The Rest of ... The Story
Back in 2005, a Canadian TV producer asked me if he could film Mississippians working for the Jackson Free Press investigating a civil-rights cold case in Franklin County for a documentary.
Barbour's Cross to Bear
In 1968 in Yazoo City, Police Chief Ardis Russell Sr. arrested a black mother, LeBertha Owens, for trying to take her young daughter, Gloria, to the public library for materials to complete her school assignments. Her daughter was left behind, as she watched the sheriff take her mother to jail for trying to help her get a decent education.
Lest Ye Be Judged
I ran into a woman Sunday at Broadmeadow United Methodist Church who remembered that my mother used to sell Avon. Apparently, Mama had gone to her family's house in Neshoba County and took me along. Somehow, she remembered.
Of Truth and the Shortest Month
I admit it: I've never been Black History Month's biggest fan. Let me put that another way: I don't like how media tend to treat Black History Month. Too often, it is a vehicle for selling ads on a special page to commemorate black history, usually with predictable images or talk of little-lady Rosa Parks suddenly getting tired and refusing to get up out of her seat. (No. She was a trained activist; the historic moment was planned.)
Lunacy: Tea Party Wants to Scrub Slavery History from Textbooks
It was bad enough when Gov. Haley Barbour tried to pretend the Citizens Council were the good guys. It's bad enough when people go around saying that the Civil War and Confederacy had nothing to do with slavery. (Right: read this.) Now, we have the Tea Party up in Tennessee (and probably elsewhere) trying to rewrite the history books to take out the stuff that makes them really uncomfortable. Folks, read Orwell. We can't throw our history down the "memory hole"--if we do, we damn sure are doomed to repeat it.
President Obama: ' I Believe That We Can Be Better'
Following is the verbatim text of President Obama's remarks at the Tucson memorial tonight:
To the families of those we've lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants who are gathered here, the people of Tucson and the people of Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today and will stand by you tomorrow. (Applause.) There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: The hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy will pull through. (Applause.)
Arizona Shootings Offer A Pivotal Moment
Since the horrifying assassination attempt on Saturday, which left a wonderful little girl, a judge and several other Americans dead, America has come face-to-face to the level of violence possible at the hands of people who claim to hate the U.S. government. It is giving us the opportunity to change the tone of politics—which has become more vicious and, disturbingly, violent in recent years, especially since Sarah Palin started scaring the dickens out of people at campaign rallies. And, yes, the man who acted out against the people in Arizona was mentally disturbed, but people who act out on violent rhetoric often are. That doesn't take the violent rhetoric off the hook.
False equalization on domestic abuse only hurts the fight against it
It always make me cringe and fidget whenever someone answers a clear case of discrimination, or other un-nicety common among a certain group of people, with, "Well, so-and-so does it, too." We've always heard it here in Mississippi from apologists for white supremacy and racism, but I also hear it way too often when the subject of domestic abuse comes up. If you mention the epidemic of male violence against women, way too many people—men and women—will respond immediately that women do it to men, too, thus trying to negate that, overwhelmingly, women are the vast majority of domestic-abuse targets. It helps nothing, and actually hurts the cause, especially considering that one of the big challenges behind fighting domestic abuse is getting people of both genders to understand the roots of the problem and that "boys will be boys" attitude undergirds so much violence against women and girls. And the only purpose of this false equalization is to make some people more comfortable, not to solve the problem. Tackling these kinds of issues aren't supposed to be comfortable; in fact, just the opposite.
Is the Tea party the ‘last gasp of the 55-year-old generation'?
Well, duh. In Raw Story piece, Howard Dean states the obvious, but the not often said: The Tea Party is clearly an effort by people scared by the nation's growing diversity; thus, its hysteria over immigration, regardless of the real facts. I've believed this for a while now; younger generations welcome diversity and are more likely to notice the lack of it. Older generations are more likely to be scared by culture-mixing. Dean is more partisan than I am--not sure I agree with all his comments about Obama's liberal base--but I do like that he dares to speak up about Americans who fear, or have disdain for, diversity.
Former Yazoo Resident Talks Back to Barbour about Real Race History
With long-time white journalists like Wyatt Emmerich (Northside Sun) and Sid Salter (Clarion-Ledger) carrying water for Gov. Haley Barbour by excusing away his reprehensible and revisionist remarks about racism in Yazoo City, it is refreshing to see another white male journalist take a different approach. Read Robbie Ward's amazing column in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal:
Bob Herbert Blasts Barbour Again, Does Right by JFP Again
I was so busy Friday and through the weekend, tweeting about the storm and drinking champagne (not at the same time), that I didn't notice until today that New York Times columnist Bob Herbert had had written another column about the Scott Sisters and Haley Barbour. Herbert starts out by saying that he had gotten a call on New Year's Eve from one of the sisters, Gladys, "which was a terrific way for 2010 to end."
