Jackson Free Press

The Christian Science Monitor just ran a piece about Frank Melton called Mayor's tough tack on crime stirs up racial sensitivities:

ATLANTA – Wielding a badge of dubious origin and a loaded gun, mayoral candidate Frank Melton vowed to clean up crime in Jackson, Miss., with a slick slogan: "Help is on the way!" So when the mayoral candidate won, he took an unusual step of assisting police with drug stops or standing by at roadblocks. Mr. Melton's even engaged in racial profiling, critics say. The American Civil Liberties Union cites complaints that people have been pulled over based on their race and searched without cause. The twist: Melton is black.

"The mayor as a black man clearly does not fit the profile of a racial profiler, but what's even more confusing is that he's not a law enforcement officer - and we usually don't think of racial profiling being done by someone outside the law enforcement community," says Richard Forgette, a political science professor at the University of Mississippi.

Gun shots, murders, and robberies have become common in Jackson, a city of 184,000 residents, 70 percent of whom are black. The key reason why Melton beat his opponent with 88 percent of the vote last summer was because he campaigned on cutting the crime rate.

In the first six months of 2006, crime has increased by 26 percent, prompting the mayor to institute a state of emergency in June. He's implemented a strict curfew for teenagers and homeless people.

Melton does have a softer side. He's known to take young charges in to mentor them, and pull city school buses over on the interstate so he can hug the children inside.

Melton says he is a deputized volunteer sheriff, although neither Mississippi nor Texas has a record of his certification. His habit of wearing a sidearm on airplanes has alarmed federal air-control officials.

Critics of Melton's tough tactics say they are an illegal attempt to appease whites in a city that has lost many of its middle-class residents who have given up hope of a resurgence, experts say.

"He's got a lot of Rudy Giuliani qualities in that there's a lot of lip going along with the action," says Sid Salter, a political columnist for the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. "He has succeeded in the Deep South in a town that has had its difficulties by bringing people together, by communicating with blacks and whites, but ... crime and urban blight and poverty are far more complex issues than Frank deals with in his world. He's like a kid playing cowboy."

Previous Comments

ID

122747

Comment

Is it a "softer side" or a "questionable side" as it relates to the real intention of melton taking "young in to mentor them, and pull city school buses over on the interstate so he can hug the children inside." ---ain't nothing wrong but, something ain't right.

Author

justjess

Date

2006-08-07T11:17:13-06:00

ID

122748

Comment

Donna, I love this place. But for the love of whichever diety you hold fondly in your heart, could you please tell us when you've only quoted a section of the article? I'm not mad, it's just that I realized you do this all the time! :D As for the article; Meh. There is one interesting point in it, however. [quote]"It's a fact that a white mayor would probably be more inhibited about cracking down on black crime than a black mayor cracking down on black crime," he says.[/quote] Profiling is one thing, but can it be profiling when you have a black mayor, black chief of police, black cops, and black criminals? How do you define that?

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-08-07T12:56:02-06:00

ID

122749

Comment

Ironghost, I *never* post a full article, or allow other people to. It's a violation of copyright to do so, so *always* assume you should link to the articles cited here to get the whole thing.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T13:38:32-06:00

ID

122750

Comment

IG, you should know that. No message board allows members to post full articles. (thwaps hubby with large trout) :D

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2006-08-07T14:27:38-06:00

ID

122751

Comment

Hey, you two, domestic violence violates the User Agreement. ; (smile)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T14:34:36-06:00

ID

122752

Comment

But I'm not hurting the trout! What? :D I'll back out and let y'all resume the official conversation... sorry for the hijack.

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2006-08-07T14:44:12-06:00

ID

122753

Comment

That's OK. Butt in anytime, especially to keep that worst-half of yours in line. ;-P I, so, owe Iron a few.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T14:45:25-06:00

ID

122754

Comment

Yerg. It's okay, I know where she lives. :D I wasn't specifically asking to post everything, mind you (or if I did I immediately, retroactively and completely withdraw any mention of it: You didn't see that, did you?). I'd just like a warning or a gentle reminder that the rest of the article might like, be elsewhere. I'm getting old and senile, ya know. Innocently, Ironghost

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-08-07T14:52:27-06:00

ID

122755

Comment

If Ironghost weren't such a venerable and experienced blogger here, I'd suggest we change is name to Mr. Lady Havoc, aka Trouthead.

Author

kate

Date

2006-08-07T16:18:33-06:00

ID

122756

Comment

hurting the trout? oh, I love this place. we all need some good care, and it's here.

Author

sunshine

Date

2006-08-07T16:26:28-06:00

ID

122757

Comment

p.s. just how 'old' are you, Mr. Ironhost? and how innocent...hehe. I am older by far, but more innocent. and - 'ya know' is a northern thing, love that talk. you from up there? I'm going there tomorrow, see the cow parade in Madison. not kidding. it's like the catfish, but bigger. time to pack. will miss y'all. be back.

