OPINION: Beloved Rep John Lewis: ‘Son, Your Generation Must Speak Up’Just days before we close out another decade in American history, civil-rights icon Congressman John Lewis announced on Sunday, Dec. 29, that he has been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer and will be undergoing treatment.
OPINION: Soul Work Required for Resolutions to StickPeople make promises to themselves that they won't keep. "Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right," Oprah Winfrey said once. This year, choose you.
OPINION: 'Faith' Is Inadequate, and Dangerous, Cover for Racism"Racists, segregationists and anti-miscegenists can now back up their mere (and at least occasionally unstudied) religious opinion with the word of the law: they've got a right, so long as a religion (of whatever kind) is involved."
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Engagement, Solutions, Race Equity and IPAs"As we go into 2020, I think two things could help downtown Jackson become more vibrant. First, interest and awareness in downtown need to be curated. Second, we as citizens and patrons need to participate in those events and make …
OPINION: UM Rhodes Scholar: Moving Confederate Statue Sets Example for WorldThe opportunity to study at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar is a great accomplishment; however, December brings a much bigger opportunity for our beloved university and our great state of Mississippi. If we take advantage of it, …
OPINION: Mississippi Not a ‘Lost Cause’; Build and Fight"I chose to make my home here 23 years ago. Mississippi has broken my heart on many more than one occasion. So, I hope everyone who worked hard will take the time to regroup and repair."
DOSSIER: Shanda Yates' Win in Mississippi Inspires Voters, Teaches LessonsIf the last week has proved anything, it's that people in the U.S., in Mississippi and especially in the Jackson metropolitan area are excited about a political newcomer, Shanda Yates, defeating a long-time incumbent for the District 64 seat in …
OPINION: Caution; Numbers in Presidential Polls Don't Count, YetPresident Donald Trump's approval ratings are in the basement, and he could be impeached. But with about a year to go until Election Day 2020, it's too early to write off the tweeter-in-chief.
OPINION: Women in Mississippi—So Strong and So Tough"Over the 25 years that we have lived in Mississippi, we have taken quite a ribbing. Whenever we told them of our children's successes, they always scoffed and said 'but it's Mississippi' as if that lessened the accomplishment."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mississippi Women, It’s Your Time to Speak Up, LeadElection season was tough for Mississippi women as usual. It was a time for broken promises and slights as we watched male candidates, and their women enablers, show little apparent interest in our safety, prosperity, health and voices and be …
DOSSIER: Of Corporate Media and Insulting ShenanigansWhat a week. The last 10 days saw not only the official demise of the Mississippi Democratic Party, at least the way it's run and strategized now, but it was filled with disillusioning encounters with local representatives of national media …
OPINION: Cowards Never Win—Mississippi Democrats Lose from Lack of CourageIt is time to tell the plain, unvarnished truth about Mississippi politics. We have wasted too much time being dishonest with ourselves and others. We have coddled one another, whined and complained, and frankly just surrendered when we should have …
Mississippi Democratic Party Needs to Overhaul Strategies, Outreach, DiversityProminent novelist Angie Thomas is planning to leave Mississippi due to the toxic politics here, on prominent display in last night’s election outcome. The wildly successful graduate of Belhaven College grew up in Georgetown in Jackson and travels frequently to …
OPINION: City of Jackson Leading on Goals to Reduce Carbon EmissionsThe City of Jackson is working on a comprehensive action leading to the ultimate goal of carbon neutrality. Mayor Lumumba was one of the major supporters and a signatory of the "Resolution on Support of a National Price on Carbon …
EDITOR'S NOTE: Stepping into a Mentor's Shoes, Hoping They Fit"As future-oriented as I am, I understood early on that I needed to work really hard in school to help me achieve my goal. ... I continue to learn my own capabilities, and my own limits."
OPINION: My Abuser Apologized, and I Forgave HimA few years ago, I wrote a column evaluating my emotions for never receiving an apology or even an acknowledgement from my abuser for basically hurting me and demolishing my self-value.
OPINION: Tate Reeves Is Always Right. Ask Him."If Reeves had been a European king, he's the type who would have inspired a revolution as soon as he put on the crown. He might be inspiring a revolution in Mississippi even before he moves into the Governor's Mansion."
Before rushing to volunteer to be Jackson's political classes' attack dog against racist insult, we should be mindful of Zora Neale Hurston's oft reminder: "all my skin folks ain't my kinfolk."
Just days before we close out another decade in American history, civil-rights icon Congressman John Lewis announced on Sunday, Dec. 29, that he has been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer and will be undergoing treatment.