Of Barbour and the ‘Uptown Klan'
It seems Haley Barbour went too far this time. In an interview with the conservative Weekly Standard, he downplayed the terror and racial caste system of his town and our state during the Civil Rights Movement.
Ghosts of Frank Melton
Leave it to Frank Melton to live among strangeness even after his death.
Former Melton Home Reopens, Owner Defends Plans
The former home of the late Mayor Frank E. Melton and the young men he invited to live with him there exhibits little evidence still of Melton's presence except for the "Bottom Line" basement game room with a red pool table, a glass-fronted cabinet filled with liquor bottles, and a small shrine to Melton sitting amid Christmas lights and holiday greenery. To the left on the shrine shelf sits an undated United Minority Media Association Inc. "Development Award" presented to "Frank E. Melton, President, TV-3 Inc., Jackson, Mississippi" for "National Youth Management." To the right is a framed printout of cartoonist Marshall Ramsey's goodbye cartoon to Melton, along with Melton's city business card and his Jackson Police Department ID signed by then-Chief Shirlene Anderson.
New [FLY] Gifts Flip-Guide: Helping You Shop Local for the Holidays
As if a growing weekly paper, a busy online Daily and a wildly popular quarterly glossy weren't enough, today we introduced a new kind of publication to help Jacksonians shop local for the holidays and support local jobs and economic investment. Go right now to http://www.flyjfp.com and you'll find our first digital [FLY] edition, this one dedicated to local gifts. We're collecting all our amazing gift guides (coordinated by ShaWanda Jacome) into one digital flip-book that you can social-network around and use to find great ideas for gifts from local businesses. For the next two weeks, we will add more gift pages (and relevant ads) to the flip-book so keep checking back and watch for updates.
All God's Children
One image won't leave my head since I finished my part of the cover story I wrote this issue with freelance writer Valerie Wells (starts here): A deputy with his foot against a door as a desperate mother tries to get through to be with her 13-year-old son during a police interrogation that will elicit a murder confession that may or may not have any truth to it.
For the Kids
A few months ago, I picked up a copy of The Clarion-Ledger's VIP Jackson magazine and flipped through. I was shocked at how few black VIP Jacksonians I saw in the stories, party pics and advertising.
Urban Oasis
Michele Escude's dream is coming true this month in Fondren. circa., the new retail venue that she and her husband, Craig, created, opened for its soft launch in early November and will enjoy its grand opening during Fondren Unwrapped on Nov. 18.
Shops, Businesses, Personalities (and Remy!) Supporting BOOM Runway Show Nov. 12 at Duling Hall!
Just look at the line-up on board so far!
JFP and BOOM Jackson are as excited as we can be about our first BOOM runway show on Friday, Nov. 12, in Duling Hall in Fondren us for a three-part event: cocktail reception, runway show and VIP after-party with DJ Phingaprint. For one ticket price, you can eat, drink, enjoy beautiful clothes, support Dress for Success Metro Jackson, and leave with a seriously chic swag bag. You won't want to miss it!
To Levee or Not to Levee
Also see: Editorial: Stop the Lakes v. Levees Drama
With Gentleness and Reverence
When Todd and I used to live in Belhaven, we'd often walk in the mornings. Nearly every morning, we would watch a harried mother--often in a big SUV talking on a cell phone with at least one kid in the car--screech through the streets, presumably taking the child to school. Almost every day, we watched moms run stop signs, and more than once, had to jump out of the way to keep from getting hit.
For Whom the Cowbell Tolls: State Ranked 24th After Beating Gators
Alright now: Mississippi State #24 in Coaches, AP Polls. Them's my dawgs.
NY Times' Bob Herbert on 2008 JFP Report on Barbour's Domestic Murderer Pardons
In his column today, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert writes again about the need for Gov. Haley Barbour to free the Scott Sisters, who are serving life sentences for a 1993 armed robbery that allegedly netted them $11 each. He astutely draws a contrast between their case and the murders Barbour pardoned or helped in 2008, most of whom brutally murdered wives or girlfriends. In his column, Herbert gave credit to the Jackson Free Press and Slate magazine for cataloguing the details of those murders. The piece in Slate was by a column by Radley Balko published Dec. 17, 2009: Haley Barbour's Bizarre Pardon Record. In his column, Balko referred to the JFP's 2008 reporting (and linked to it) when listing the gruesome details of the domestic murders.
