Oh, Say Can We See?
When Mazie Moore saw that picture in Jet Magazine in 1955, it terrified the Franklin County mother. Mamas across the South, black mamas, were hearing about the photo. They took it as a warning to protect their boys from the wrath of angry white men. She couldn't, though: One of her sons, Charles, would be brutally murdered in 1964, just because he stepped in the path of hateful white men out to terrorize young black men. And no one did anything about it. Her son's life didn't matter.
Jackson Less ‘Dangerous' In 2004
Ironically, a murder binge in the city—nine fatal shootings in 10 days—comes just as a national crime-rating outfit released good news for the city of Jackson, at least about its reputation in 2004. For the first time in a decade of reporting, Jackson's 2004 FBI crime figures knocked the city out of the top 25 most dangerous cities, according to Morgan-Quitno, the Kansas-based book publisher.
Definition of South, Southern Changing?
In a rather odd feature, North Carolina-based Associated Press writer Allan Breed asks the question today: "[A]re we heading toward a ‘No South'"? Things are indeed changing in the South. And so is the notion of what it means to be "Southern." In this most maligned and mused-upon of American regions, the term conjures a variety of images. Magnolias, front porch swings and sweet tea for some; football, stock cars and fried chicken for others; lynchings, burning crosses and civil rights marches for still others.
We Need A Mayor, Not A Daddy
It is going to be painfully ironic—and useless—if the recent murder spate is the factor that finally gets the Jackson media to start questioning Mayor Frank Melton. Unless proven otherwise, the nine murders in 10 days are not Frank Melton's fault. To my knowledge, he did not put the guns in the killer's hands; he did not tell them to rob and kill; he did not provide illegal drugs that people are willing to kill for; he did not tell a troubled man to pick up a weapon and go kill his girlfriend and another man.
Bush Tones Down Attack on Critics as ‘Unpatriotic'
President Bush abruptly changed his tune today from days ago when he and Dick Cheney questioned the patriotism of people who are questioning the Iraqi War (which is not a large majority of Americans): After fiercely defending his Iraq policy across Asia, President Bush abruptly toned down his attack on war critics Sunday and said there was nothing unpatriotic about opposing his strategy.
Ride ‘Em Cowboys, We're Back ... But Apologies
As most of you cowpokes have figured out by now, the JFP's site underwent technical problems this week with our service provider. Understanding exactly what happened is above my pay grade, but Todd tells me it has a whole lot to do with having too much traffic, which overloaded our previous system. That seems a blessing in disguise, even if it didn't feel like it this week. As you can see, the site has been transferred over and is up and running again. However, there are still some glitches.
Clarion-Ledger: Jackson Nightlife ‘Virtually Nonexistent'
I'm reading the first piece in The Clarion-Ledger's new "Changing Faces" installment, and I run into this humdinger of a sentence, stated as a fact by the journalist, thus the newspaper:
Is Jackson Unsafe, Mayor? Huh, Huh?
OK, I'm on the side of Mayor Melton on this one. This news story today just proves HOW FRIGGIN' AWFUL OUR MEDIA ARE. The reporters in this story (it took two to do this!?!) actually admit in the piece that they asked the mayor if Jacksonians should feel less "safe" after the murders this week:
No-Bid Contract for Coast Schools Under Fire
The New York Times reports today:
You Can Do That
I hadn't planned to write about the death, or the life, of Rosa Parks. I know she was an amazing hero, but I didn't think I had anything else to say that everybody and his brother aren't already falling over each other to say.
GOP Chairman Threatens Subpoenas for Katrina Docs
AP is reporting:
The Republican chairman of a House panel investigating the response to Hurricane Katrina threatened Wednesday to issue subpoenas for documents if the White House and other agencies don't provide them by Nov. 18. Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia made the commitment after a Louisiana Democrat, Charlie Melancon, pointed out the panel still hadn't seen some documents it requested more than a month ago. The original request pertains to the White House, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services and the states of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
‘Tis ‘Best of Jackson,' ‘Think Global, Shop Local' Season
This week's issue kicks off the JFP's "Best of Jackson 2006" campaign season—and our fourth annual "Think Global, Shop Local" campaign, which we introduced to Jackson in our first year of publication. Pick up this week's issue and read all about why Wal-Mart is not the future of this growing creative-class city, and how you help your community to spending your dollars with locally owned businesses. Also, turn to page 24 to cast your votes in the "Best of Jackson 2006" readers' choice awards—which will be announced in late January.
