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D.I.Y.: How to Play African Drums

Nelajah and Kenya Gowans, of the Kuumba Afrikan Drum and Dance Workshop, make it sound simple to learn to play African drums. Likewise, dance instructor Felicia Bell easily explains the connection between the drums and dancing.

Hob-Gate

Note: As the JFP went to press, the organizers of Hobstock cancelled the event altogether.

Reading from the Same Page

Back in 1961, during the dark days of Jim Crow when local African-Americans had to stage read-ins to get to the books in the public library, it would have been hard to imagine the entire city of Jackson reading the same book. Not only that, but reading the same book by an African-American man. A book about the trial of a young black man in Louisiana facing the electric chair for killing a white shopkeeper. During the botched robbery in "A Lesson Before Dying," the young man was not armed, and he had not pulled the trigger (sound eerily like a recent Mississippi death-penalty case?). This is still a difficult topic; in the 1960s it would have been near forbidden.

Online Exclusive: SPQ Quiz

1. Which of the following is NOT a man you need in your life at all times?

B. A man you can dance withC. A man you can shop withD. A man you can talk to

Dear Tougaloo

Five years ago, Dr. Roy L. Irons and an acquaintance attended a fund-raising gala in Memphis to benefit LeMoyne-Owens College, and got an idea. One year ago, the Tougaloo alumnist started garnering support from other Tougalooians, friends, and a cavalcade of metro businesses to hold the same benefit event for his alma mater. In conjunction with TRUST Marketing, Inc., the same company involved with the LeMoyne-Owens College event, Irons soon put his dream of helping his college into action. The first Two Rivers Gala will be held at the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center on April 5 at 7 p.m.

Home, My Home

Freddie Mac is guaranteeing up to $10 million in loans that SouthTrust Bank will be offering as mortgages to new homeowners in West Jackson, which can be used to buy or refurbish homes in the 1100 through 1300 blocks of Grand Avenue, south of West Capitol Street and parallel to Robinson Road. The loans, which require a lower down payment than standard mortgages, will be given to families identified by the Voice of Calvary Community Development Corp. as having completed classes on debt management and personal finance; once prepared, the new homeowner can borrow up to 120 percent of a home's value to be used for improvements or debt consolidation. The program is called "Catch the Dream Jackson."

[Talk] Home to Roost

The chickens George W. Bush hatched in January 2001 when he signed the No Child Left Behind education bill are starting to come home to roost. Now in the second year of high-stakes federal testing requirements that treat every student just alike—regardless of background, special-ed status or need for remediation—public schools are beginning to feel the pressure of federally required but under-funded tests. The NCLB standards may cause them to shut their doors if they can't figure out how to bring every student up to "proficient" (next to highest out of four levels) with the sole determination being the outcomes of controversial tests.

Victory for HIV Inmates

On March 31, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jerry A. Davis ended a 15-year-long lawsuit between the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) over the treatment of HIV-positive inmates. Judge Davis' federal court order demanded an end to all sanctioned discrimination against prisoners with HIV/AIDS banned from participation in community-work programs because of their illness.

Workers Rally Against Human Trafficking

A group of about 70 Indian workers marched onto the Mississippi State Capitol Thursday, March 20, protesting treatment by Pascagoula construction company Signal International, LLC.

Living Wage Protest at Clinton Wal-Mart

Several grass-roots organizations joined together on Tuesday in front of the Clinton Wal-Mart on Highway 80 to rally in support of a living wage. The group, comprised of members of the People's Freedom Caravan, protested against low wages and a lack of health coverage for Wal-Mart employees.

Damn these bills!

The Jackson City Council learned in a Monday meeting that the city may have to pay back $278,000 in federal grant money.

Dealing Death

The Senate passed a bill that expands the use of the death penalty in the state. Senate Bill 2921 provides that multiple murders in a single incident or a murder committed in conjunction with an attempted murder—a classification that did not exist in Mississippi until the Legislature took up a bill creating the classification this year—shall constitute capital murder, which comes with the possibility of a death sentence.

Police Department Saves $295,000

A 20-officer shortfall and decreased overtime in the Jackson Police Department are helping offset a $2.3 million drop in sales tax revenue this year.

Coalition Condemns Lewis Demotion

The Mississippi Coalition for Justice condemned Police Chief Malcolm McMillin's decision to demote former Deputy Chief Tyrone Lewis to sergeant on Monday.

Lumumba Seeks Ward 2 Slot

Jackson attorney Chokwe Lumumba announced his candidacy for Ward 2 Councilman Monday.

Gusher in the Gulf: June 2010

June 1: NOAA Fisheries Service revises the fishery closures to include more than 31 percent of the Gulf of Mexico.

Oh Yeah, The Plan

The Jackson City Council cut off Police Chief Shirlene Anderson before she could go into the details of her proposed modular misdemeanor jail on Monday, saying they were looking for a more detailed version of the chief's crime plan.

Coming Home

Medgar Evers' work has never been forgotten. To honor his memory, the Evers family has held a Medgar Evers Homecoming event each June. In 1973 Mayor Charles Evers and B.B. King collaborated to sponsor concerts in honor of the slain civil rights leader.

Hood Proposes Traffic Citation Increase to Fund Unit

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood wants to strengthen his agency's Vulnerable Adult Unit by raising some traffic citations by $1.

Scott Colom

A new attorney with the Mississippi Center for Justice, Scott Colom will spend the next two years working to combat predatory payday lending in the state. Colom is the recipient of a prestigious Skadden Fellowship, which helps new law school graduates enter public-interest fields by paying their salary for two years.

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