Sanctuary City
Stop the presses. They're calling Jackson a "Sanctuary City." The only one in Mississippi. Pass the Champagne!
‘He Will Be Missed': Herman Snell, 1969-2010
"A secret turning in us makes the universe turn. Head unaware of feet, and feet head. Neither cares. They keep turning." - Rumi
Standoff Ends: State to Release $6 million to City for Water Repairs
Also see: Reeves Defends State Bond Allocations
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?"
The Effect of Immigrants on U.S. Employment and Productivity
The evidence is overwhelming that immigrants (including ones many like to label as "illegals") are not a drag on the U.S. economy and may even help it. Here is an economic research letter published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco that flies in the face of much of the rhetoric out there pushed by politicians who want to use immigration as an election wedge issue: yet another fear tactic used by people who assume most Americans are too dumb to do their own homework. With any luck, Americans will prove them wrong.
Hedonistically Healthy
I'm not big on deprivation. Never have been, and I've been blessed to not feel like I've had to deprive myself much over the years in order to be healthy or to maintain a decent weight. Of course, I suppose I've been blessed that I'm not a big fan of many habits that are really bad for you, like eating meat or smoking. To me, those things aren't hedonistic pleasures. They are habits that offend my sensibilities.
JFP Chick Ball: Only $5 Cover Charge - Saturday, July 24, Hal & Mal's, 6 p.m.-1 a.m.
Pass it on! The cover charge for the JFP Chick Ball is only $5, as always. (You can also purchase $5 door-prize tickets.) The $5 includes food from local restaurants and all the Chick Ball events. Enter through the Red Room entrance.
6th Annual JFP Chick Ball
It's Chick Ball week in the city! Every summer, the Jackson Free Press presents the JFP Chick Ball at Hal & Mal's in downtown Jackson for two reasons: to fight domestic abuse in the area and to spotlight strong women and their artistry.
Women Speak Out
We asked JFP readers and domestic-abuse victims to share their stories. Here are a couple of the many responses we received. I always thought I was too strong, smart and grounded to be caught up in the cycle of domestic violence, but here I am. The funny thing is, while I was with my abuser, I defended him. I lied to myself and made excuse after excuse for his behavior, not because I condoned it, but because I didn't understand the subtleties of domestic violence.
JFP Chick Ball Auction Guide
Paintings on canvas and bright sparkly jewelry
Julie Andrews was spot on in the "Sound of Music": Our favorite things have the ability to lift our mood and our spirits.
Chicks We Love
Every year, the Jackson Free Press chooses a delightful slate of Chicks We Love to spotlight, and each year we host the JFP Chick Ball to raise money to fight domestic abuse in our community. This year, we decided to put them together in a new and fun way to help seed the new legal fund at the Center for Violence Prevention.
Honor the 2010 Chicks We Love at Chick-A-BOOM!
Every year, the Jackson Free Press chooses a delightful slate of Chicks We Love to spotlight, and each year we host the JFP Chick Ball to raise money to fight domestic abuse in our community. This year, we decided to put them together in a new and fun way to help seed the new legal fund at the Center for Violence Prevention. We chose 15 fabulous and strong women to name as "honorary chicks" for the July 24 Chick Ball; 11 of those women are featured in this issue as the Chicks We Love. (The other four " Julie Skipper, Nicole and Susan Marquez and Beth Poff•"were recently featured in the JFP and are already lifetime "Chicks We Love.") We will honor all 15 of these women at a special Chick-a-Boom reception in Hal & Mal(tm)s brew pub at 7 p.m. Saturday during the Chick Ball. Tickets to the reception are $50, and include food and cocktails, as well as Chick Ball admission. Call 601-932-4198 for info.
Testimonial: Spirit Freedom
Leading up to the 2010, the Jackson Free Press asked domestic-abuse survivors to tell their stories. This is one of the pieces we received, republished verbatim.
2010 JFP Chick Ball to Create Domestic Abuse Legal Fund, Honor ‘Hero' Attorneys
The 6th Annual JFP Chick Ball will build awareness about domestic-abuse victims' struggle in the state's legal system, and recognize attorneys who are helping them navigate a system stacked against them.
