[Stiggers] Stuck Like ChuckTaaqweema Jenkins: "This is a Ghetto Science Team Television Network pre-Memorial Day news flash. In the wake of the gas price increase, The Sausage Sandwich Sisters (International Electric Slide Ambassadors for World Peace and Rent Money) will have a Memorial …
With A Good IntentionPeople come up and thank me all the time for being "daring." Or "courageous." Or "fearless." No, the Jackson Free Press is not particularly daring or courageous (although admittedly we can be a bit fearless now and then). We're just …
The Crime: May 2, 1964The last time Mazie Moore ever saw her boy, 19-year-old son Charles, he was standing in front of Dillon's gas station on Main Street in Meadville, trying to thumb a ride with his friend, Henry Dee, also 19. Mazie had …
Proposed Work Program a BustThis week, the U.S. Senate is considering comprehensive immigration reform that includes the creation of a new temporary worker program.
[Stiggers] Ghetto-MadeBonqweesha Jones: "It's your favorite on-the-scene reporter, giving you the 411 on the low down faster than you can say 'War Czar!' I'm here with Bruh Sylvester, the controversial Christmas Missin' Toe artist, to talk about his new art exhibit …
[Viewpoint] My Mississippi DeltaBeing born in the Bolivar County hospital on a sweltering day in August is just about my chief claim to credibility as a writer. I was raised in the Mississippi Delta, which seems to produce writers and artists in staggering …
Of Chick Balls and Big-Mouthed WomenFrank Melton called me a "big mouth" on Councilman Ben Allen's radio show Friday. Sitting in my bedroom listening as Todd showered, I couldn't help but laugh. Heartily. Loudly. You know, in that big-mouthed kind of way that scares people …
[Grayson] Our Way Of LifeWhen I was 16 years old, my friends talked me into going to a local teen dance club. I begged my grandmother to approve, and we were off. I spent all evening getting dolled up for my first club appearance. …
Step Up, LedgerIf you read the JFP's account of the Mayor Melton's "open" meeting with department heads this week (page 6), and then you read the Clarion-Ledger's online account posted Monday, you would have thought our reporters were at two different meetings.
[Stiggers] It's A Mad Crunchie WorldMr. Announcement: "Gasoline climbs to $3 per gallon. American soldiers remain in limbo and at war. Frustrated males go on shooting rampages. The chemical called melamine contaminates our food supply of pork, chicken and fish. Amidst all of this uncertainty, …
[Kamikaze] A Weapon For ‘Rage'My most heartfelt thanks goes out to the controversial rock band Rage Against The Machine. Why, you ask? Simply because, if but for a moment, they've taken a little pressure off us poor rappers. We can take a break from …
More Than A MaidGrowing up, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. I didn't have to; I wanted to. Most of my summer days, we watched "Donahue" re-runs and "Sanford and Son" and "Benson." I stayed over at her house every …
Get the Mayor to 'Do His JobA common refrain during the build-up to Mayor Frank Melton's felony trials this past month was that "people should just let the mayor do his job.
[Stiggers] Booty-Gate and the Mystery PolMr. Announcement: "On this episode of 'All God's Churn Got Shoes,' the deputy secretary of state's mishap has inspired the 'hypocrisy division' of the Ladies in Church Hats, Union 203 and 7/8, to conduct an audio/video surveillance mission, across the …
[Mott] Feed Them On Your DreamsEarlier this week, my friend Terry e-mailed me a link to a short film from 1947 called "The Secret Lives of Cats." Two things struck me as I watched: First was the obvious affection of the two adult cats toward …
Fight or FightIt's an odd world where Councilman Kenny Stokes is standing with FOX News celebrities who care more about profiling young blacks than protecting citizens' rights. But in the aftermath of the Frank Melton acquittals last week, we are living in …
[Gregory] Becoming BlondeAs a woman, there are quite a few ridiculous things I do to myself in the pursuit of "pretty." The least of these is my weekly scouring of local drugstores for my favorite fake eyelashes, and the most of these …
[Stiggers] Sticks and StonesAunt Tee Tee Hustle: "The way I see things these days is that people live in critical times where critical people criticize with critically destructive words and actions.
The Folks Are ComingA JFP reader commented on our Web site Tuesday that it is a very different world in which citizens can watch live feeds of a trial on WAPT's Web site and then click to jacksonfreepress.com and comment on it, ask …
[Mott] What Would Jesus Drive?My sister Lisa accused me of being a communist. She was kidding, I hope. Lisa is a die-hard Republican by her own admission; I'm fairly certain that she prays for my lefty-liberal soul. We have some "colorful" conversations because we …
[Stiggers] Imus Be DreamingReadin' Rain-Bro: "Will bicycles become the transportation alternative for the financially challenged individual who cannot afford to pay $3 for a gallon of gas? I might not have the answer to this question, but I do know critical thoughts regarding …
[Collier] Connect the DotsThe folks at WJTV must have been particularly bored April 16. In what was presumably an attempt to localize the Virginia Tech tragedy, WJTV reported live from the Jackson State campus and paralleled the 1970 school shooting that occurred at …
The Big LieThe felony trial of Mayor Frank Melton and police detectives Michael Recio and Marcus Wright begins Monday. Although we cannot yet know what defense their lawyers will mount, it seems evident that Melton did in fact demolish the duplex on …
[Gregory] Sweet Bird Of NokiaMy office downtown is close to Smith Park. Often, during my 15 minutes of government-mandated break time in the afternoon, I walk to the park and sit on a bench to enjoy my state-sanctioned five-minute cigarette. I like Smith Park …
[Stiggers] When Life Gives You LemonsPookie Peterz: "Welcome to the Ghetto Science Economic Summit for Unemployed Folk Forced into Entrepreneurship. Tonight, Rudy McBride of the Let Me Hold Five Dollars National Bank presents the Residual Income Initiative: a new perspective into overcoming joblessness."
[Tucker] The Bigger QuestionBy now, <i>everybody</i> has heard about syndicated-radio personality Don Imus and his comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. While almost everyone acknowledges that Imus' comments—calling the members of the Scarlet Knights "nappy-headed hos"—were out of line, there are …
[Grayson] No Longer a SupporterI must admit, I was a devout Melton supporter. Initially, I was drawn in by Mayor Frank Melton's ideas for this city and its inner-city youth. He mesmerized me. Every time somebody talked low of him, I defended his honor …
Lost in Translation"He is like a prodigal son, pondering whether he should return to his native soil." So wrote now-freelance Clarion-Ledger columnist Eric Stringfellow this week in a hand-wringing column about the future of Jackson.