Let's Make a DealThe Mississippi Center for Justice is still looking to buy the old library building at 301 N. State Street, the site of the historic "read-in" by nine Tougaloo College students during the Civil Rights Movement. MCJ, a nonprofit, public-interest law …
‘The Nightmare Is Over'After serving 18 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, Levon Brooks walked away from the Noxubee County courthouse a free man on March 13. Arrested for the rape and murder of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter, Courtney …
One in 100 Behind BarsAmerica reached a new record this year, but it's not one that comes with bragging rights: We've reached the point where one in every 100 adults is behind bars. In Mississippi, one in every 97.3 adults is in prison or …
The Emerging Mississippi: Are New Voters Changing State Politics?When presidential hopeful Barack Obama entered the Rose Embley McCoy building at Jackson State University on March 10, he flowed easily into the hungry arms of the crowd. At least 100 young people—mostly females—pressed against the metal barricades, screaming and …
Mississippi GOP Politicizes Scruggs PleaThe head of the Mississippi Republican Party is using the guilty plea of Richard "Dickie" Scruggs to try to focus the scandal spotlight away from Republicans and put it squarely on Democrats, especially Attorney General Jim Hood, who was re-elected …
Hot 97.7 No Longer Blazin' Hip-Hop[verbatim statement] Effective March 17, 2008, HOT 97.7FM has changed its name to 97.7FM WRBJ and no longer promotes itself as "Jackson's Blazin' Hip-Hop and R&B Station." In addition, the station will no longer carry the nationally syndicated Russ Parr …
Civil Rights Museum Part of Tougaloo ‘Master Plan'Tougaloo College President Beverly Hogan told The Clarion-Ledger today that a civil rights museum has been part of the college's "master plan" for years:
SNL Slams Mississippi"This week Barack Obama won Mississippi with 90% of the black vote and a quarter of the white vote with Mississippi's one Asian guy still hiding indoors afraid to go outside."
Scruggs Pleads GuiltyThe Sun-Herald is reporting that attorney Dickie Scruggs has pled guilty:
‘The Nightmare Is Over': Levon Brooks Finally FreeAfter serving 18 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, Levon Brooks walked away from the Noxubee County courthouse a free man this morning. Arrested for the rape and murder of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter, Courtney Smith, …
Lorenzo BaileyGo to college. Play basketball. Live out your dream.
Clarion-Ledger Downplays Huge Turnout, Hosemann's ErrorRemarkably, even in the light of day, Clarion-Ledger reporter Natalie Chandler is still repeating an abysmally off turnout prediction by Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann as if it were accurate, and she as yet has not corrected or apologized …
UPDATED: Civil Rights Museum a ‘Done Deal'A Civil Rights museum commission appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour approved the location of a planned National Civil Rights Museum Tuesday with a 22-to-9 vote in favor of a controversial site near Tougaloo College. Commission members, including Tougaloo President Beverly …
Obama Speech Streaming at WJTVAs they did with Senator Hillary Clinton last week, WJTV plans to live-stream the video from Senator Barack Obama's appearance at JSU later this evening. WJTV's e-mail anticipates that things will get underway around 7pm. The viewer widget is below …
Rights Museum Hidden Costs, Lobbying QuestionedAs a vote to approve a controversial placement of a new civil rights museum looms, a commission member is saying that extra taxpayer costs of locating it in a planned development zone near Tougaloo College are being dramatically downplayed by …
Obama Coming to JSU; Clinton Speaks in CantonMississippi has suddenly found itself a focus of presidential politics as the March 11 primary approaches, and the two major Democratic candidates scrap for votes. Sen. Hillary Clinton attended the 26th annual Jefferson-Jackson Hamer Day Dinner last night in Canton, …
Booming Jackson Topic of Radio JFP FridayTune in at noon Friday, March 7, to hear JFP Publisher Todd Stauffer interview Ben Minnifield of Novia Communications and Charles Richardson of the Fondren Renaissance Foundation about the renaissance of Jackson. Show is on WLEZ-FM, 103.7 FM, or listen …
JFP Editor on MPB Friday 8:30 a.m.Mississippi Public Broadcasting will interview JFP Editor Donna Ladd Friday at 8:30 a.m. about next week's Mississippi primary. Tune in at http://www.mpbonline.org.
WJTV Plans Live Stream of Clinton SpeechWJTV called this afternoon to let us know that they'll have a live stream of Senator Hillary Clinton's speech tonight at the Democratic Party's 26th Annual Jefferson Jackson Hamer Day Dinner in Canton. Viewer widget below the fold.
Clinton's Plan for ‘Forgotten' AfghanistanWith the Mississippi primary next week, suddenly the Clinton campaign is courting Mississippi voters with a vengeance. This is one of her statements that are filling our inbox today/verbatim:
Hillary Clinton Comes to CantonHot off her wins in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton is turning her attention to Mississippi. Clinton will be appearing tomorrow at the Mississippi Democratic Party's 26th Annual Jefferson Jackson Hamer Day Dinner in Canton.
Undocumented Workers, Felons and FinesIllegal immigrants and employers of illegal immigrants beware. The House passed Senate Bill 2988 by a wide margin today. The bill, called the Mississippi Employee Protection Act, forces all employers in the state to check employees' resident status with the …
The Scruggs Saga Comes Home To Hinds CountyOn June 11, 2005, Jackson Police Officer Jeffrey Middleton ran a red light on Highway 18 while coming back from Raymond. Middleton had no siren or police lights on at the time, and a cop car without a blaring siren …
Mitchell ShearsLooking like a giant among the three-feet-tall first-graders pouring into the bright, sun-filled hallway of Clausell Elementary School, Principal Mitchell Shears steps into the main office where three students await his arrival. "I know it's good," he says, willing their …
Clinton Gets 12 New Delegates; Obama Still LeadsEven as Hillary Clinton is trying to claim a major victory last night—and seems to think that Ohio speaks for the nation—her wins Tuesday netted her 12 new delegates when all was said and done, according to the Associated Press. …
AP Reports on Columbia Training School AbuseThis isn't exactly a new story–see the JFP story from January 2005–but it is good to see the Associated Press taking our training-school horrors to a national stage. The story, about juvenile abuse claims across the country, begins:
Delbert Tries to Hose More Felon Voters?[verbatim statement from Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann]Jackson, MS—Our current Constitution excludes certain felons from having the right to vote. These include criminals convicted of murder, rape, bribery, theft, arson, false pretense, purgery, forgery, embezzlement or bigotry. Yet, there are …