Jackson Free Press

The Next Generation

Those are six words I never expected to say. I grew up, like many restless kids, thinking my town was the most backward place on earth. That's normal. But when …

51 Ways to Have Summer Fun

We here at the Jackson Free Press know that our Mississippi summer is here—even if the summer solstice isn't until June 20 at 5:57 p.m. Central Daylight Time—all blazing hot …

He's My Brother

I may be even closer to Medgar now than when he was alive, if that's possible. He was the saint of our family and I cherished him. I didn't want …

Brown v. Board Town Meeting Televised

[Mizell] It's as Simple as That

I took a creative writing class in college recently that was small and intimate and we actually discussed interesting things. Usually we'd go over poems and plays; but recently we …

Town-hall Meeting on "Brown v. Board" May 27

One Fine Fruit

It goes without saying that the banana, fleeting as it may be in its perfection, is one fine fruit. For Americans, it's raw fruit numero uno as well as our …

[Ladd] Thin Line Between Love and Hate

I was talking to a young woman the other day who is in the family of a Jackson man who toiled and lobbied and prodded and threatened for many years …

‘Thurgood's Coming:' Tale of a Hero Lawyer

When Thurgood Marshall hung out his shingle in 1933 as an attorney in his hometown of Baltimore, he immediately became a very popular attorney among fellow African Americans. One problem, …

M-Braves Digging In

Groundbreaking for the Mississippi Braves' stadium will be held Tuesday at noon in Pearl. The site is behind the Tinsel Town movie theater. A free lunch (ballpark food) will be …

[Rev] Motorcycle Heaven

GIVEAWAY: The Pearl River Resort is giving away a free Harley every Saturday through May 22. Ride your own bike to Choctaw for the Pearl River Run bike rally, Motorcycles …

‘Gone Weekly'

If there's one JFP-related question I've heard more than any other from folks around Jackson in the past few weeks and months, it's been this one: "Are y'all going weekly?"

[Mimi] Last of the Red-Hot Sugar Mamas

Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, …

Just a Jump to the Left

It's not exactly the '80s again. But there is a time warp-theme in Jackson theater right now (no, not Rocky Horror) with lots days-gone-by fare offered this spring. If you …

Fran's Creole Girls

When I was a child in the 1950s, white middle class society pitied childless women. They had few options for a productive life outside of motherhood. The husband of a …

Singling Out Single Moms

Great—another Hallmark holiday, as if picking out cards for your half-sister's secretary's niece's baptism wasn't enough already. Hoping to spark a national trend, American Singles Education Inc. is sponsoring a …

All Chicks Didn't Just Hatch

One Thursday evening last November, I saw a group of women dressed in purple, the odd bit of red plumage on their bright red hats, listening to Rhonda Richmond sing …

[Ladd] Life in the Fast Lane

Not to be a drama queen here, but hanging out at the Mississippi Legislature can really shatter one's faith in humanity. After doing years of research on harmful youth policies …

Are We Losing the Peace in Iraq?

Fables of Reconstruction: A Coalition memo reveals that even true believers see the seeds of civil war in the occupation of Iraq

The Kill Zone

Moving wounded and dodging American bullets in Fallujah

Entering the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah was difficult, but not impossible. We came in along the backroads, following the Euphrates River past beautiful date groves, villages of clay houses, …