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Politics
OPINION: Exceptional White Men, It’s Time for a Reckoning
Donald J. Trump's impeachment acquittal was a victory for white male mediocrity. The majority of the 69 white men in the U.S. Senate, engaged in a succession of choices that …
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Food
Crystal Kelly
"When people see my cake jars, and they see purple towels or purple spoons, they already know that’s Cakes by Crystal."
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Education
The Comeback: Adult Education on the Rise
Former famed attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs says he found purpose in prison by helping educate his fellow inmates. In federal prisons, any inmate without a high-school equivalency diploma is required …
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Attorney Herb Irvin's Open Letter to Jonathan Lee
By Donna LaddThis open letter to mayoral candidate Jonathan Lee just came via email. Here it is, verbatim:
Jonathan Lee Candidate for Mayor of Jackson Public Letter
Dear Mr. Lee:
After watching one of your recent campaign commercials in which you portrayed Chokwe Lumumba as radical and racist, I was compelled to offer you a different world view.
I am a native of Yazoo city, the hometown of Michael Espy and Haley Barbour, two of our state’s most recognized political figures. Like Mike and Haley, I am a product of the public schools system, a graduate of Yazoo City High School. My ACT scores ranked me in the top 10 percentile in the country, and I was fortunate to earn distinction as a National Merit Finalist and accordingly received numerous scholarship offers.
Sarah King, my black, Northwestern University-educated high school guidance counselor told me….”You need to matriculate at Williams College, where you will be nurtured and taught to be a critical thinker. With a Williams College education, you will be equipped to change the world when you return to Mississippi. ”
So, naturally I chose Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Mrs. King was right on point. Williams College satisfied my natural thirst for knowledge and enlightenment, but it also showed me how easily one can cast seeds of discord and destroy a community.
Williams had a total of 60 black students enrolled in all classes. All of the students, from every conceivable ethnicity, were the top students in their high schools. A staff person in the admissions office remarked in one of the dining halls that they were pleasantly surprised at how well the minority students were performing – – especially the “10 percenters”. What was a 10 percenter?!
Shortly after this statement resonated, the campus newspaper ran a story that said Williams College was participating in a social experiment known as “Affirmative Action” and had elected to admit 10% of the students who would not ordinarily qualify for admission to the college.
The college wanted to honor its moral obligation to society by giving underprivileged, socially disadvantaged students the opportunity to obtain a Williams college education, but the newspaper article made the “10 percenter” concept appear as something to be ashamed of instead of portraying it as the wonderful program that it was.
Almost immediately, all students were trying to determine who was a 10 percenter. Some of them would be mean-spirited and say things that were destructive. A few said things like, “we know Herb Irvin is a 10 percenter, because he is from Yahoo, Mississippi”! All of a sudden, the black students were no longer on academic parity. Because of this 10 percenter phrase, the black students’ academic ability and capacity were questioned by the non-black students and the faculty, as well as by their fellow black students.
Some of the best black students left before graduation, because they didn’t believe that they earned the right to be there.
Against the advice of my classmates and friends, I …
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Defense Cannot Use Prostitute Allegation Against Bodyguard
See JFP Melton Blog/Archive here.
Federal District Judge Dan Jordan ruled this morning that defense attorneys for Mayor Frank Melton and former bodyguard Michael Recio cannot use allegations of sexual misconduct by former bodyguard Marcus …
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keeping it real
After multi-dozens of radio and TV interviews, magazines stories (ones I've written and ones I've been featured in), I am feeling so disconnected from my trip to Africa. A book …
Story
Country Legend George Jones Dead at 81
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When it comes to country music, George Jones was The Voice. Other great singers have come and gone, but this fact remained inviolate until Jones passed …
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World
Nelson Mandela, 20th Century Colossus, Dies at 95
Nelson Mandela, who became one of the world's most beloved statesmen and a colossus of the 20th century when he emerged from 27 years in prison to negotiate an end …
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Cover
Inside 'Mason's Inn': Life, Lockup and Learning Inside the Raymond Jail
The Hinds County Detention Facility is an all-male jail that houses about 430 inmates, fewer than 20 of them juveniles.
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State
Faulty Senate Race Calls for Election Change
The 2014 U.S. Senate race pinned two sides of the Republican Party against each other in a heated primary that presented more possible problems with Mississippi's election law than it …
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Crime
Governor Talks Criminal-Justice Reform, First Step Act, 'Baby Daddies' at Summit
Gov. Phil Bryant enthusiastically backed federal criminal-justice reform at the Mississippi Summit for Criminal Justice on Dec. 11 at the Westin Hotel in downtown Jackson.
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Fight or Fight
It's an odd world where Councilman Kenny Stokes is standing with FOX News celebrities who care more about profiling young blacks than protecting citizens' rights. But in the aftermath of …
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An Open Letter to Michael Moore
I know you have used this approach a time or two in the past when communicating with prominent public figures—and with not-so-prominent Americans like myself who are on your e-mail …
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DIYs For The Up And Coming
<b>DIY: How (and Why) To Copyright Your Music</b>
Although laws have changed, and now you are not absolutely required to register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office, it is still a very good idea to do so. …
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What a Tragic Way to Play a Game
Not long after we started the JFP, a man who had worked in the public domain in the state for many years warned me about something: "You'll have all sorts …
Story
Saints Defense Holds Off Steelers, 20-10
Their answer on Sunday night -- maybe, but they'll play with the headache anyway... and get a W.
Going into Sunday night's game, the defending Super Bowl champs of 2009 -- the New Orleans Saints -- were slight underdogs to the Super Bowl champs of 2008 -- the …
Story
Family Feels the Backlash of their Confessions after Brokaw Special
As I normally do on Thursdays, I was reading the Jackson Advocate and the Mississippi Link for news stories that I may have missed or that they exclusively covered. This …
Story
An Interview with Malcolm White
"Well, Hal and I first started working together, long before Hal and Mal's, in 1976 when we were in New Orleans at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel."
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[Ladd] Ain't That Something
Not long ago, Todd and I were downtown to see "Groovaloo" at Thalia Mara. As we walked to the car, an obviously homeless man walked up and respectfully asked us …
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Talk
Election ‘08: The Issues They Ignore
The 2008 presidential debate at the University of Mississippi is one in a series of three debates leading up to the Nov. 4 general election. All three debates conform to …
