All results / Stories / Leslie McLemore II
Politics
OPINION: ‘Star Wars’ and Blerds
In 2017, being labeled a black nerd, or a blerd, is seemingly a badge of honor. But a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, being labeled a ...
City & County
Harsh Words (and Love) for Jackson and Mississippi
As a former Jacksonian looking into the city from D.C. with a powerful set of binoculars, I can't help but ask myself, "What the hell is going on?"
Civil Rights
Rest in Paradise, Julian Bond
Julian Bond was a figure I had looked up to for many, many years due to his lifelong mission to combat inequality.
National
The Joel Osteen Transaction
Obtaining wealth through teaching the word of Jesus clash with each other. This clash is so violent that I ask how one who has gained so much wealth by teaching ...
Civil Rights
What If He Were White?
The tragic death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., leaves us with an opportunity to embrace the simple notion of empathy just as Grisham's fictitious jurors did.
LGBT
Equal-Opportunity Bullets
If one peeked through the veil of gun freedom rhetoric, he or she may take issue with our gun culture and discover it to be a bullet-riddled illness that has ...
My Coming Out Story
The LGBT community grows every year during National Coming Out Day. During this day of courage, "hidden" members of the LGBT community have a chance to reveal their true selves ...
Civil Rights
Russia Hackers Pale Beside Domestic Voter Suppression
Scary as this may sound, foreign Russian influence doesn't hold a candle to home-cooked voter suppression.
National
Clockwork Gun Violence
It's like clockwork, at this point. There's a deadly shooting in this country, followed by an ocean of "thoughts and prayers," then a debate over whether more gun control is ...
Civil Rights
What I Learned from “Law and Order SVU”
While obtaining a Ph.D in "Law and Order SVU," I acquired a real-world understanding of how beneficial an individual's civil liberties are when navigating the criminal-justice system.
Recipes for Extremism
In his National Prayer Breakfast speech, President Barack Obama attempted to bridge the gap between Christians and Muslims when he rightfully stated that extremists who commit evil acts in the ...
Civil Rights
Obama and the Black Millennial
When black millennials witness such blatant ignorance parade its orange head on the national stage, we always ask ourselves, “Could Obama get away with this?” I contend that the average ...
Politics
The 'Obama Effect' and the Jackson Mayoral Race
As local news stations and media outlets continually display nefarious activities committed by young African American men, it’s refreshing to witness young African American men being featured for reasons other ...
Justice
SB2681: A Sinister and Heinous Attempt to Unseparate Church and State
On its surface, Religious Freedom Restoration Act appears to harmlessly promote an individual's religious right. But similar to an iceberg, the body of the bill is latent through a form ...
Politics
On Post-9/11 Unity
When people recall the events of 9/11, they generally view it as a day of immense tragedy. Yes, heroic actions took place that no billion-dollar comic-book movie will ever be ...
Civil Rights
Police Killings: Action, Reaction
I believe that everything doesn't happen for a reason. Sometimes, reason is thrown out the window, and one simply becomes afflicted with either fortunate or unfortunate luck.
Civil Rights
OPINION: Serena Williams, Achieving Unboxed Wonders
For #BlackGirlMagic in the form of Serena and Naomi to dominate a sport meant for the white upper class is to rage against the mayo-flavored patriarchal machine.
LGBT
Blame Me for HB 1523, the New Jim Crow Legislation in Mississippi
I, along with many others, should receive part of the blame for this resurgence of discrimination and bigotry across our state. I left, I got educated, and I didn’t come ...
An Open Letter to My Daughter
Discriminatory practices are and must continue to be challenged in the legal, policy, judiciary, corporate and executive arenas. Victory in such arenas must be achieved through political participation, litigation and ...
Civil Rights
OPINION: A Better World for Harper
Sexual violence in America is as common as apple pie, so when reports of rampant acts of sexual assault and harassment became headline news over the last few months, my ...
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