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[Kamikaze] Just the Messenger

Mississippi, and Jackson particularly, suffers from "shoot the messenger" syndrome. You know: If you don't like the message, just attack the person(s) delivering it. If the message could possibly upset your gravy train, then you discredit the source.

Hate Is as Hate Does

"So when is the Southern Poverty Law Center going to file a lawsuit against the man who killed Mr. Patel?" This was only one of many comments I've seen since James Anderson died under the wheels of a big truck.

[Stiggers] Breaking Bread

So, if you're affected by the recession, come and break bread with your friends from the Ghetto Science Team Hunger Task Force.

Journalism and Ethics

If you take one point away from Valerie Wells' cover story this week, let it be this: Mainstream media have agendas that don't always serve the needs of the citizens who rely on it. As more and more news outlets fall under the control of media giants and entertainment networks, the need to seek out and tell hard truths often falls by the wayside in favor of double-digit profits.

[Mott] I Surrender

My sister Inga was a Diet Coke junkie. She kept spare quart bottles of the stuff in reserve so she wouldn't run out. If you saw her out and about, chances are she had a Diet Coke in her hand; it was a fixture, like "Weeds" Nancy Botwin's ubiquitous Starbucks iced coffee.

[Stiggers] Double-Dutch Convoy

The church buses are ready roll to take the people where they need to go. It's time to let the establishment know that we won't take it any more. Let's join in solidarity with the 99 percent.

[Stiggers] Hump Day Disco

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to announce Clubb Chicken Wing's Weekly Hump Day Job Network Session and Disco. Every Wednesday night, the hopeless will become hopeful with the Back Room Resume Writing Workshop and Job Counseling Rap Session.

[Stiggers] The Invisible Man

This poem titled 'Return of the Invisible Man: Observations of an Unemployed Poet' is my personal expression about black men, like me, experiencing the highest unemployment rate of all gender/race categories.

[Rhodes] Monuments of Hope

I have long admired Martin Luther King Jr. and the movement that made him a global leader. I remember seeing a framed portrait of him while visiting a poor village in Brazil and being amazed by how global this southern black man was and is.

[Kamikaze] Stop Waiting; Start Working

In past columns I've spoken about what has been coined the "savior complex," the tendency of a group, party or race to expect one individual to be the answer to all that ails it. It's the thought that by electing or appointing the perfect person to a position of power, we can sit back and watch as they magically make everything better with the stroke of a hand.

[Oppenheim] Time to Listen

On Oct. 22, youth from all over Mississippi, but mostly Jackson, will gather at Metrocenter Mall for a special event: the first Art, Poetry and Justice SLAM. The event is part of National Youth Justice Awareness Month and brings together the Southern Regional Office of the Children's Defense Fund, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU of Mississippi, the NAACP of Mississippi, The Young People's Project and F.A.I.T.H. Inc.

[Kamikaze] The Green Light

I remember making my transition from doing music full time to more community-oriented exploits. I like to categorize it as maturation. It was about seven or eight years ago, and I decided to dust off my writing talent and get back into print. It had been a while; I left a cushy Associated Press job to dive into the music business. But I felt the writing bug again and wanted to share my stories with a new audience.

Primitive Power

My husband balanced a lumpy, orange sweet potato in one hand. His other hand was poised on the juicer. He arched an eyebrow while I tried to keep my mind open. The sweet potato was way too large to fit in the juicer, so he cut it in chunks and fed it into the slender cylinder. I watched, knowing I would have to drink the juice and not react in any negative way. The juicer pulverized and liquidated the sweet potatoes in mere seconds.

[Stiggers] Hustle Mania

The objective of the 'Hustle Mania 2011 Entrepreneur Start-Up Conference' is to help laid off workers understand the benefits of being their own boss and generating jobs in their communities, since the government and corporations seem unwilling and unable.

[Stiggers] Quell the Anxiety

As you know, many in our community and around this nation struggle with economic imbalance. Many people suffer at the hands of some insensitive, uncaring and greedy individuals. Therefore, your non-judgmental solidarity with the poor, middle class and common folk reflects the proverb that says, 'Whoever is kind to the needy honors God.'

[Spiehler] Where Is the Line?

"What about life-saving abortions?"

[Kamikaze] Good Food for Good Work

There's not much going on in Jackson that I don't know about. I try to stay up to speed on all of the good things that the city has to offer, but occasionally, I'll run across something that really sparks my interest. It might be something that I never knew about at all. And of course, when I'm turned on to great things, I want to pass that good news on.

[Queen] Reaching for Greatness

'It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always.' —Oprah Winfrey

[Lee] My Health Is At Stake

In 2008, I was living in Colorado and facing a ballot initiative known as Amendment 48 to the state Constitution. It aims to define personhood as beginning at the moment of egg fertilization. In a statewide election, 73.2 percent of voters opposed the change, and defeated the amendment.

Relationships, Not Gates

I would like to claim that Broadmeadow United Methodist Church first reached out to the neighborhood, but the truth is that the neighborhood reached out first to Broadmeadow.