DOSSIER: County Documents At Risk, Public Meeting Confusion, No to WJTV
The Jackson Free Press scored a transparency victory this week, at least for now, when the Hinds County Board of Supervisors provided us a list of the documents it plans to destroy, which I addressed in last week's Dossier after reporter Seyma Bayram learned about the impending destruction.
UPDATED: Abortion Clinic 'Buffer Zone' Draws Ag Commish, Protesters to City Hall
The City is set to vote on a proposal to limit protest activities outside the state's only abortion clinic.
DOSSIER: Hitting Transparency Brick Walls, Scolded for Immigration Coverage
"I'm officially launching my new weekly Dossier, which will spotlight our accountability journalism, whether about how ICE raids are conducted or when public officials aren't being transparent or not following proper protocols for informing the public about how they reach their decisions and the motivations behind policy."
Caller Demands JFP Not Sully Football Issue with Stories About 'Illegals,' ICE (Listen)
"Y'all get all this crap in there about this damn illegal raid on these illegal aliens that stole jobs from American citizens," he lectured. "I think that really sucks because I wanted to read about football."
Judge Disqualifies Attorneys In Water Lawsuit Against City of Jackson
The City of Jackson, a defendant in a lawsuit over how it is handling the current water-billing crisis, sent out two press statements Wednesday night announcing a victory for its defense in the legal action.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Media: Horse-Race Election Reporting Signifies Nothing
It is vital to stop treating elections like a fun, two-sided thrill ride, which (usually male) political reporters and campaign strategists love—and they're getting paid either way, even if your hospital closes.
Beto O'Rourke: Trump Used ICE to 'Terrorize' Mississippi Hispanics
"(Donald Trump) is terrifying this community. People who have done nothing to anybody else posed no threat to America. So there's no other reason to raid this community than to terrify this community. And that's exactly what he's done," Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke said in Canton this morning.
Rep. Bennie Thompson Demands Answers, Details from AG Barr on Mississippi ICE Raids
Congressman Bennie Thompson sent an eight-page letter and attachments to U.S. Attorney General William Barr demanding answers on why many children were "separated from their parents and terrified because they did not know where their parents were taken and detained.
UPDATED: Mississippi ICE Raids: How to Help Children, Families (New Funding Links)
After news broke Wednesday of the workplace immigration raids in Mississippi, with 696 arrests and leaving many children stranded at school with nowhere to go, local ministers, advocates and lawyers began mobilizing and compiling resources to share with the public.
After ICE Raids, Some Kids Reunited with Parents or Relatives in Mississippi
Scott County Youth Court Prosecutor Constance Slaughter-Harvey watched Thursday morning as a few children reunited with and embraced parents whom, just a day before, they had been separated from after U.S. federal ICE agents arrested them.
Reformer Jody Owens Wins Hinds DA's Seat, Other Races Head to Runoff
Jody Owens, a civil-rights attorney running on a "decarceral" platform with national backing, will become Hinds County's new district attorney following the Aug. 6 primary.
EDITOR'S NOTE: None of Us Is Safe from Hate
Each of us must use our gifts to heal our city, our state and our nation. We are kicking off our #MSCitizensAgenda to better understand challenges facing Mississippians through public gatherings, social media and deeper reporting.
Cedric Willis: Honoree of YMP Crime Forum at Walton Elementary
The late Cedric Willis is the honoree of a youth-crime forum tonight in Jackson where participants will brainstorm both causes and solutions of violence in the capital city.
Reforming Hinds Criminal System Takes Center Stage in DA Race
The national trend of reforming the criminal-justice system, even from inside prosecutors' offices, emerged dramatically in Hinds County during the current campaigns for the next district attorney, who will be decided in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary, or a run-off if needed.
Hinds DA, Sheriff Hopefuls Share Plans, Philosophies in Primary Bid
During the run-up to the Hinds County primaries on Aug. 6, the word "reform" flies around a lot in the two races that have the most direct effect on the local criminal-justice system—district attorney and sheriff.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Journalism Can Beat the Hell Out of You, But It Must Go On
"When you get into this crazy business for the express purpose of having positive impact, you make it happen no matter what and find people who share the same drive to help you."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Goodbye, Bozo—My Friend Cedric Willis Gone Too Soon
Cedric Willis had to claw his way to freedom while living in hell. Then he returned to a community that, until to the present, has never collectively decided to tackle and prevent violence rather than thinking that the police can do that.
