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A Taste of Something Sweet

My earliest memories come to me in pictures. The drawings and etchings in the huge old book of German fairy tales my grandmother read to me are clearer in my mind's eye than the stories they illustrated. I can see the glitter on the colorful advent calendar hung over my crib. Too tempting, I pulled myself up to its bright, sparkling colors and promptly yanked the calendar down on the floor. Screaming out my frustration, I brought my mother running.

[Hutchinson] Katrina Lessons, One Year Later

For one week last September, the unthinkable happened: America's poor suddenly became the rage. The shocking and tormenting sight of thousands of poor blacks fleeing in headlong panic for their lives from Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters jolted the nation and the world. President Bush, reeling from the battering he took in the media for his initial comatose response to the Katrina victims, scrambled fast and talked tough about assailing poverty. In a televised speech in New Orleans' famed Jackson Square, Bush told the nation, "All of us saw on television, there is also some deep, persistent poverty in this region as well."

‘Working Together Works'

It happens that in the same week that the JFP is celebrating its eighth anniversary, the Fondren Association of Businesses (FAB) celebrated its own milestone--the second-annual members' meeting, this time in the newly re-monikered Duling Hall.

Jackson's Best Date Spots

You've been thinking about that special person for days. Hands shaking, sweat beading on your upper lip, you've managed to ask him or her out. In spite of the nervous laughter and blotchy, discolored skin tone, you feel good.

(Re)Learning to Breathe

To watch an infant sleep is to witness one of the most deeply peaceful processes. With every soft rise and fall of the baby's small belly, a natural expansion and contraction occurs that seems effortless, even archetypal.

Art For the People

After an exquisite breakfast of fresh fruit and hot flapjacks during our recent honeymoon in Belize, my husband, J.P., and I slowly sipped our glasses of orange juice and walked 20 feet from the Turtle Inn restaurant to the sandy beach. The Caribbean Sea seemed to stretch for miles down the shoreline, and we wanted to explore.

[Braden] Absolutely Perfect 2006

I've decided to send this yankeefied newsletter as proof that we are not an agoraphobic family—we just don't like spending time with folks who don't really want to spend time with us, either. My new husband has informed me that writing everyone a letter outlining everything we've done this year, hobbies we have taken a liking to and other personal information that you probably don't want to know, will suffice in place of any actual familial communication regarding 2006. This socially accepted tradition demonstrates exactly why I don't care for Yankees, and I would like to immediately apologize for offending any aunt with two first names. Yes ma'am; I was raised better than this.

Don't Wreck Yourself: Jackson's Guide to Jackson

New to town? Welcome. Wanna learn the ropes, kid? Well, ignore the glossy brochures found at the Chamber of Commerce and follow my lead.

Council Renames Metro Parkway

A portion the Jackson Metro Parkway between Terry Road and Eastview Street has been renamed after prominent African American physician and civil rights activist Dr. Robert Smith. The Jackson City Council members approved renaming the street in a 5-to-0 vote this morning.

[Mott] Some People Talkin'

Brian Johnson, Matt Saldaña and I passed the pages of "We Are Family"—last week's cover story about Shirley Beach's journey from racism—between us last week, proofing and correcting them. Brian read them first, then passed the pages to Matt as he finished, and then Matt passed them on to me. Donna watched us all, inserting telling facts as we went, calling Shirley Beach to get just one more question answered, hovering like a new mother while we "doctors" corrected and polished and made it fit. What a story.

[Stauffer] Movin' On Up

Read about the JFP's exciting moves—from moving into new offices in Fondren to hiring a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter.

In God He Trusts: The JFP Interview With Jim Wallis

Jim Wallis isn't your typical evangelical. Imagine Jimmy Carter, but scratch the accent. Thirty years ago, he founded Sojourners magazine, which covers issues on faith, politics and culture. In his time as editor, he has become a Christian force for activism, peace, and justice throughout our country and across the globe. Rev. Wallis has, according to his biography, "led more than 250 town meetings, bringing together pastors, civic and business leaders, and elected officials in the cause of social justice and moral politics."

Standing By Our Men

Jackson Wives Speak Out for Soldiers Who Said 'No'

At 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14, someone in Iraq called Jacqueline Butler to tell her, "Your husband has been arrested, read his rights, charged for disobeying a direct order, and now he is being held in a tent." As soon as Jacqueline hung up, she called her brother and later tried Rep. Bennie Thompson's office, where she spoke with Michael Montgomery, and then she called The Clarion-Ledger to see if they could help her find some truth in the matter. What did she find? There were other troops' family members in the Jackson area doing the same thing: They had received similar calls on the same morning.

[Mott] It Starts At Home

Sometimes the universe just comes along and slaps you up side the head. I was the recipient of one of those slaps a few years ago, when the company I worked for (and moved to Mississippi for) laid me off after nine years. In the time it takes for you to read this sentence, my entire world was inside out and upside down.

No Humble Pie Needed

Ahhh, humble pie. I have never acquired the taste for it, but have had to devour it on many occasions. Haven't most of us? I am more of a beignet kind of guy. Love the sweetness and the caked-on powdered sugar gloves that comes along with consuming them. And we all know where the best beignets are served: The Big Easy. Many duplicate the original, but none ever comes close to it, well kind of. They are served hot and fresh with coffee that wakes you up just by the smell. Served 24 hours a day, it is one of the must-do's on my visits.

The Past Lives On

The heart of the historic Farish Street district follows North Farish Street from Amite to Fortification streets. The street is named for Walter Farish, a former slave who lived on the northeast corner of Davis and what is now Farish Street. The district is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Dancing in the Kitchen

You see, my mom is a goofy mom. I mean "dance in the kitchen with the refrigerator doors to the sound of the "Battlestar Galactica" theme song playing in the background from the TV in front of my dad" goofy.

Dangerous Man

Gritty distortion lingers in the speakers as James Louis Carter "T-Model" Ford politely nods at his cheering fans and briefly puts his guitar in his lap. He produces a flask from his jacket pocket and unscrews the lid.

[Rob In Stereo] A Desert of Seriousness

I was at a house party during the winter of 2003, and I remember noting the self-serious vibe pervading every room.

Musical Harmony, Cultural Acceptance

On a crowded stage with a six-piece band jamming behind him, AJC, clad in a black vest and tie, jumps up and down. The black and white crowd at Hal & Mal's Red Room lingers near the stage, moving, shaking and shuffling to the drummer's beat. AJC signals the band with his right hand, cueing the musicians into the second verse, as he raps a verse from "The Battle of Success."

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