Author

sunshine

Date

2006-08-07T16:36:54-06:00

ID

122758

Comment

If Ironghost weren't such a venerable and experienced blogger here, I'd suggest we change is name to Mr. Lady Havoc, aka Trouthead. Or, we could skip the middle-woman and just call him Mrs. Trouthead. I do have the power, you know. ;-D

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T16:41:42-06:00

ID

122759

Comment

Donna, you rule. I will not go on with heroine worship, I could but I won't. Have to pack.

Author

sunshine

Date

2006-08-07T16:57:43-06:00

ID

122760

Comment

Have a safe trip, sunshine. I'm headed back to Chi-town myself again in a few. (Do they actually call it that, or is it one of those tourist-y names like Frisco and the Big Apple that people who live there would never use in a million decades?)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T17:11:14-06:00

ID

122761

Comment

Trout-head? Nope. I have a name. Innocent? That's a debate. :D Old? I'm celebrating anniversaries of my 29th birthday.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-08-07T17:55:57-06:00

ID

122762

Comment

He's got a lot of Rudy Giuliani qualities in that there's a lot of lip going along with the action," says Sid Salter, a political columnist for the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. No offense, and I know Giuliani is not the most loved politican here. But, Mayor Melton and Mayor Giuliani aren't even on the same planet as far as leadership and governance goes! Sid ought to retract that statement before Giuliani sues the Ledge for defamation! I don't even think you can compare their crime fighting techniques. Just saying Giuliani and Melton were tough on crime (or like to crack "thugs" skulls) and talked big doesn't cut it. Like his plan or not, at least Giuliani had a plan that eventually yielded results. Yes, it was costly to the city and some of what happened wasn't favorable. But, in no way is Melton even close to accomplishing what happened in NYC during Giuliani's time in office. And that is without 9/11. It is the most amazing thing how people are so quick to give Melton a "mystique" that is unearned and undeserved.

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-08-07T17:59:26-06:00

ID

122763

Comment

Rudy, indeed, had his problems—including public accountability issues and a flippant attitude toward the Constitution, not to mention being a sound-bite king. However, those comparisons would have been more apt during the campaign as a way of explaining why Melton might not live up to his talk, or might cost the city millions in lawsuits as Rudy did New York. And Rudy didn't do nearly for NYC what he is given credit for (crime fell just as dramatically in cities without his draconian policies that led to so much police brutality and murder during the same period of time, which also coincided with the economic recovery under Clinton). But I don't remember Salter opening his mouth about the Rudy-Frank similiarities then. Where was he when the editorial boys were endorsing Melton so enthusiastically? Now, though, the comparison is really silly, considering the stuff Melton does that Giuliani would think of doing. So, ultimately, I agree.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T18:07:41-06:00

ID

122764

Comment

And it's interesting to interview a columnist who doesn't live in Jackson about Melton at this point. Of course, I guess it's hard to find a Ledge editor who lives in the city, eh?

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T18:08:24-06:00

ID

122765

Comment

Oh, and don't forget that Giuliani's policies were based on strong, some would say draconian, gun-control laws. Any comparison, as Melton's lapdogs were wont to do, without acknowledging that, would be really stupid. During the campaign, Melton was against any gun-control laws -- although on that point, he has now moved closer to Rudy.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T18:10:41-06:00

ID

122766

Comment

"...which also coincided with the economic recovery under Clinton)." Ladd You mean which coincided with the rise of the personal computer and the internet! ;-)

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-08-07T18:19:48-06:00

ID

122767

Comment

Part of my point was about the "mystique" of Melton. Think of all the BS names he's been given by different press outlets and people. They would rather a persona lead us then an actual person.

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-08-07T18:26:19-06:00

ID

122768

Comment

Giuliani sucked in many ways, but at least you could kind of tell he wanted to see the city succeed. I'm not sure the same can be said of Melton. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-07T18:29:03-06:00

ID

122769

Comment

BTW, I wasn't singing Clinton's praises there. Don't like lying, cheatin' scoundrels. It was just a factual statement. Speaking of lyin, cheatin' scoundrels, Giuliani was one of the worst when it came to how he "left" his wife one day at a press conference. She was living with him in Gracie Mansion—everyone knew it wasn't a real marriage anymore, but still—and the man actually told the media before he told her that he was getting a divorce. It's remarkable now that a political party that pretends to be the carrier pigeon for family values would even consider making this man their nominee. And he's pro-choice and a gun-control fanatic to boot. Go figger.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T18:29:57-06:00

