Mother Nature: First, Do No Harm
"Y'all are just against economic development." That ribbing came from a Levee Board member who shall remain anonymous due to drinks on the table (a pretty good rule for journalists, …
Fix the Smoking Ban
Jackson has taken a stand against smoking in public places, joining capital cities across the country that have banned indoor smoking from businesses, restaurants and bars. Health experts have long …
[Stiggers] Step Into Tomorrow
Boneqweesha Jones: "Welcome to Hair Did University School of Cosmetology and Vocational Studies Pre-Graduation Banquet. Our guest speaker is the honorable Congressman Smokey ‘Robinson' McBride. Congressman Smokey just arrived from …
Tune Up, Mississippi
For a long time, I've lived uneasily with the disturbing assumption that most of the people I know who love music (and I know a lot of them) either don't …
[Purvis] The Zen of Gardening
The weekend is over. I sit on my back patio, watching the endless parade of squirrels shimmying up trees and trotting across the top of my weathered-wood privacy fence. My …
[Balko] Watching the Detectives
George Orwell famously said, "If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face–forever." He may still be right.
I Still Believe
My mind was restless and my thoughts wandered as I sat on the second row in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church in downtown Jackson at the Extraordinary Women's conference …
Women's Fund Gets It Wrong … Twice
The Jackson Free Press has been a strong supporter of The Women's Fund—including giving proceeds raised by our production of "The Vagina Monologues" this year to the group. We applaud …
[Stiggers] The Four-Way Test
Miss Doodle Mae: "The staff of Jojo's Discount Dollar Store just finished the daily staff meeting, similar to the meeting seen on the television series ‘Hill Street Blues.' Our morning …
[Kamikaze] New Breed of Renaissance Man
If you're an avid fan of the NFL, then you were probably glued to your TV this past weekend as the 2010 draft unveiled America's newest millionaires. The draft always …
Family Values
Our history as a state and a nation is filled with atrocious efforts to destroy the self-esteem of black men. During the entire arc of slavery and then Jim Crow …
Things Can Change, Mississippi
Mississippi's prison system is in desperate need of reform. Under "tough on crime" legislation like increased zero-tolerance penalties for minor drug offenses and the 85-percent rule, which mandate that prisoners …
[Stiggers] Garment Of Destiny
Dear Disgruntled American Citizens: I want to make an appeal to you through this letter.
[Collier] Matters of the Heart
Just about all my formal education was whitewashed. The things I knew about the parts of American history that weren't white, I learned from my family.
[Balko] Justice Stevens' Mixed Record on Civil Liberties
Many hail retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens as a champion of the accused. Stevens, The New York Times editorial board opined, has a "record of being on the …
[Modak-Truran] And We're Rolling
The independent film scene is less robust than 20 years ago when it was the ultimate cool. The major studios have a tough enough time reaping profits today, and with …
Stop Stalling Flood Control
It becomes more clear with every Levee Board meeting that the strategy of hard-core Two Lakes development supporters is to stall any alternative plan that could render their plan moot—even …
Bring Back Cartoons
When did ads and previews start taking up 30 minutes of good quality movie time? When I was a kid, cartoons preceded every movie on the silver screen. And while …
[Stiggers] Naked Truth
Boneqweesha Jones: "This is a ‘Qweesha Live' television news special report! Let's go to TaaQweema Jenkins, Suma Cum Laude graduate of Hair-Did University School of Cosmetology, reporting live from the …
