Editor's Note
‘Shift Your Shopping’ During Independents Week
As we pause this week to consider what makes this country great, I'd like to suggest that you think about the small, local, independent businesses that make this region a …
LGBT
To Fetch a Pail of Water
This summer marks 25 years since I came out of the closet. Today, coming out happens so often in the world of the Hollywood A-listers, athletes, journalists and elected officials …
It’s Time to Fight for Disability Rights
At its core, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act is about discrimination. The federal act was passed in 1990, and Title II "prohibits discrimination on the basis of …
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 …
Editor's Note
Of Love and Orlando
The day before a gunman massacred 49 mostly Latino men and women at the gay club, Pulse, in Orlando, I was wandering through the Brooklyn Pride festival in New York …
Civil Rights
The American Dream?
It is silly to walk around this planet consumed with the idea that you are the only one who matters, but it is equally foolish not to think about your …
Politicizing Tragedy
The nation woke up Sunday to a horrific shock—the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history—that at least for now appears to be part terror, part hate crime.
Civil Rights
I Come from Mississippi
I come from Mississippi, where the struggle for racial harmony has always been particularly tough and violent.
Editor's Note
In Tough Times, Be Grateful
A few things have made me realize that it's important to give thanks every day—not just one day of the year.
Civil Rights
Mississippi: America’s Third World?
I came to the U.S. in my early 20s for college from my village in Middle Belt, Nigeria. Prior to that, I was an international student in neighboring West African …
City Council and Mayor: Get on Same Page
We can see it from both sides—Mayor Tony Yarber, after running on a platform of transparency, has dipped deep in to the rainy day fund and then brought it up …
The Greatest of All Time
During my childhood, Muhammad Ali was the ultimate symbol of blackness, which was a combination of intelligence, socio-political activism and style.
Editor's Note
Stand With Victims of Sexual Violence
On the one day a week that I'm allowed to sleep past noon, I woke before dawn to a flurry of Facebook shares of one victim's soul-rattling letter to her …
State
Told You So About #MSLeg
In the poorest, most woe-begotten state in the United States, the Mississippi Troika and their loyal minions have managed to cut even deeper into woefully underfunded state education, health care, …
Trafficking: An Ugly Reality in Mississippi
Human trafficking, a form of slavery, doesn't just happen overseas in prostitution rings or on television. It's a nasty, ugly reality—and it happens right here in Mississippi.
LGBT
Stinker Quote of the Week: 'At Risk'
Saying that women are "at risk" of sexual assault by allowing trans-inclusive bathroom policies is not only an argument for discrimination, but also untrue.
The Hustlers’ Time of Year
Brother Hustle: "Welcome to another Compensatory Investment Request Support Group meeting. To paraphrase the words of my favorite funk group WAR: 'Summer time is here / Yes, it's summer, the …
Editor's Note
Women Misrepresented in Media, Business
Recently, I watched the documentary "Miss Representation" by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The 2011 film focuses on the misrepresentation of women in mainstream society and the pressures we face because of …
Politics
Do You Have a Seat at the Table?
Where Mississippians once led at the forefront of the movement for change, it looks as though we have become content and reliant upon others.
Lawmakers: Stop Using Transgender Citizens as Political Pawns
In a state where lawmakers couldn't make domestic violence grounds for divorce, the same group of legislators claim that the protection of girls and women informs their decision to demand …
