Jackson Free Press

LaRita Smith

LaRita Smith is exhausted. Not only has she been painting until 3 a.m. and cutting countless strips of paper for collages with glue-covered hands, she's been doing it at age …

Coming Home

Medgar Evers' work has never been forgotten. To honor his memory, the Evers family has held a Medgar Evers Homecoming event each June. In 1973 Mayor Charles Evers and B.B. …

Court Stops Execution

Just hours before officials were scheduled to execute Mississippi death row inmate Robert Simon Jr. Tuesday, a federal appeals court blocked the execution.

Freedom Riders Recognized

Freedom Rider Jesse James Davis said his historic ride on a Greyhound bus to protest Jackson's segregated bus station was not a planned event.

Simon Asks Court to Block Execution

Death row inmate Robert Simon Jr., who is scheduled to die today, is asking a federal appeals court to block his execution in order for the court to thoroughly review …

It's the Weekend

Art House Downtown Cinema brings Jackson independent and interesting films consistently. You have a chance to catch two films, "Blank City" at 7 p.m. and "Heartbeats" at 8:45 p.m. today …

Royal Cocktails

You may not be royalty, but that shouldn't stop you from adding a little pizzazz to your summer wedding. Consider adding these royal-themed drinks to your bar menu. They're provided …

Bracing for Destruction

Dave Collins of Collins Farms in Tallulah, La., sits in his office, staring across his desk at his older brother Curt Collins who sits in a broad blue sofa, holding …

Out of Time

Once the drugs started to flow, it took only a minute for Benny Joe Stevens' lips to stop moving. He slipped out of consciousness, and soon his heart stopped.

Freedom Rides Again

Their Story, 50 Years Later

Hank Thomas walked up the steps of the Greyhound bus on a sunny day May 4, 1961. As he calmly surveyed its drab, blue-gray interior, the lanky 19-year-old black student …

‘It Won't Be Long'

Before Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., telling the nation of his dream in 1963, Medgar Evers also had a dream. The civil-rights activist …

Freedom's Main Line

When Robert Parker Adams was a teenager, he spent muggy Mississippi afternoons playing pinball at Jackson's Greyhound station at 219 N. Lamar St. It was just across the street from …

In Jackson, ‘Always Something to Do'

Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center Manager Pam Junior dashed arguments that there is little to do in the city of Jackson.

Michael Hrivnak

Michael Hrivnak has spent the past few days sending miniature rubber ducks on a test swim through Smith Park's fountain in downtown Jackson. This weekend, more than 300 ducks will …

Steps to Adoption

Choosing to adopt is a major decision that can reap rewarding and unfathomable benefits of giving an orphaned child a place to call home.

Co-housing Now

The decrease in the number of Americans participating in bowling leagues since 1950 is just one example of America's movement toward isolated communities. Robert Putnam uses this example in the …

Groups That Support Families

Even families have hard times, and need some form of help. Thankfully, there are groups of people and organizations that are willing to help. If you don't need the help, …

Schoolhouse Rock

Many musicians here live an almost "Hannah Montana" lifestyle—going to school daily as a teacher, yet rocking the masses at night. I've been teaching 11 years in the Jackson metro …

A Helping Hand

A storage closet inside a homeless day shelter is an unlikely studio for well-known Mississippi folk artist McArthur Chism. But these days Chism is just glad to have a quiet …

[Balko] The ‘War on Cops' That Isn't

Despite what you may have read, it's safer to be a police officer today than it has been in 35 years.