Jackson Sues Siemens, Local Businessmen for ‘Bait and Switch’ Contract
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba announced today that the City of Jackson has filed a lawsuit against Siemens Industry Inc. and associated divisions in the U.S. and Germany, along with multiple local subcontractors.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mississippi Male Leaders Again Pretend to Value ‘Life’
Some things are universal, or should be. That includes never forcing a woman to have a child, lose her contraception or forbid a safe way to help her have a baby.
Mayor Lumumba Endorses Former JPD Chief Lee Vance for Hinds Sheriff
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba announced his endorsement of former Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance for Hinds County Sheriff at a press conference outside the Hinds County Courthouse on May 24.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Joy and Pain of Being A Mississippian
"Anyone with half a brain should see that confronting and defeating the insane misogyny here is a huge step toward lifting Mississippi to higher and more successful ground for all its citizens."
EDITOR'S NOTE: A Woman’s Life in the Mississippi Minefield
It's tough being a woman in Mississippi. In fact, it's probably the most difficult state for women to speak our minds and publicly engage on political and policy fronts, and we routinely watch our basic rights come under attack, often without any of us invited to the table.
EDITORIAL: State Should Not Shield Names of Officers Who Shoot, Kill
Members of the Mississippi Legislature have jumped into the middle of serious and historic problem that the City of Jackson has grappled with over the last year—whether or when law-enforcement officers who shoot and/or kill non-police should be identified.
State May Block Naming Jackson Officers Involved in Shootings
The public-transparency efforts of the City of Jackson in the last year may be for naught if legislation working through the Mississippi Legislature to protect identities of officers who shoot people becomes law.
Behind the Badge: Two JPD Officers Who Shot Multiple People in Jackson
After about a year of asking, the Jackson Free Press learned the names, current status and in eight out of nine cases, the details of officer-involved shootings since Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba took office in July 2017, promising transparency and police reform.
Jackson Cop Involved in 3 Shootings; Teen Shot 2 Times in Back, Family Says
Officer Anthony Veasey was involved in three separate shootings in Jackson in 14 months since November 2017, including an exchange of gunfire that hit an 18-year-old two times in the back and five times in the leg, the teenager's family tells the Jackson Free Press.
EDITORIAL: Mayor Must Repair City's Transparency Related to Policing, Crime
After asking for more than a year, the Jackson Free Press finally received the names and current status of Jackson police officers who shot people in the capital city since Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba became mayor in July 2017.
Mayor: No ID of Cops in Head Trauma Death; Other JPD Officers in Shootings Finally Revealed
The mayor will not reveal the names of officers accused of killing George Robinson with a head blow, but the City of Jackson finally provided names and details about 12 officers involved in nine shootings since 2017.
Lumumba Added to 'Smart Crime Initiative' Despite Policing Decisions at Home
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba is joining 15 mayors from cities in the U.S. in a Mayors for Smart Crime Initiative, the Center for American Progress, announced today.
Mississippi Leaders Still 'Honoring' Racists, After All These Years
The head of the Mississippi state agency that sent out a tweet this week honoring Confederate General Robert E. Lee once attended a rally of a racist organization that refers to black people as a "retrograde species of humanity."
City: Man, 62, May Have Died After Altercation with Jackson Police
The City of Jackson sent out a cryptic and short press statement at 5:12 p.m. today, indicating that an older man may have died from an encounter with Jackson police on Sunday, Jan. 13, after a low-level misdemeanor stop.
Mayor Lumumba on Murders: Police Cannot 'Enter the Minds and Stop These People'
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba sent out a statement addressing several murders that roiled the capital city over the weekend—from a preacher killed in the Washington Addition to a teenager killed in a Walmart parking lot.
Former Criminals Training to Stop Violence in Jackson with $150,000 Grant
Terun Moore and Benny Ivey will be Jackson's first official, trained "credible messengers," working to prevent violence in the metro area.
End Near for Racist Politics in Mississippi?