ID

122770

Comment

And amen. Melton is not a "maverick," a "lawman," or a "cowboy." This is not Have Gun Will Travel; this is a real city with real people in it and they deserve a certain amount of respect. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-07T18:30:04-06:00

ID

122771

Comment

I agree with that point, Tom. He did/does love New York City. I do not think Mr. Melton loves Jackson, or even thinks about its success that often. It's been more of a convenient landing pad, a forgiving home-away-from-home, for him and his obsessions. That is, he's played us for dumbasses, and we've gone along for the ride.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T18:31:23-06:00

ID

122772

Comment

And agreed on Giuliani. He makes Clinton, who at least never showed any interest in wanting to divorce Hillary or publicly treat her in a disrespectful way, look like a shining example of marital fidelity. I have also heard from more than one place that he may be about to flip-flop on the abortion issue to get conservative primary voters. If he ends up doing that, I think it should place him squarely in the scumbag category. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-07T18:33:13-06:00

ID

122773

Comment

I don't know if I would say Clinton looks *better* compared to Giuliani, but it would be absurd to try to say that what he did was worse than the public embarassment of Donna Hanover, Rudy's wife and mother of his children. I'll never forget her crying in public. I wouldn't vote for this man if he was running against a radical wingnut like Barbour. He has no soul, as far as I can see. As for the abortion flipflop, that would be disgustingly remarkable to do just for votes. Guess he's studied the southern strategery, eh?

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T18:36:35-06:00

ID

122774

Comment

And yeah--Giuliani's love for New York was obvious. In that respect he was a faithful lover! But the city our mayor really loves is over in Texas, I think. I do think Melton does, or at least once did, genuinely care about at-risk youth in this city, but there's no trace of that in the man who described an 18-year-old citizen, who had never been indicted, as a "damn thug." It's fashionable to say this about Bush, but I wonder sometimes if there might be some degenerative medical factor beyond Melton's control that's responsible for his erratic behavior. It is difficult to imagine how a man with Mayor Melton's poor judgment ever ended up in the position Frank Melton was in before he ran. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-07T18:36:55-06:00

ID

122775

Comment

I was poking some fun about Clinton. Like Melton's WLBT, he had the rise of NBC night time shows to help his station become a local leader. Had the internet and computer not come along, it would have been a different decade. Lord knows we don't need to get into how some politicans treated their wives. That cuts across a wide spectrum!

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-08-07T18:37:06-06:00

ID

122776

Comment

Oh, and then how Rudy started showing up defiantly in public everywhere holding the hand of his long-time mistress, what's-her-name. Mr. Family Values, no doubt. Maybe he'll come out against adultery now, too?

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T18:37:48-06:00

ID

122777

Comment

I actually think an examination of how someone treats his/her spouse, not to mention children, is a direction indication of the level of integrity inside them. If they will lie to those who love them the most, what will they do/say to the rest of us? I can go Dr. Laura on your ass on this one. I do think Melton does, or at least once did, genuinely care about at-risk youth in this city, but there's no trace of that in the man who described an 18-year-old citizen, who had never been indicted, as a "damn thug." Amen. There is no soul there, either. Only a politician with the heart of a thug would believe such a thing.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T18:40:27-06:00

ID

122778

Comment

Donna writes: I don't know if I would say Clinton looks *better* compared to Giuliani, Well, yeah, we are pretty much sniffing turds and trying to decide which one smells more like honeysuckle at this point. but it would be absurd to try to say that what he did was worse than the public embarassment of Donna Hanover, Rudy's wife and mother of his children. I'll never forget her crying in public. That's the exact moment when I decided I'd never like Giuliani as a human being, regardless of my opinion of him as a politician. I wouldn't vote for this man if he was running against a radical wingnut like Barbour. He has no soul, as far as I can see. I don't expect politicians to have souls, so if it came down to Giuliani v. Barbour for president, I guess I'd probably choose Giuliani purely on practical considerations (more likely to be a progressive Supreme Court, for starters). But gosh, would I ever hold my nose for that vote. As for the abortion flipflop, that would be disgustingly remarkable to do just for votes. Guess he's studied the southern strategery, eh? Indeed. Though it looks to me like he had already adopted the Rockefeller modification on the Southern Strategy ("law and order"), with great political success, in New York. The man is a pro; I'll give him that. But I don't want him anywhere near the White House. We should let him settle down and teach political science at some university somewhere--and keep a close eye on the amount of time he spends with the female grad students under his direction... Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-07T18:42:38-06:00

ID

122779

Comment

Donna writes: Oh, and then how Rudy started showing up defiantly in public everywhere holding the hand of his long-time mistress, what's-her-name. Mr. Family Values, no doubt. Maybe he'll come out against adultery now, too? I don't know, but if I ever hear him utter one of those ridiculously melodramatic phrases like "land of the sodomite damned," I'm going to laugh my fool head off. And the more I think about it, the less sure I am that I'd vote for Giuliani over Barbour. Barbour, at least, seems to love his wife. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-07T18:45:50-06:00

ID

122780

Comment

Sniffing turds, indeed. ;-D Touché on the "law and order" adjustment. Indeed.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-07T18:55:38-06:00

ID

122781

Comment

About the only comparison I can find for Melton, even remotely, to *anyone* who has garnered public attention is Ross Perot. Had he of been President, he would be running our country like Melton runs Jackson.

