Story
UK Police: Cyber Crooks Could Have Stolen Millions
A daring attempt to graft a rogue piece of hardware onto a computer at a London branch of Spanish bank Santander could have drained millions of pounds (dollars) from its …
Story
Voter Survey Finds 98 Percent Have ID
Secretary of State's office will use survey results for Voter ID outreach.
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Person of the Day
MSU Stars
The last few weeks have been rewarding for Mississippi State University. Good news started coming the Bulldogs' way even before the Thanksgiving holiday.
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City & County
City of Jackson Suspends Recycling Program
The City of Jackson announced on Monday, Aug. 12, that it will suspend the curbside recycling program starting on Sept. 1. Residents will receive one more collection before or by …
Story
In Bipartisan Nod, GOP-Led Mississippi Senate Commends Obama
The Republican-led Mississippi Legislature has resisted much of President Barack Obama's agenda, but in an apparent bipartisan gesture of goodwill, the state Senate adopted a resolution Thursday calling the Democrat …
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City & County
Mayor Lumumba Issues Statement in Support of George Floyd Demonstration and Black Lives Matter Movement
“Today, as we all pause to commemorate the life of George Floyd, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to his family and loved ones. I stand in solidarity with the Black …
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State
Snow, Sleet Predicted for Parts of Mississippi
Portions of southeastern Mississippi could see an accumulation of snow and sleet Tuesday into Wednesday morning, according to National Weather Service predictions.
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Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence Coalition: State Needs to Support Victims
More than a dozen domestic violence activists gathered at the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence headquarters on May 11 in response to the failure of SB 2418, the 'divorce bill' …
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Bodysoul
Stay Stress Free
As you head into college, upcoming homework assignments and finals are inevitable, but even though the work is unavoidable, the accompanying stress doesn't have to be.
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Multiple People Shot at California Social Services Center
One or more gunmen opened fire Wednesday at a Southern California social services center, shooting multiple people, authorities said.
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B.B. King's Mississippi Gravesite Getting Memorial Courtyard
Nearly seven months after blues legend B.B. King died, his Mississippi gravesite is being turned into a serene spot where blues fans can pay their respects.
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Bryan's Rant
Super Mississippi Ties
Mississippi will enjoy plenty of representation in Super Bowl XLIX this Sunday. Several players on the roster played high school or college football in our state.
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Bryan's Rant
World Series Repeat?
Last year, we saw a great sports moment in our state: Mississippi State not only reached the College World Series but made it all the way to the championship.
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Person of the Day
Shelby Osborne
Next season, Campbellsville University in Kentucky will take on Shelby Osborne, who will be college football's first female cornerback.
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Politics
Dispute Over Mississippi House Race Goes to State High Court
The Mississippi Supreme Court acted quickly Monday to block a circuit judge's order in a dispute over whether a special election is needed to fill a vacancy in the state …
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State
Entergy Mississippi to Increase Renewable Energy Sources
One of the largest electricity providers in Mississippi said Wednesday that it intends to shut down some aging natural gas power generating plants over the next five years and expand …
Entry
Everyday People Everyday: Two #JxnMayor Theme Songs
By R.L. NaveGo to any campaign event for either candidate, and you'll hear it.
Both Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber and Chokwe A. Lumumba claim to be the everyman who represents "everyday people." In fact, Yarber incorporates the phrase in his campaign literature and stump speeches. Lumumba has also adopted the mantra, to tie into his family's history of legal and civil-rights activism, especially for the poor.
Inevitably, you'll also hear something else: the familiar chorus of Sly & and the Family Stone's 1969 hit "Everyday People." At Yarber's events, the song plays as if it's on a timer. At Lumumba functions, the song appears in a slightly different form, as a sample in the 1992 song "People Everyday" from hip-hop group Arrested Development.
Both are great songs that celebrate diversity and question racial and ethnic prejudice. The songs also highlight generational differences in the candidates' bases.
The average Yarber voter, I suspect, is older, and maybe of the Motown generation For them, songs like "Everyday People" comprised part of the soundtrack of their youth, a time when the nation was amid cultural upheaval.
The Family Stone sings:
There is a long hair/ That doesn't like the short hair/ For being such a rich one/ That will not help the poor one/ Different strokes/ For different folks
"People Everyday," a Lumumba favorite, on the other hand, is emblematic of the conscious Afrocentricity that permeated hip-hop in the early and mid-90s. For a lot of people, Lumumba's father, the late mayor, embodied a lot of that spirit. I'd guess that the prototypical Lumumba enthusiast is younger, a Generation X-er or millennial, who was drawn to his father's revolutionary political philosophies that rejected bourgeois complacency.
"People Everyday" speaks to this; Arrested Development group member Speech rhymes in the song:
So they came to test Speech cause of my hair-do/ And the loud bright colors that I wear [Boo!]/ I was a target cause I'm a fashion misfit/ And the outfit that I'm wearing brothers dissin' it
It's now been a generation since Arrested Development came on the scene (use the phrase today and people assume you're referring to the cult mockumentary). And they came on the scene a generation after Sly and the Family Stone.
Interestingly, Lumumba and Yarber—31 and 36, respectively—and their candidacies embody the same kind of generational blending, between "old head" and "thundercat," as "Everyday People" and "People Everyday."
Tonight, after the ballots are cast and counted, one the songs and the campaign it represents will be more resonant than the other.
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Young Tea Partiers to LGBT Supporters: "Don't Tread on Me"
By AnnaWolfeArriving fashionably late, the boys stood in the parking lot by a jeep with the infamous snake flag draped over the windshield and expressed their disapproval of the groups desire to form the GSA at BHS.
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Getting Your Zen On
Curious about this whole mindful, compassionate, in-the-moment thing? Here are books to inspire you to focus and meditate and let the stupid stuff go, regardless of your religious faith.