Wearing a long coat, she stood in front of a statue of Elvis Presley when she told the crowd that if her friend Colin Hutchinson "invited me to a public hanging, I would be on the front row."
The Right, and Wrong, Way to Change the Mississippi Flag
It's hard to know whether it cost him votes, but there was a moment during Mississippi Rep. David Baria's unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate that caused a surprised buzz around a state where the conventional wisdom is that criticizing odes to the Confederacy is a political death knell.
EDITOR'S NOTE: GOP Leaders, Stop Disrespecting Black Mississippians
Dear Mississippi Republican leaders: Like much of the recent 40 years, your actions toward African Americans in our state in the last 10 days have been atrocious.
Governor Calls Abortion ‘Black Genocide,’ Defends Hyde-Smith on ‘Hanging’ Tape
As state and national controversy swirls around U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s comment about a public hanging” in her race against an African American opponent, Gov. Phil Bryant opened a press conference this morning implying that black women are participating in “the genocide of 20 million African American children” through legal abortions
New Delays for 'One Lake' Likely as Bipartisan Concerns in Congress Grow
One U.S. Senate bill currently waiting on President Donald Trump's signature could have major ramifications for the long-planned and controversial "One Lake" development and flood-control project along the Pearl River in Jackson.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Of Breast Cancer and the Warrior’s Life
I feel like a warrior ready to turn the strength I’ve honed over my lifetime to my own health and spirit and that of my loved ones, especially my hero Todd Stauffer.
Forest Hill Band Skit Causes Stir; School Has Old History of Offensive Displays
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba is rebuking Forest Hill High School after social media exploded this morning over a Friday-night half-time skit depicting students supposedly shooting police officers on the field at Brookhaven High School.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Change the Rape Culture for Women and Men Alike
Young men too often grow up in a toxic masculine environment where their friends and even fathers or uncles celebrate some level of abuse. Many are challenged to be macho and to at least brag about rough sexual exploits or contexts.
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson Says 'One Lake' Violates Federal Laws
In a surprise move, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson and a coalition of businesses, public-interest organizations and citizens are speaking out against a draft plan to dam the Pearl River and create a lake development that backers saw will help control flooding in the Jackson area.
New Orleans Opponents of 'One Lake' Push Letter Campaign to Stop It
The New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network, which formed a coalition in 1995 to "restore the natural resources of the Gulf Region," is pushing a letter-writing campaign against the proposed "One Lake" development and flood-control project along the Pearl River in Jackson
EDITOR'S NOTE: Of Love, Ego and Believing in All of Our Children
The Mississippi Youth Media Project, Donna Ladd's passion project with its own newsroom next door to the Jackson Free Press, invites young people of various backgrounds, and doesn't shy away from accepting young people who have struggled in school or the community.
Brotherhood of Destruction: An Addiction-Fueled Journey to Hell and Back
Benny Ivey met former Vice Lord and prominent drug dealer John Knight at a June people’s assembly at New Horizon Church on Ellis Avenue, and the two bonded as they brainstormed ideas for what would help people returning from prison to re-integrate into healthy lives without re-offending.
EDITOR'S NOTE: America, We Must Stop De-humanizing Our Children
As a child in the 1960s and 1970s, I was a bit of a freak of nature in my hometown of Philadelphia, Miss. You could call me sensitive or soft-hearted, or as the odd insult still goes, I had a bleeding heart.
Body Cams, Community Policing, Mental Health Funds on JPD's DOJ Wish List
The Jackson Police Department hopes to equip its officers with body cameras and increase its "community policing" capacity with funds from U.S. Department of Justice.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jackson, Lil Lonnie Must Not Die in Vain
When Lil Lonnie died in his car near the home where a white supremacist shot down Medgar Evers in 1963 in front of his children, in a neighborhood where kids still have far too few opportunities or positive things to do, the young man was 22.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Love, Good Deeds and the Jackson Zoo
One can't really have it both ways—everything can't be about race when you want it to be, but not when it makes you uncomfortable.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Time for Mississippi to Get Smarter on Crime
Dozens of officers from 15 federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies gathered in a circle in front of the new colorful Jackson mural facing State Street meant to symbolize a better capital city. The Clarion-Ledger's cops reporter was invited to join the nighttime gang hunters with her video camera.