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LGBT
Mississippi's Marriage Equality Fight is Over—Or is it?
"It's over." That was the message from Roberta Kaplan, the attorney who represented lesbian couples in a case to strike down Mississippi's same-sex marriage ban, to an Associated Press reporter …
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Person of the Day
Abby Wambach
Now, at the age of 35, Abby Wambach will have one final chance to capture a World Cup title in the final of the 2015 Women's World Cup.
Story
Gulf States Reach $18.7B Settlement with BP Over Oil Spill
BP and five Gulf states announced a record $18.7 billion record settlement Thursday that resolves years of legal fighting over the environmental and economic damage done by the energy giant's …
Story
Episcopalians OK Allowing Gay Marriage in Churches
The Episcopal Church has completed its embrace of gay rights, changing church law to allow same-sex religious marriages throughout the denomination, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay …
Entry
How Mississippians Voted in 2001 on the State Flag: The Numbers
By Donna LaddJere Nash, co-author with Andy Taggart of "Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2006," posted this information about the vote to change the state flag in 2001. It is from their book, and this is his verbatim post, with his permission, about the people who turned out to vote:
"As debate continues about what to do with the Mississippi Flag, I wanted to highlight some of the information Andy and I included in our 2006 book about the April 17, 2001 special flag election. More Mississippians went to the polls that day than voted in the 1999 governor’s election. The 1894 flag prevailed over the alternative new flag by 494,323 votes to 273,359. Of the 1,311 majority white precincts in the state at the time, only 43 supported the new flag. Of those precincts, eighteen were in the Jackson metro area and twelve were in university towns. According to the 2000 Census there were 43 precincts with no African American residents, and the margin in those precincts in favor of the 1894 Flag was 5,887 to 221, or 96.4 percent. In the 408 precincts which had 50 or fewer African Americans, the margin in favor of the 1894 Flag was 89,112 to 8,014, or 91.8 percent. Only two precincts at the time had no white residents. The margin in favor of the new flag in those two precincts was 421 to 5, or 98.8 percent. In the 94 precincts with 50 or fewer white residents, the margin in favor of the new flag was 23,098 to 1,115, or 95.4 percent. Our analysis of all the precincts showed that 90 percent of white voters supported the 1894 flag and 95 percent of black voters supported the new flag design."
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Sports
Aaron Holbert’s Baseball Odyssey
Striking out is not meant to be celebrated. Aaron Holbert, manager of the Mississippi Braves, should know this. He has been in professional baseball for 25 years.
Story
Wellness
Lower Your Risk of Skin Cancer
Only a generation ago, many people thought a suntan was healthy. Now, we know it is anything but. In fact, today, doctors know a tan is actually a response to …
Story
Stinker Quote(s) of the Week: ‘Good Ole Boy’ Talking Points By You, the Readers
We asked readers on Facebook to share some of the good-ole-boy/girl reasons they were seeing to keep the Confederate emblem in the Mississippi state flag.
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Jacksonian
Jimmy Godby and Frank the Camel
Upon first hearing of Jimmy Godby's latest endeavor, many people cock their heads in confusion, shock or even awe. An electrician of 33 years, Godby, 51, has decided to become …
Story
Editor's Note
Driving Old Dixie Down
It is long past time to declare independence from a "lost cause" that wasn't worth fighting for and from those who insist on keeping us stuck there. Mississippi now is …
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Business
Nothing Personal, Walmart, But Local Is Better
We don't mean to brag, but the Jackson Free Press has long been a proponent of the concept of shopping local first starting nearly 13 years ago when we published …
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Cover
A National (and State) Housecleaning?
It is long overdue, but the nation is talking about slavery now and what the Confederate flag really stands for, what should be renamed and what should come down.
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Cover
Rebel Monuments in Jackson and Mississippi
This is a probably incomplete list of metro-area memorials to the war for white supremacy, compiled at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
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Business
Roll the Farmers Union On
A closing sentence in a 1937 Southern Tenant declaration of rights speaks to the hope that union still inspires: "To the disinherited belongs the future."
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State
Empowering Low-Income Parents
Rankin County is one of four counties that run a pilot program for parent representation. Mississippi is the only state in the U.S. that does not statutorily provide attorneys for …
Story
LGBT
Elation, Vows for State’s Same-Sex Couples
The party room in Julep restaurant in northeast Jackson was filled with relief Monday night as a group of about 30 people, new and old friends, gathered to celebrate four …
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Story
Gov. Cuomo: Inmates Had Sights on Mexico but Ride Backed Out
Two convicted murderers who escaped from prison and eluded a massive manhunt for three weeks had initially planned to drive to Mexico but headed toward Canada on foot when their …
Story
Boston 2024 Olympics Organizers Update $4.6B Bid
The group trying to bring the 2024 Olympics to Boston released the most detailed look yet at its bid for the Summer Games on Monday, unveiling a $4.6 billion plan …
Story
Unmanned SpaceX Rocket Fails on Lift-off
An unmanned SpaceX rocket carrying supplies and the first-of-its-kind docking port to the International Space Station broke apart Sunday shortly after liftoff. It was a severe blow to NASA, still …
