"Robert Shuler Smith" | Search | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

All results / Stories / Ashton Pittman

Tease photo Civil Rights

What ‘Confederate History Month’ Really Is

Celebrating Confederate History Month without even attempting to put it in its proper context of human slavery and racism is just another one of the things we do to refuse …

Tease photo Politics

Black Democrat Wins in Redrawn District After Racial Gerrymander Case

Even as Republicans swept statewide offices in Mississippi on Tuesday night, Joseph Thomas, an African American Democrat in a district that stretches across six counties, narrowly ousted a Republican incumbent. …

Tease photo Personhood

As Mississippi Debates Abortion, Maternal Mortality Remains High

In Mississippi, pregnant women already die at higher rates than in most of the country, and the state is near the top in infant mortality.

Tease photo City & County

It's Official: Dem Shanda Yates Ousts 32-Year Republican in Mississippi House

Shanda Yates, a 38-year-old Jackson-area attorney, has ousted Billy Denny, a top Republican in the Mississippi House of Representatives who first won his seat in 1987—when Yates was just 6 …

Tease photo Politics

Bucking Conventional Wisdom, David Baria Touts Pro-Roe, Liberal Platform

In his first general election campaign ad, Mississippi Democratic House Minority Leader David Baria positioned himself as an unapologetic liberal in his bid for the U.S. Senate seat that Republican …

Tease photo Politics

Cory Booker: U.S. Senate Hopeful Mike Espy Is South's Rising Star

"That is the star that I see rising in the South," U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy. "That is the hope that this …

Tease photo Politics

Waller Exceeds Fundraising Expectations in GOP Race

Republican Bill Waller raised more than half a million dollars in his first two months in the race for governor, his campaign announced in a press release on Tuesday.

Tease photo Civil Rights

Jackson Attorney to Represent Flowers in Possible Seventh Trial

A Jackson-area civil rights attorney is vowing to represent an African American man after a prosecutor accused of racial bias said he plans to try him a seventh time for …

Tease photo National

Trump Mocked Sessions as 'Dumb Southerner' and 'Retarded,' Per Woodward

President Donald Trump once described his attorney general, Alabama native Jeff Sessions, as a "dumb Southerner," according to a new book by journalist Bob Woodward.

Tease photo Health Care

Medical Marijuana Gains Momentum in Mississippi, with Majority Support

Medical marijuana in Mississippi is on pace to make it onto the ballot in the state next year, said Jonathan Brown, who is leading the signature drive.

Tease photo Politics

Deval Patrick to Join Mike Espy in Hattiesburg Saturday

Former Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick will campaign with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy on Friday, Sept. 21, in downtown Hattiesburg.

Tease photo Civil Rights

Supreme Court Strikes Curtis Flowers Murder Conviction, Citing Race

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the murder conviction of Curtis Flowers, an African American man whom prosecutors have tried six times for the same 1996 slayings of four people …

Tease photo Politics

GOP Kills Tort Reform Amendment Requiring 'Reasonable' Safety Efforts

Businesses no longer would have to "take reasonable steps" to prevent violence on their premises after Republicans defeated a proposed amendment to a "tort-reform" bill working through the Mississippi Legislature, …

Tease photo Cover

Beyond Angry Tweets: Robert Foster on Why He is Running for Governor

Mississippi House Rep. Robert Foster is running for governor in the Republican primary, running against current Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican from Florence, Miss., among others.

Tease photo Politics

End Grocery Tax on Mississippi-Grown Food, Dem Agriculture Candidate Says

Mississippians will no longer have to pay a sales tax when they buy Mississippi-grown foods at the grocery store if the Democrat running for the state's top agriculture position gets …

Tease photo Civil Rights

End Near for Racist Politics in Mississippi?

Wearing a long coat, she stood in front of a statue of Elvis Presley when she told the crowd that if her friend Colin Hutchinson "invited me to a public …

Tease photo Politics

Hood: Judge Tate Reeves for 'Rebel Flags,' Not Frat's College Blackface

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood "did all kinds of stupid things in college," but he is "sure" wearing blackface is not one of them, he told a crowd in Jackson …

Tease photo Health Care

Medical Costs May Drop in Metro Counties, Mississippi Overall This Year

Mississippians could see cost drops in health insurance this year with the federal government's Tuesday announcement that it expects a 4% cost decrease nationwide this year for subsidized health-care plans.

Tease photo Crime

Curtis Flowers Released on Bail from Parchman for First Time Since 1997

Curits Flowers will leave Mississippi's Parchman prison and return home for the first time in more than two decades after Montgomery County Circuit Judge Joseph Loper granted him a $250,000 …

Tease photo Politics

Jackson Woman Joins Dem Race for Governor; State Rep Exploring GOP Race

Next week, Velesha P. Williams plans to officially join the race to become the Democratic Party's gubernatorial nominee, she announced in a Nov. 29 press release.