State Needs Real Transparency
Mississippi, we have a problem. Governmental bodies and agencies from right here in Jackson (city, JPS and JPD) all the way up through state (secretary of state's office) have a …
[Stiggers] Hustle and Barter
"Thank you for keeping hope and my business alive in 2011."
[Letter to the Editor] Vol. 9, No. 20
Dear Sirs (really just Todd Stauffer),
Dear Sirs (really just Todd Stauffer), I should have written this letter while the last issue was still on the newsstands, but I had to summon the courage. As a …
[Rhodes] Jackson: A Beloved Community
"The end is reconciliation, the end is redemption, the end is the creation of the beloved community." —Martin Luther King Jr.
The Secret is ... People
I thought about going back into the JFP archives to check and see how many of these publisher's notes in previous Best of Jackson issues I've started with, "You hold …
[Balko] Justice for Sal
Last week The Washington Post reported that Sal Culosi's parents have reached a $2 million settlement with Fairfax County, Va., police Detective Deval Bullock, who shot and killed the 38-year-old …
[Kamikaze] Taking a Stand
I've always said if change were going to come in Jackson, it wouldn't come easy. I've known for years that some folks would have be dragged kicking and screaming into …
The New American Myth
When I was 6 years old, the concept of zero made my brain hurt. "How can there be nothing?" I wailed in utter frustration. "Even when you take away all …
Stand Up to Senate Scheme for Votes
The Mississippi Senate shamed our state Tuesday when it approved an Arizona-style anti-immigrant law that will require law enforcement to profile anyone they think could be an "illegal" immigrant and …
[Stiggers] Le Swanky Steak Shack
"It's funny how a lot of people perpetrating disrespect toward ethnic minorities expect them to smile and be pleasant always. Those smiling and shuffling days are gone. Today, ethnic minorities …
[Dennis] Defensive Reflex
Are we ready, yet, to have a serious and civil conversation about guns, violence, and hate?
[Balko] The Year in Clemency
It was a strange year for clemency, the often misunderstood and generally misused power that allows the president and governors to grant pardons (which overturn convictions) and commutations (which reduce …
[Collier] Single Black Female
For much of 2010, it seemed everyone from ABC to CNN to RT (formerly Russia Today, a worldwide English-speaking channel) were concerned about my single dating status. Well, not me, …
The Color of Love
"You don't know who you are, holding that cracker's hand!" I heard a woman say as my husband and I walked down the street in San Diego. At first I …
Politicians: Tone Down the Rhetoric
The United States changed Saturday morning, Jan. 8, when an apparently mentally disturbed man took out his anti-government venom by trying to assassinate a U.S. congresswoman, and killing a little …
[Stiggers] Random Stuff Happens
My advice to my fellow constituents is to stay ready and be secure, because random stuff happens in desperate times.
Put Up or Shut Up, Progressives
2011 is already promising to be a tumultuous year, particularly in Mississippi. Legislators have numerous crises to confront in this year, most of them rising from not having enough revenue …
[Balko] The System's Epic Fail
When the SWAT team came for Richard Paey in 1997, it battered down the front door of the home in Pasco County, Fla., where he lived with his wife, Linda, …
The Hard Stuff
Evelyn Rasco believed in the power of story when no one else did. After her daughters, Jamie and Gladys Scott, went to prison for life for a 1993 robbery with …
Building A Future that Works
Beginning a brand-new clean calendar at the turn of the year provides all of us the perfect opportunity to take stock of the past and make changes for a better …