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-08-07T20:31:56-06:00

ID

122782

Comment

Speaking of which... /video link (sfw)

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-08-07T20:44:16-06:00

ID

122783

Comment

Profiling is one thing, but can it be profiling when you have a black mayor, black chief of police, black cops, and black criminals? How do you define that?- Ironghost Clearly Melton isn't harassing enough of you white boys for the ACLU's tastes, IG. Maybe if he spent the next 9 months targeting the whites in Heatherwood and Eastover and ignoring Ward 3 it might balance things out. About the only comparison I can find for Melton, even remotely, to *anyone* who has garnered public attention is Ross Perot. Had he of been President, he would be running our country like Melton runs Jackson. - pikersam That's why I couldn't vote for Melton. The more he spoke the less I liked him because he sounded so much like Perot, a little unhinged. And the ears were a dead giveaway.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2006-08-07T21:25:20-06:00

ID

122784

Comment

Man, this is where Melton hamstrung himself. If the public had the crime statistics, ejeff and I could pick them apart and figure out if Frankie has a problem or not. Melton may have the typical Class problem that we attribute to Rich White Suburbanites. I dunno.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-08-07T22:58:29-06:00

ID

122785

Comment

The Ross Perot comparison is brilliant! Ironghost writes: Profiling is one thing, but can it be profiling when you have a black mayor, black chief of police, black cops, and black criminals? How do you define that? This demonstrates a problem with how people are educated about racial profiling in this country. Racial profiling is not necessarily just a simple case where white Officer Bubba Jones arrests more black dope smokers than white dope smokers and that makes him a bad ol' bigot, like this is all Mississippi Burning or In the Heat of the Night and if we get rid of the rednecks everything will be okay. It's more institutional than that. Racial profiling is when police harass and search people of color, and treat targeted people of color worse than they treat targeted whites, regardless of intent. If you search blacks because you think they'll let you but don't search whites because you don't think they will, that's racial profiling. If you search blacks because you think the statistical odds are greater that they'll have drugs on them, that's racial profiling. And if you're a mayor and allow police to beat up a young black suspect because he's a "damn thug," knowing that if the suspect was white you'd have the officers' heads mounted on your wall, that is sure as hell a part of the racial profiling problem. Everybody knows I gave Melton the benefit of the doubt until then, but the second the phrase "damn thug" came out of his mouth, I gave up on him. He is a completely worthless mayor and the only thing I want from him is his resignation. Now, I don't mind if Melton focuses a disproportionate amount of his attention on areas where crime is the highest, even if those happen to be predominantly black areas. Every police chief we've ever had did that. That's simple crimefighting, and that's not what racial profiling is. Racial profiling is when you treat people living in those areas like crap, then treat your Eastover and Belhaven and Fondren whites like kings. Racial profiling is when you pull over friends who visit my house because black folks "aren't supposed to be here." Racial profiling is when you target low-income black areas of town because you know you can ride around in your magic Reading Rainbow bus, and curse at young women about whether they're "fucking" their jobless boyfriends, and "ask" for searches and get them from scared teenagers, and bang on doors with shotgun in hand, and just generally have a ball because, hell, they're black and poor and what are they going to do about it. That kind of attitude increases crime and destroys the police-community relationship. Melton should be ashamed of himself. More to the point, he should be impeached. Personally, I think police who practice racial profiling in 2006 usually profile not because--or at least not just because--they're personally harboring racial hostility, but because they know that they can treat black people like dirt and get away with it. Judging from this mayor's actions, they're absolutely right. Peace, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-07T23:05:07-06:00

ID

122786

Comment

I have seen racial profiling of the opposite kind. When I used to go rent collecting on Friday nights in West jackson, we went through areas where drugs were sold openly. If you were white, the cops would stop you. Might have been profiling but that was the way it was. And to be candid, unless you had an address in those areas which was doubtful and were white, you probably had no legal business in the first place in those areas either, as you rarely saw those cars going to say, a friend's house etc.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2006-08-07T23:14:09-06:00

ID

122787

Comment

Seems like Melton's getting a lot of nationwide publicity - for all the worng reasons. I said it before and I'll say it again: This ain't "Lean On Me"!

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2006-08-12T23:20:08-06:00