Men: Start Now, Not NeverA few weeks ago, I went to visit my dad, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year. It's a cancer that most men "die with, not from," but to have a doctor tell you that you have cancer must …
[Head] Immigrants vs. ProfitThere is a story that U.S. citizens often hear about undocumented Latino workers. It is fiction.
[Balko] You Can Have Sex With Them; Just Don't Photograph ThemIn the spring and summer of 2006, Eric Rinehart, at the time a 34-year-old police officer in the small town of Middletown, Ind., began consensual sexual relationships with two young women, ages 16 and 17. Rinehart was going through a …
Barbour's Cross to BearIn 1968 in Yazoo City, Police Chief Ardis Russell Sr. arrested a black mother, LeBertha Owens, for trying to take her young daughter, Gloria, to the public library for materials to complete her school assignments. Her daughter was left behind, …
Improve Jackson for JacksoniansJackson shares a perception problem with the rest of the nation, and media are manipulating that perception with the recent Census data. Why is it taking so long for the perception to match reality?
[Stiggers] ‘Face the Music'I guess we all have to face the tune of change and learn how to adjust to things like cold-hearted people, global warming, price gouging, selfishness, greed and the trickle down economic theory.
[Kamikaze] Spring Cleaning JacksonBabies change you. They change the way you think, the way you act, even your outlook on life. It's funny how something so small can loom so large when you're deciding even your next step.
[Gregory] Ready, Boots? Start Marching!History proves that no matter the legality of abortion, someone will perform them. Let me say that one more time for the men sitting in the cheap seats: "No matter the legality of abortion, they will be done." It truly …
Come TogetherI once had a client who considered himself completely uncreative. An entrepreneur with a thriving small business, Mr. Jones (not his real name) had a peculiar stance about artists: He couldn't understand why they were necessary, couldn't see why anyone …
To Stop Flight, Be ConsistentThere is a serious disconnect right now in Jackson. Since hysterical media reports of recent weeks about continuing "white flight" out of Jackson caused, well, a degree of hysteria among some city residents, it's been interesting, and encouraging, to watch …
[Stiggers] ‘My People, My People'"Remember, Momma Church Hat: Those who endure to the end shall be saved. At least folk can ride off with a blessing by purchasing a reliable and inexpensive hybrid hoopty from Rev. Cletus Car Sales Church."
[West] More Than A FigmentCommunities that don't have vibrant arts scenes aren't healthy communities. Arts are essential.
[Balko] Sticklers for ProcedureIt would be difficult to cite a more shameful episode in the history of America's criminal justice system than the pedophilia panic of the 1980s and '90s. Hysteria overcame police, prosecutors and social workers all over the country who were …
Lest Ye Be JudgedI ran into a woman Sunday at Broadmeadow United Methodist Church who remembered that my mother used to sell Avon. Apparently, Mama had gone to her family's house in Neshoba County and took me along. Somehow, she remembered.
Of Contracts, BrokenOver the past few weeks, the Mississippi Legislature has bandied about a few anemic attempts at strengthening laws protecting victims of domestic violence. Among them is an addition to the state's divorce laws that would allow judges to grant a …
[Stiggers] It's Electric!Mo'tel Williams: "Greetings, peace-loving people. It's your non-black ambassador here to promote a special peace tour by the Sausage Sandwich Sisters: electric-slide line-dance ambassadors for world peace and rent money."
[Kamikaze] A Jackson Reality CheckIt's time for some hard truth. Some Jackson detractors may have taken my ProJack stance as blind love for our fair city. Some have accused me of selling hype over substance. I've refuted crime stats, championed development and screamed "Buy …
[Head] Smaller, Blacker, StrongerWe all have the opportunity to stand together as a multicultural Jackson that represents everything that is good.
On Feb. 15, Vote Ice for Ward 1The Jackson Free Press' readership is diverse in many ways, and we get criticized from the left and right for editorial stances and endorsements. Our editorial board believes in groups of people with varying opinions getting together to debate and …
Facing the TruthOn Friday night, I made the road trip to my aunt and uncle's Flowood home to finally see "Mississippi ReMixed," a documentary by Jackson native Myra Ottewell who examines her personal beliefs about relationships between blacks and whites in Mississippi. …
[Stiggers] ‘There is a Season'Brother Hustle: "Another season is here, and it makes me reflect on the words wise ol' King Solomon wrote thousands of years ago: ‘To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose, under heaven: A time to …
The Secession BandwagonIt seems Mississippi Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, is out to prove an election-year point by appealing to the most extreme fringe of the far right.
[Head] Hazardous CivilityIn 2009, I spent 48 minutes on Paul Gallo's SuperTalk radio show. I wanted to persuade Gallo to help me expose the mainstream resurgence of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a segregationist group patterned after the 1960s-era white Citizen's Councils …
[Balko] The Anti-Cop Trend That Isn'tBetween Jan. 20 and Jan. 25, 13 police officers were shot in the U.S., five of them fatally. Two officers in St. Petersburg, Fla., were killed while trying to arrest a suspect accused of aggravated battery. Two more were killed …
Of Truth and the Shortest MonthI admit it: I've never been Black History Month's biggest fan. Let me put that another way: I don't like how media tend to treat Black History Month. Too often, it is a vehicle for selling ads on a special …
Turn Down the PoliticsWith nearly two weeks before the Jackson City Council special election to replace former Ward 1 Councilman Jeff Weill (who left to serve as a Hinds County judge), candidate Quentin Whitwell was just as surprised as we were to find …
[Stiggers] Thriving in the GhettoWelcome to the Ghetto Science Team's Super Bowl XLV Tailgate Viewing Party and Disco Business Strategy meeting. I hope my fellow business associates are ready to provide lots of entertainment, fun, food and souvenir products for residents of the Ghetto …
[Kamikaze] Jackson Schools in CrisisI am a proud product of Jackson Public Schools. I spent nine years in that system. My mother was a long-time educator in JPS. My brother currently teaches in JPS. And I count several friends, classmates and colleagues who are …
[Balko] Cops Beat Unarmed Future CopA year ago this month, Jordan Miles, an 18-year-old music student at Pittsburgh's Creative and Performing Arts High School, was walking to his grandmother's home in the city's Homewood neighborhood when three undercover police officers in an unmarked white car …