Don’t Politicize Special-Needs Education
Recent legislative deliberations, which come in the context of a larger debate over Mississippi's education crisis, have a whiff of election-year pandering in the same way politicians try to churn …
Politics
Stinker Quote of the Week: 'Chained'
No, we don't keep women chained to stoves down here in Mississippi—but we do plenty else that's harmful.
Civil Rights
Like A Tree Without Roots
Miss Doodle Mae: "Jojo's Discount Dollar Store is ready to educate the Ghetto Science Community during Black History Month with the 'From Here to Timbuktu Sale.'
Education
Why I Fight for Education Funding
Only about 30 percent of student achievement comes from in-school factors such as teachers, principals and class size; almost 70 percent comes from outside factors such as poverty, parents and …
City & County
Superheroes in Jackson?
I always want to imagine what it would be like if Jackson had superheroes. It's got the right atmosphere for a comic book world—varied types of architecture, slums, an overwhelming …
Business
A Union Presence
Even the unofficial presence of a union and its supporters help workers long before an election is held and can force a company to act right.
Dads Are Great, But Don’t Ignore Moms
Most problematic—and indeed dangerous—is the underlying implication that the mere presence of adult testosterone is some kind of magic wand that can solve all problems.
City & County
On Life and Crime in South Jackson
I don't like the term "black-on-black crime." Crime is crime, and it happens in all communities, some more than others. The difference is in how we organize as a community …
Editor's Note
Every Single Life Matters
We're living through one of those difficult times in Jackson when fear and distrust of "the other" reach a fevered pitch due to a high-profile crime.
The Best Jackson Has to Offer
Jackson has no shortage of cool people, places and things to do. The stiff competition during Best of Jackson makes that clear. The creativity, enthusiasm and hospitality of our city …
Keep Lifting Up the Dialogue in Jackson
In the last week or so, Jackson Free Press editors have been participating in encouraging conversations on social media and the Nextdoor neighborhood sites, and in the office, about preventing …
Awesome Quote of the Week: 'Opportunity'
Surprise, sur-freaking-prise that Jeff Good, one of the city's most unwavering cheerleaders and all-around nicest dudes, would have the line that best captures the spirit of the Best of Jackson.
Hustlin’ to be the Best
Brother Hustle: "Welcome to the first meeting of the 2015 Compensatory Investment Request Support Group."
Editor's Note
Acknowledging Our ‘Best’ Once Again
You hold in your hands (or you're viewing online) the culmination of many months' worth of planning and effort—the 2015 Best of Jackson issue.
Civil Rights
We Must Finish King’s Work
Unfortunately, many have reduced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to a mere dreamer and tried to remove the work he was doing at the end of his life from all …
City Needs A Stronger Customer-Relations Framework
After eight months in office, Mayor Tony Yarber points to his office's listening tours, which travel around the city and give citizens an opportunity to air their grievances, as one …
Education
Stinker Quote of the Week: 'Change'
The way Snowden and the Republican leadership are trying to ram the alternative amendment through, it's clear that they're opposed to adequate school funding, no matter what the constitution says …
Politics
Another Do-Nothing Legislature?
For the past four years, I have read almost every bill presented to the House and Senate, and most of them are complete and utter nonsense.
Editor's Note
More to Lose If I Don’t
On the no-frills DASH diet, I have given up nothing that matters to me; cutting back sodium has been the hardest, because it's in so much more than just the …
Immigration
Jesus, the Migrant
In her new book "Jesus Was A Migrant," writer Deirdre Cornell says migration is central to "biblical spirituality" and the chosen people themselves were "displaced, uprooted, homeless" migrants.
