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Drinking Like The Irish

Many years ago, my mom took a pilgrimage to Europe with two of her college friends. In Ireland, they walked half the day, searching for the house where my great-great-grandmother grew up. They found it, as well as its very skeptical current owners. They let my mom look through the house and offered her a shot glass of whiskey. All my mom and her friends really wanted was a glass of water, but apparently Irish hospitality calls for whiskey shots.

James Gray

When performing at a blues venue in Jackson, James Gray, known as "Rock," is almost always stylishly dressed and sporting a fedora, shuffling and twirling pretty women around with his left arm while his right sleeve stays tucked in his belt.

James Ford Seale Trial to Begin Wednesday

The federal kidnapping and conspiracy trial of former Klansman James Ford Seale is now set to begin Wednesday, May 30, with jury selection in a federal courtroom in Jackson. Seale is accused of kidnapping Charles Moore and Henry Dee, who were beaten and tortured by the Klan, and then dumped into an offshoot of the Mississippi River, prosecutors believe. The Jackson Free Press helped revive interest in the case in July 2005 by traveling back to Franklin County with Thomas Moore, the brother of Charles Moore, and a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. filmmaker, where the team discovered that Seale was still alive from two sources. That information helped convinced U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton to jumpstart the investigation, leading to indictments in January 2007. A full archive of the JFP's coverage of this case and other Klan activity in the area is available on the JFP's Road to Meadville blog. JFP reporters will be blogging daily about the trial on the same blog. The JFP's July 2005 original award-winning story about Moore's journey home, "I Want Justice, Too" is available here.

Blackface and Chorus Girls

As you enter the "Blues in Claiborne County: From Rabbit Foot Minstrels to Blues & Cruise" exhibit at the Smith Robertson Museum, you can see white platform plaques and posters lining the brick walls. Straight ahead is a large display plaque titled "Bobby Rush." Pictures of Rush holding his cigar-box-one-string diddley bow accompany his testimonial of Port Gibson's Rabbit Foot Minstrel.

Mississippi Official: Black People 'Dependent' Since Slavery

After rejecting a proposal to move a Confederate monument, a white elected official in Mississippi said this week that African Americans “became dependent” during slavery.

White Lawmaker Likens Abortion Limits to Civil Rights Issue

A white Republican lawmaker invoked the name of a black civil rights leader Wednesday as the Mississippi Senate advanced a bill to ban abortion based on the race, sex or genetic anomalies of a fetus.

Mississippi Governor Might Not Block Change to Rebel-Themed Flag

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday, for the first time, that he probably would not stand in the way if legislators muster a large enough majority to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag.

Lobbying Grows Against Mississippi's Rebel-Themed Flag

University coaches and Christian ministers filled the Mississippi Capitol on Thursday, urging legislators to seize the moment and remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag while Americans are reckoning with difficult discussions about race and history.

Sheriff, Lawmaker Call Medical Marijuana Resolution 'Unsafe'

A Republican state representative, a sheriff and a Mississippi Board of Health official on Monday urged those who support some form of medical marijuana in Mississippi to vote for the more restrictive of the two proposals that will appear on the ballot in November.

After Victories, Medicaid Expansion Revisited in Mississippi

After voters expanded Medicaid in conservative states like Missouri and Oklahoma, health care advocates are renewing a push for expansion in Mississippi and other Southern states where Republican leaders have long been opposed.

MSU Receives Grants for Blindness Research and Solar Fuel, USM Online University Forum

The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research recently gave a five-year, $4 million grant to Mississippi State University's National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision to fund seven research projects focused on greater employment outcomes for people with blindness or low vision.

Power APAC Elementary Dropping Confederate’s Name; Students to Vote for New One

Changing the name of Jackson schools that reference past Confederate soldiers is not about erasing the past but giving the students a way to be proud, Power APAC Elementary School Principal Kescher Love Rankin told the Jackson Free Press Thursday.

Vaccine May Be Available for Some in Mississippi Next Month

A coronavirus vaccine could be available to health care workers and first responders in Mississippi as soon as next month, the state's top health officials said Thursday.

Azia’s Picks 1-8-2021

If you’re looking for a way to escape in the city, check out my upcoming picks. Remember to socialize responsibly, mask up and laugh more this weekend. You deserve it.

Legislature Struggles With COVID-19 Outbreak, Jackson Drive-Through Finally Opens

The Mississippi Legislature is grappling with yet another outbreak among its members, only a few short weeks into the 2021 session. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann announced on Thursday that two members of the Senate have tested positive for COVID-19.

Official: Less Than 5,000 Customers Without Water in Jackson

Less than 5,000 water customers were still without service Friday afternoon in Mississippi’s capital city of Jackson—a development a top official called “positive progress” for the city of 160,000, where some residents have been without water for three weeks.

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