festival, and in this issue of the Jackson Free Press you'll find reviews, recommendations and a program guide to give you a sense of what to look for this Thursday through Sunday as the film festival is going on. I hope, if you're reading these words, you'll make an effort to attend. It takes all of us to bring quality independent film to Jackson, and attending the Crossroads Film Festival is a big part of making that possible.
[Stiggers] Help Wanted: WMD Detectives Needed
The Weapons of Mass Destruction Detective Agency is looking for a few good people! Now, a few words from our founder head inspector/agent Mr. Cholly Banks.
[Stiggers] Please Sir, How About Some Change?
The Ghetto Science Team and the George Washing Carver Holistic Health Commission of Tuskegee, Ala., present Grandma Pookie's year-end radio address to the "peoples" from the rigged ham-radio station inside Lil' Ray-Ray's detail shop.
[Spann] Banishing the Labels
"Honey, I think I'm becoming a Republican!" I exclaimed to my husband one sunny spring afternoon while perusing a magazine. As usual, he calmly examined me for physical evidence of my latest revelation, questioned me about my claim and decided that a few conservative views did not a Republican make. But I wasn't so sure. Besides, if I wasn't a Republican and I couldn't identify with the Democrats anymore, what on earth was I? I had to have a party affiliation and fast.
[Whitley] ‘Movin' On Up' Not Working Anymore
The generation of African Americans that came of age during the '60s and '70s was taught that having the American dream—a job, a house, a car—was the pinnacle of success. They used every tool at their disposal, and demanded those that weren't, in the struggle to achieve that goal. And now that they've achieved it, those now-parents, most of them nicely settled into middle-class life, are teaching that same definition of success to their children.
Don't Light The Fire
When the airport renaming story broke, it had the potential of yet another racial war in a place that certainly didn't need any help in that department.
Keep Your Eyes On The Prize
When the message came Thursday that a grand jury in Neshoba County had indicted at least one conspirator in the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, I started screaming. Staffers bolted into my office to see what had happened to me. I could barely squeak out that the one thing I've wanted most in my adult life had come true. My hometown was facing its past that's not yet past.
Running with the Young Guns
I just typed "04" in the date for this file and then corrected myself. It's that time of year again. After our week off for the holidays, we're back and ready to take on the world, even if we can't get the year right yet when writing a check or dating a file.
[Sawyer] It's A Rich Or Poor Thing
Each morning during the semester, the bell rings for thousands of Mississippi youth. Mississippi teachers bear a great burden in their cause to shape every young mind. They know that each generation becomes another candle to light the way for all of us. Education—especially in our state—becomes the great hope to move us ever forward.
[Stiggers] The ‘No Child Left Behind' School Bus
Funding for the Ghetto Science Team's No Child Left Behind School Bus for the financially challenged is brought to you by a grant from the L.M.H.F.D. (Let Me Hold Five Dollars) National Bank educational trust fund.
[Stiggers] Caught Looting? Call Cootie McBride
Here's an important message from the McBride family representing the Ghetto Science Team's Emergency Assistance Task Force.
[Ladd] Life in the Fast Lane
Not to be a drama queen here, but hanging out at the Mississippi Legislature can really shatter one's faith in humanity. After doing years of research on harmful youth policies (zero tolerance, adult sentencing, "superpredator" rhetoric, media demonization of youth), I'm already convinced that most people don't give a damn about young people they didn't raise. And too many don't really care enough about the ones they did.
[Stiggers] 40 Acres And A Fool
Readin' Rain-Bro Is brought to you by contributions from the International Electric Slide Foundation and The Ghetto Science Team's Trust Fund.
[Stiggers] Yes, You Have Rights
The "Nu Apprentice: First Hired, Last Fired," starring Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, will return after this message.
Hush! Somebody's Calling Our Name
Never say things can't change. Sometimes remarkable change comes, and it seems so obvious that people barely notice. That was apparent recently when both the Mississippi House and the Senate voted to rename two stretches of highway after civil-rights martyrs: Highway 19-South out of Philadelphia after Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner and US-49 East would be renamed Emmett Till Memorial Highway, in honor of the black teenager beaten to death by white men in 1955 in Money, Miss.
[Ladd] Rest In Peace
When Dr. Monique Guillory called me and said she wanted to bring the "Without Sanctuary" exhibit to Jackson, I swallowed hard. I knew about the horrifying and controversial exhibit of lynching photographs, the images that sear themselves into your psyche and refuse to let go. I hadn't seen the actual exhibit; I lived across Central Park from it for a while in New York, but never quite got up the courage to go. But since returning home, I had looked at the 81 photos posted online; I knew this would be rough.
[Ladd] Haley's March to the Sea
On the JFP blog recently, someone asked me if I was willing to give Gov. Haley Barbour the benefit of the doubt. That question gave me pause. I think of myself as independent-minded, free of party affiliation, fair-but-tough and willing to consider many viewpoints, even as I refuse to defend any view blindly. The problem, of course, is that Barbour really pissed me off during this campaign. It wasn't because he's a Republican—duh, he gets to be, even if I don't care for today's prevailing corporate Republicanism—but because I believed he cleared a path of destructiveness through the state, a modern-day march to the sea, to get there.
The Next Generation
Those are six words I never expected to say. I grew up, like many restless kids, thinking my town was the most backward place on earth. That's normal. But when I was 14 and found out what occurred in Philadelphia, Miss., when I was 3, I was overwhelmed with shame. That's tragic