Jackson Free Press

The Lumumba Legacy: What Happens Now?

Chokwe Lumumba was the first to admit that he was a radical. He was never satisfied with the status quo. He became a lawyer for the express purpose of defending …

Stolen Lives: Remembering the Tragedy of Slavery

An Instrument of Change

A half moon disappeared as the sun rose out of the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 1, 1832. The humid coastal winds filled the sails and carried the ship through the …

Legislature to Hold Hearings on Anti-Immigration Bill

Read more on immigration myths and realities

Scary Burbs

<i>Urban Flight May Shorten Your Life</i>

Last spring, during the media frenzy over crime in the city, I interviewed a Brandon woman who had been the victim of an armed robbery in Jackson. She wasn't physically …

Council Rejects Melton Budget; Stokes Drops Coup Effort

More details soon ...

Just got word that the City Council has rejected the Melton adminstration's new budget with its $3 increase in garbage fees. Also, Kenneth Stokes has withdrawn his coup attempt to …

Cries of Our Children: Prevent Suicide Now

Editor's Note: The date of the Contact training has been corrected in the story below.

Pass/Fail: Student Drug Testing For JPS?

Only three weeks after his election, Mayor Frank Melton announced that he would like to see all students in Jackson Public Schools tested for drug use. The announcement came at …

Lessons from Vietnam

This week, President George W. Bush made one more attempt to shore up support for our continuing war in Iraq by comparing our experience there to the war in Vietnam, …

[Collier] Rearing Ain't for Everybody

Picture it: A woman is rolled into Choose-a-Patron-Saint's-Name Hospital, writhing in pain, cursing men and pleading with God for mercy. The contractions are coming closer together and are more difficult …

McCain Camp Bummed at Lack of Third-Party Smear Money

Politico is reporting that third-party smear groups, such as the Swiftboat crowd, aren't likely to step forward to fill in McCain's money gap with ugly ads—and resurrect Rev. Wright so …

Medicaid: A Job Creator?

Mississippi hospitals worry about the rising cost of uncompensated care if the state declines to expand Medicaid to individuals who currently lack insurance.

Voters: Obama Wins Debate 53-22 (CBS); 58-31 (CNN)

Well, that's done. Well done, Obama. Well done.

My Advice to James ‘Kingfish' Hendrix

I woke up this morning very concerned about a particular race that appears on some area ballots. No, it's not Personhood, voter ID or the governor's race, although I'm very …

AP Finds Falsehoods in Ryan, GOP Speeches

A closer look at some of the words spoken at the GOP convention in Tampa, Fla.:

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Overwhelmed Locals, Hesitant Feds

A New York Times analysis dissects what went wrong last week in Louisiana:

Small Business Associations Recommend Reform

Small business owners are nervous about a potential new round of taxes connected to H.R. 3200, the embattled health-care reform bill being knocked around in Congress.

Don't Call Me Ma'am

"Yes, ma'am." "No, ma'am." "Ma'am this, ma'am that." If there is anything I absolutely despise, it is the tendency of people in my home state to call me "ma'am." I …

Ridgeland Bans Pit Bulls

Yesterday, aldermen in the Jackson, Miss., suburb of Ridgeland joined nearby Clinton and Richland in passing an ordinance banning pit bulls. The Ridgeland ordinance also bans Staffordshire bull terriers, American …

JFP Voter Guide 2003 - Statewide

<b>Just Who Are these Guys and Gals?</b>

Democratic incumbent Ronnie Musgrove, 47, was a two-term state senator and former Mississippi lieutenant governor before replacing Kirk Fordice as the state's governor. Musgrove, who grew up poor and worked …

The Untold Thousands

Life is bleak for many unwanted animals in Mississippi.