Planned Cuts Hurt Mississippi
Clarion-Ledger Washington Bureau reporter Ana Radelat writes today:
Site for ‘Mississippi Renewal Forum'
Keep an eye on the plans of Gov. Haley Barbour's "Mississippi Renewal Forum" on this Web site. The front page states:
Trent Lott: Alito Is a ‘Home Run'
[Verbatim statement/Oct. 31, 2005] WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi issued the following statement upon President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to be Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court:
Trent Lott, Harry Reid Call for ‘New Blood' in White House
The New York Times reports today that prominent lawmakers of both parties, including Sens. Trent Lott and Harry Reid are calling for the president to make shake-ups in the White House, in the wake of Friday's indictment of Scooter Libby, who is both special assistant to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney's chief of staff. Lawmakers are also calling for a major investigation in Dick Cheney's role in the scheme to cover up the lies about WMD that convinced the American people to support the Iraqi War.
3 More Soldiers Die in Iraq; 8 in Last 3 Days
On the day that a high-level White House office was indicted for trying to cover up lies told to justify invading Iraq in the first place, three more American soldiers were killed there. Our prayers go out to their families. AP reports:
Gentrifying Diversity in New Orleans
Mother Jones reports:
In a recent email to Louisiana officials, FEMA curtly turned down the state's request for funding to notify displaced residents that they could cast absentee ballots in the city's crucial February mayoral election. FEMA also declined to share data with local authorities about the current addresses of evacuees.
BREAKING: Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff Indicted, Five Counts
Word is that Dick Cheney's chief of staff will be the first to go down. Meantime, check out this Salon piece that defrocks Cheney's inner circle:
Melton: Zero Tolerance for Moving Violations
[verbatim/Oct. 27, 2005]—Mayor Frank E. Melton issued Executive Order to address number of pedestrians being injured or killed by moving vehicles in the City of Jackson.
Damned If We Don't
The weekend Katrina hit, Kate Medley and I were in the Natchez area finishing research and art for the package of stories that you'll read in this issue. This time in Adams and Franklin counties, as Kate and I got to know people like Burl Jones, a Klan victim who had never been interviewed about the experience, and then watched burly Wharlest Jackson Jr. bawl like a baby describing his daddy's murder that has gotten so little attention over the years, I was still seething about a little ditty in The New York Times that belittled Southerners who are trying to confront our past.
Evolution Of A Man: Lifting The Hood In South Mississippi
Read the JFP's full "Road to Meadville" blog/archive here
Daddy, Get Up: This Son of Natchez Wants Justice, Too
Photo of Wharlest Jackson Jr. by Kate Medley
When Wharlest Jackson Sr., 36, left his job at the Armstrong Rubber Co. in North Natchez the evening of Feb. 27, 1967, life was looking pretty good for him.
Dear Meadville: Thomas Moore Tries To Wake Up His Hometown
Photo of Mac Littleton by Kate Medley
On his July pilgrimage back to his native Mississippi, Thomas Moore got his hopes up. With the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and the Jackson Free Press documenting his effort, Moore went back to his native Franklin County, and over to Natchez, and up to Jackson and Neshoba County, to ask the good people of Mississippi to support his efforts to finally see justice for the murder of his brother, Charles Eddie Moore, and his friend, Henry Hezekiah Dee, by local white men on May 2, 1964.
Study: Most Katrina Victims Elderly
AP is reporting:
A majority of people killed by Hurricane Katrina were older residents unable or unwilling to evacuate in the rising floodwaters, according to a study of almost half the bodies recovered in Louisiana. About 60 percent of the nearly 500 victims identified so far were age 61 or older, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals reported.
Judge Hears Arguments in Mayor Libel Lawsuit
Interesting report in The Meridian Star today about the lawsuit by MBN officers against Frank Melton for releasing false accusations against them to The Clarion-Ledger in 2003 (the story originally broken by the Jackson Free Press). The judge has already declared summary judgement in the case against Melton because he lied under oath in court documents about passing the document to the newspaper. Now the judge is trying to decide whether Melton will have to pay the damages himself or whether the taxpayers will have to because he was a public official. The judge also issued a gag order in the case because a TV reporter asked a really stupid, uninformed question.