If you were caught up in the spirit of the holiday, as I was on Christmas Eve, you might have missed one of the most disturbing interviews ever with a national journalist that Rolling Stone posted around midnight. In the …
Few novels have stood the test of time like "1984" by George Orwell. Since its publication in 1949, many of the ideas and terms in the novel have come into common use, including Big Brother, Thought Police, thoughtcrime, doublethink and …
People make promises to themselves that they won't keep. "Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right," Oprah Winfrey said once. This year, choose you.
"Impeachment is hell for a the country—but the reasons impeachment proceedings begin are very serious. They are the kinds of violations of public trust than set dangerous precedents for the future."
"Most people in Mississippi who do not agree with the radical-conservative, racist status quo have always been afraid to speak publicly about it—certainly at least the white ones."
"Racists, segregationists and anti-miscegenists can now back up their mere (and at least occasionally unstudied) religious opinion with the word of the law: they've got a right, so long as a religion (of whatever kind) is involved."
"As we go into 2020, I think two things could help downtown Jackson become more vibrant. First, interest and awareness in downtown need to be curated. Second, we as citizens and patrons need to participate in those events and make …
The opportunity to study at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar is a great accomplishment; however, December brings a much bigger opportunity for our beloved university and our great state of Mississippi. If we take advantage of it, …
The future of Mississippi's Democratic Party depends upon its willingness to embrace a platform that premises its politics upon shared economic and racial injustice, rather than trying to thread a needle through imagined racial differences.
The need for a new moral and cultural compass is why I and my co-founder Kimberly Griffin are announcing a new media project today called the Mississippi Free Press, which, like my newspaper, is named in homage to a Civil …
Columnist Richard Coupe had a merry romp, and kind help from a connected Austrian, to get to Vienna on time.
"I chose to make my home here 23 years ago. Mississippi has broken my heart on many more than one occasion. So, I hope everyone who worked hard will take the time to regroup and repair."
"We shouldn't limit being thankful to the last Thursday in November, especially in America."
If the last week has proved anything, it's that people in the U.S., in Mississippi and especially in the Jackson metropolitan area are excited about a political newcomer, Shanda Yates, defeating a long-time incumbent for the District 64 seat in …
President Donald Trump's approval ratings are in the basement, and he could be impeached. But with about a year to go until Election Day 2020, it's too early to write off the tweeter-in-chief.
"While the rest of the country is erupting in action by using the power of the vote to elect more progressive officials, it seems apathy has gripped a large portion of Mississippi."
"TV networks may live and die on ratings and people screaming opinions at each other from two "sides," but our democracy really can't take much more of this kind of dangerous political gamesmanship."
"Over the 25 years that we have lived in Mississippi, we have taken quite a ribbing. Whenever we told them of our children's successes, they always scoffed and said 'but it's Mississippi' as if that lessened the accomplishment."
Election season was tough for Mississippi women as usual. It was a time for broken promises and slights as we watched male candidates, and their women enablers, show little apparent interest in our safety, prosperity, health and voices and be …
"There is never a perfect, seamless match between a political party and its people. But I think the Democratic Party in Mississippi can do a lot better."
I boxed the glaring ghost of a broken and unsupportive party structure. I guess I am not supposed to say that out loud, but we might as well tell the truth out loud. Everyone is whispering it anyway.
What a week. The last 10 days saw not only the official demise of the Mississippi Democratic Party, at least the way it's run and strategized now, but it was filled with disillusioning encounters with local representatives of national media …
It is time to tell the plain, unvarnished truth about Mississippi politics. We have wasted too much time being dishonest with ourselves and others. We have coddled one another, whined and complained, and frankly just surrendered when we should have …
Prominent novelist Angie Thomas is planning to leave Mississippi due to the toxic politics here, on prominent display in last night’s election outcome. The wildly successful graduate of Belhaven College grew up in Georgetown in Jackson and travels frequently to …
The City of Jackson is working on a comprehensive action leading to the ultimate goal of carbon neutrality. Mayor Lumumba was one of the major supporters and a signatory of the "Resolution on Support of a National Price on Carbon …
"As future-oriented as I am, I understood early on that I needed to work really hard in school to help me achieve my goal. ... I continue to learn my own capabilities, and my own limits."
A few years ago, I wrote a column evaluating my emotions for never receiving an apology or even an acknowledgement from my abuser for basically hurting me and demolishing my self-value.
"If Reeves had been a European king, he's the type who would have inspired a revolution as soon as he put on the crown. He might be inspiring a revolution in Mississippi even before he moves into the Governor's Mansion."