All results / Stories / Jackson Free Press
David Watkins
David Watkins is an attorney who's been haunting the city of Jackson for the last half-century. Though the Fondren resident has been all over the world, he says he always had to keep coming back to Jackson. "This is home. I've spent a lot of time in Europe. I love California and New York and Washington. I've lived in Cape Cod and Atlanta, but those heartstrings keep tugging away."
Jackson Convention Center: The $65 Million Question
Update: On Thursday morning, Jeff Good and Dan Blumenthal, owners of BRAVO! and Broad Street restaurants, announced that they were pledging 1% of their sales between now and the election to the Capital City Convention fund. Good and Blumenthal both expressed support for the convention center, saying it would be good for business and downtown Jackson. Good says they chose the 1% approach "to validate how inconsequential 1% is to a restaurant transaction, when compared to the great good it can serve." Good estimated that his company's total donation could be $5000 or more, based on the prior year's sales. by Todd Stauffer
What The Hell Do You Mean I'm "Articulate"?
Another white politician gets foot-in-mouth disease again as Sen Joe Biden called Presidential hopeful Barak Obama "clean" and "articulate" In fact, he said Obama was the first African American candidate who WASN'T inarticulate. Whaaaaa?
Candidates Reveal Differences at Debate
Three Republican Party gubernatorial candidates leaned heavy right on social issues, but differed slightly on some money matters at a Flowood debate sponsored by the Mississippi Tea Party.
Swimming In The Toilet
"Kill him!" "He's a terrorist!" "Off with his head!" "Traitor!" "He's an Arab." We all know that the first African American president will not be elected without ugly racist by-products left in the ditch.
Smells Like Team Spirit
When interns show up at the Jackson Free Press, they come through the door a tad nervous, hoping to get some sort of experience. They have a foggy idea that they might be picking up coffee and lunch for the people doing the real work.
[Kamikaze] Look Inside The Matrix
I had the honor of speaking on a panel recently at Tougaloo College to discuss sexual imagery in hip-hop. It was apropos because my last column spoke to a similar issue. It was a spirited debate to say the least, and one that made me want to even go deeper into this controversy.
Greetings From Accra: Day 4 in Africa
Greetings from across the Atlantic to all of you. Of course I would have loved to have checked in with you guys sooner but internet access is not nearly as available here as it is in the states. And its SLOOOOOW. I feel like the two turtles on the comcast commercial LOL. But I digress. Its day 4 of my tour of West Africa and let me say the trip has been an eye-opener. Dare I say that as an African-American man THIS trip has been even more life-changing than our trip to New Bohemia last year. So let me catch you up to speed. The flight was a long one. I quickly learned that Accra is a much more traveled city than Prague because our transatlantic flight was full. Phingaprint and I fought for space in our seat but made the best of it. Flying out of New York it was interesting to see the huge African population that resides in NY and make the trek back and forth to their homeland.
[Kamikaze] Can White America Elect a Black President?
Excuse me if I seem out of breath. It's just that I've been laughing so hard since last week's West Virginia primaries that it's difficult to regain my composure. Don't get me wrong, I've got love for America's 35th state.
Barbour Still ‘No' on Federal Funds
Gov. Haley Barbour reportedly renewed his criticism of the Obama administration's economic bailout package during the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington, D.C. this past weekend.
Palin's $50,000 Office Makeover ... into 'Bordello' Red
Salon is reporting that Sarah Palin shocked Wasilla when she spent $50,000 from a city highway fund to re-do her mayoral office:
ABC Disgraces Itself During Debate
The world is talking today about how poorly ABC's George Stephanopolous and Charles Gibson handled themselves during last night's Democratic debate. Over on The Root, Marc Lamont Hill writes:
The Best 10 Movies of 2005
This was a great year for movies in terms of quality, though 2005 will probably be remembered by the film industry for its hugely disappointing box office grosses (it marks the first year since 1991 in which ticket sales have actually decreased from the year prior). This list, which does not include certain positively reviewed December releases that have not yet opened in the Jackson area (such as "Brokeback Mountain," whose enthusiastic reception indicates that it probably would have earned a place on this list, and "Munich," which is reportedly even better), looks at the 10 films from 2005 most worth seeing.
Melton Resolves (Again) to Implode King Edward
Mayor Frank Melton laid out his immediate resolutions Friday afternoon:
You're From the South?
A few nights ago, at a reading for the book "Other People's Property" (supposedly a book about being white and loving hip-hop), a guy said, "Violent rap doesn't exist anymore. (Pause) Well, except in the South where it's all just bling."
[Kamikaze] Three Strikes, And You're Out
I was browsing through a copy of the Mississippi Link the other day, and I was hit with a startling reality. It was a moment of clarity like no other. I scanned the page several times over just to make sure that my eyes didn't deceive me. But alas, it was true. Pictures don't lie.
[Kamikaze] Not So Sweet Sixteen
As a hip-hop artist, I often find myself defending rap music. To many, it's the grinch that stole society's soul, the scourge reducing our youth to mindless purveyors of evil. But champion it, I must. It is my chosen profession and one of the things I know how to do very well.
New York Times Honors Casey Parks
The Jackson Free Press is proud to announce that our very dear assistant editor emeritus Casey Parks—who departed in December for graduate school at the University of Missouri—is the one student journalist in the country who has been selected to accompany Times columnist Nicholas Kristof to Africa this fall, to blog about her experiences and write pieces for the Times, and be covered by MTV along the way. This is a breathtaking honor for Casey, a Millsaps graduate who remains our contributing editor from afar and did so much to make the JFP what it is today. We salute Casey, whose application was chosen from 3,800. We are proud of you, Little Miss Ironfist. And thank you for representing Mississippi, and the South, in such a remarkable, dramatic way.
After Killen: What's Next For Mississippi?
A common, and easy, response to race-dialogue efforts today in Mississippi is that there is racism everywhere, so why should Mississippians keep apologizing, or be constantly under the microscope.
Firefighters Griping Over New Chief
After three months of grumbling among themselves, some Jackson firefighters have officially voiced concerns over Mayor Frank Melton's installation of former Jackson Fire Department Capt. Todd Chandler as interim fire chief.