Jackson Free Press

Summer of ‘64: A Mississippi Freedom Fighter Remembers the Struggle

with JoAnne Prichard Morris

You never know when something's going to happen that will change your life completely. If I had stayed in Florida canning tomatoes, I wouldn't have been here when the civil …

Ballad of Charlie Moore and Henry Dee

We found Marla Moore's freshly penned lyrics in honor of Charles Moore and Henry Dee on her "Punk Rasta" myspace page this week and asked to publish them. The JFP …

As School Looms, Confusion Reigns

Erica Lowell waits for her students to return, and her anxiety waits with her. She is a public-school teacher in Rankin County, speaking to the Jackson Free Press under a …

Coal's Slipping Grip: New England, Virtually Coal-Free, Leads the Way

Last week President Obama launched a major drive to limit carbon pollution from power plants in a bid to stem climate change.

JFP 2014 College Basketball Preview

As the college game becomes more micromanaged, especially at the end of game, a good coach becomes even more important. Our state might be starting to amass a nice collection …

Coming Out

Telling people that I'm gay isn't a big deal for me anymore. I mention it when it's relevant, and if someone's shocked or offended, the most I usually tell him …

DOSSIER: From Bashing 'Boys of Spring' to Unpacking a Mississippi-Brexit Love Affair

"TV networks may live and die on ratings and people screaming opinions at each other from two "sides," but our democracy really can't take much more of this kind of …

The Fight for Family Goes On

After the Obergefell decision, Mississippi’s leaders "made sure to let us know we are still beneath the religious elite," Rev. Brandiilyne Mangum-Dear said. "We may have acquired marriage that day …

DA Smith Trial: Tales of Affairs, Fighting, Hiding in the Closet

An all-white jury of eight women and six men settled in to listen to the state's case against Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith on Tuesday, Sept. 11, in …

Mal Tiempo, Buenas Caras (Bad Times, Good Faces)

Photos by Cheree Franco and Matt Saldaña

José Bacallao stares into a boarded-up restaurant on the edge of a Highway 90 strip mall in Waveland, a tiny town in southwestern Mississippi that was the epicenter of one …

Tale of Two Charter Schools in Mississippi

Charter schools weren't legal in Mississippi until 2013, when the Legislature passed the Mississippi Charter School Law, allowing nonprofit charter schools to enter the state for the first time.

Matador Records News

Matador signs Love Of Diagrams. Matador is happier than Donald Rumsfeld holding the Aspartame patent to announce the signing of a worldwide deal with the Australian trio LOVE

Council Blocks Pay Raises for Bodyguards

On Monday, the Jackson City Council halted Mayor Frank Melton's scheme to use drug-seizure money to fund recent police salary raises. The administration proposed taking $192,101 from the $400,000 drug-forfeiture …

Tracks Of Their Tears

Velma Berry lives in a brick house seven miles due west of the Mantee exit off the Natchez Trace in Northeast Mississippi. The well-kept lawn, thriving tomato plants and orange …

Melton's Lies Cost Taxpayers

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton admitted to lying in legal documents for more than two years on Aug. 22, saying he had been confused, as he stood before a judge in …

[Balko] How Drug Cops Go Bad

If you browse the website of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), you will notice a conspicuous theme: The war on drugs is corrupting America's cops.

AP News in Brief

Here's what's happening around the world this morning.

How the Water Shutdown Unfolded; What, Who Is Needed to Fix It

Parts of Jackson were still without water two weeks after the February winter storm wreaked havoc on the capital city's two water-treatment plants.

Despite Deaths Behind Bars, Hinds County Wants Out of Consent Decree

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said that his office had fired two detention officers for violating various jail policies at Hinds County Detention Center concerning the death of pre-trial detainee …

Artists to Watch 2016

The tricky part of putting together the JFP Music Issue's annual "Artists to Watch" section is choosing from the multitude of acts that are worth watching.