Jackson Free Press

The House That Racism Built

It's been another one of those weeks the media love in Jacktown: lots of screaming and finger-pointing and accusations of someone else, inevitably of a different race from the accuser, …

HRC to Use Obadele Incident to Further Understanding

JACKSON – The firestorm that surrounded Richard Barrett's attempt to bring Edgar Ray Killen to the State Fair, and the one that has now swirled around Councilman Kenneth Stokes' Stokes' …

Obadele Visit Ignites Old Fires

Councilman Kenneth Strokes is being lambasted by police organizations and other critics for inviting Dr. Imari Abubakari Obadele to speak to young people at City Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 1, …

We Got A New At-ti-tude

Cue the Patti LaBelle, baby. As we prepare our third Best of Jackson issue, it strikes me that Jacksonians are starting to take for granted the idea that "best" is …

Best of Jackson 2005: Nightlife

Best Musician: Barry Leach. Tall and slender, looking for all the world like a red-headed poet who might have spent some time in the country, Barry Leach is one fine …

2005: Nightlife

<b>Best Musician: Barry Leach</b>

Tall and slender, looking for all the world like a red-headed poet who might have spent some time in the country, Barry Leach is one fine guitar player.

[Chick] The Baptist and The Feminist

One of my most difficult struggles as a Christian involves feminism. There. I said it. I'm a feminist. No, I don't wear combat boots, and yes, I love men like …

America's Courage

This is my first weekly newspaper column of the new Congress, and although I've been busy helping to plan President Bush's inaugural ceremonies and dealing with cabinet confirmations in the …

First, Do No Harm: State Struggles With Record of Juvenile Injustice

At 17 years old, Tommy Croft has grown up faster than most youth his age in Mississippi. Croft conveys the pain and genuineness in his story about his dark past …

The Weak Shall Inherit The State

A coalition of children's advocates are declaring 2005 the "Year of the Child" in Mississippi. It's about damned time. It's way past the point that we Mississippians must start standing …

I Was a Teenage Curfew Violator

January 6, 2005—For the third time the Jackson City Council is considering implementing a youth curfew law. The recent curfew, which expired in August, affected kids under 18 who were …

Be the Change: Step Up!

Capitol Burning: The War Between the Branches

Mississippi is known for many things: great authors, beautiful antebellum plantations, Sweet Potato Queens, civil rights troubles and a ridiculously tight state budget. In the poorest state in the country, …

Hear No Truth: The 10 Most Censored Mississippi Stories

It's an open secret that here in the Jackson area and in the state at large we suffer from superficial, incomplete, unfactual and sometimes non-existent coverage of vital news stories. …

[Sawyer] Replacing the Law Book with the Good Book

"Value voters" is becoming the new buzz phrase in politics. They are identified as evangelicals, fundamentalists, so-called suburban moms and NASCAR dads, and conservative Catholics. When it comes right down …

[New Year's] Celebrate Good Times, Come On

Not sure what to do on New Year's Eve? Here's your guide to what many Jackson-area restaurants and nightspots are offering on the big night. If you're a venue and …

Did Jesus Wear Birkenstocks?

[Stauffer] Shop Mississippi, Buy American

I'm not a fan of Wal-Mart, and that's only been made worse by a recent Frontline episode entitled "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" The show has made me think, once …

[Chick] If We Are the Body

I finally joined my Baptist church after two-and-a-half years of attendance. I can't believe that they would let such a slacker claim membership, but they are, and now I'm dreading …

Nikki Giovanni

Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. is a renowned writer and activist who prides herself on being "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English." A native of …