My Kind of Tea Party
Recently, I was asked to appear on a local cable talk show to talk about issues of the day. I didn't think much about it; it sounded easy and innocent enough. And I was busy and didn't bother to ask who I was appearing on the show alongside.
Donate art and gifts to Chick Ball by July 14 to be in shopping guide!
Artists, business owners and individuals: Please donate a piece of artwork, or a gift or gift certificate from your shop, by Wednesday, July 14, to be included in the 2010 Chick Issue shopping guide, which publishes July 21--three days before the 6th Annual JFP Chick Ball at Hal & Mal's. The amazing Chick Ball silent auction each year raises the bulk of the money to help fight domestic abuse. Please do what you can.
6th Annual 2010 JFP Chick Ball is July 24
The Jackson Free Press created the JFP Chick Ball in 2004 for two reasons: to raise education about and money to fight domestic abuse in Mississippi; and to showcase women musicians and artists to a diverse audience. The JFP Chick Ball is designed to be affordable so that anyone 18 or older can contribute to this very vital fundraiser. The cover charge is only $5, but we offer many fun ways to raise more money once guests are inside the event (from a game alley to a huge silent auction).
2010 JFP Chick Ball Sponsors Announced
Diva ($2,500 and up)
And, no, it's not too late for you to get your name on this elite list -- for as little as $50! Call ShaWanda Jacome at 601.362.6121 ext. 16; make all checks payable to the Center for Violence Prevention:
Zen and the Art of Losing My Hard Drive
My road to wellness this summer included a long road trip to the Northeast. It was a remarkable, relaxing almost-two-week budget vacation—that ended with my laptop hard drive crashing on the last day in New York. Oh, and my online backup system failed, too (or we had failed on it by not renewing it when it ran out unbeknownst to me). Talk about a Zen test. Yes, I cried several times. More than that, I felt discombobulated in a way I never really had. Suddenly, it felt like my life was adrift. And it kinda was.
...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.
Milkshakes and French fries on this road? Probably not, huh?
The JFP Road to Wellness came at a wacky time for Todd and me. It started the week we were closing the new BOOM Jackson, as well as the summer arts preview issue. And we were preparing for a long road trip for our bargain vacation. He and I have long suffered from workaholism—we don't go home soon enough, we eat late, we're often too tired to exercise by the time we leave the office. We are fortunate that years ago, we chose a more healthy lifestyle by going vegetarian (no meat, but we have dairy and some eggs), by converting to mostly organic choices, and by starting to walk, meditate and actually take weekend days off (I take off more than he does, but he's trying). So we have a good base for wellness. But it's our workaholism that tends to hurt us. When we do leave the office by 7, it's usually to attend an event around town -- many that we too often have what I call "little blocks of cheese" for dinner as we graze the party snacks.
‘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.
Open Foodies Thread: What are you eating these days? Cooking?
OK, all, now that we have our Food Blog revamped, it's time to start hearing from all of you foodies about what you're cooking and where you're eating. So tell us! (And remember you can use your Facebook log-in now if you'd like!) Bon appetit!
Going to Saigon Restaurant
A crazy fun video by Bobby Anderson. Hat-tip Anna Kline and David McCarty.
Suburbs Losing Young Whites to Cities
Diversity in city and suburbs = good. Keep it up, Jackson.
Our good friend David Watkins (or "Pops" in JFP comments and forums) posted a link to this Huff Post piece on Facebook yesterday, which reports on a Brookings Institution study that shows that, among other things, young whites are returning to cities from the suburbs (such as we are seeing right here in Jackson). David also said this under his link: "Here's an interesting tidbit from the Brookings study; the overall population of metro Jackson has increased in the last decade from 497,000 to 537,000, but the percentage white population has decreased by 4% and is now at a total of 49%. We are following the same pattern as the rest of the country in getting more diverse throughout the metro region."
Mother Nature: First, Do No Harm
"Y'all are just against economic development." That ribbing came from a Levee Board member who shall remain anonymous due to drinks on the table (a pretty good rule for journalists, by the way).
Clarion-Ledger ‘Shopping' Section Ignores Local Stores
The Clarion-Ledger tried to make a big deal out of new pages it was added to the Sunday edition, so we grabbed one to see what the big deal was. It turned out to be much ado about nothing. They have a page called "Dining/Shopping/Events" with the predictable kinds of Southern Style features they've already done. (Making us wonder if they're canning the Weekend section or such.) Ho, hum.