Jackson Free Press

Ending the Silence

Bringing Rape and Sexual Assault out of Shame's Closet

Anthony Sowell had been out of prison about three years after serving 15 for attempted rape when he ran into Gladys Wade outside a neighborhood store in Cleveland, Ohio, on …

Mississippi Lawmakers At It Again

On Monday, I blogged for choice (just like I did last year) as President Bush gave a speech declaring the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade to be "Sanctity of …

Delta Blues Update

SAMPLE OF FUTURE "LIVE" BLUES EVENTS IN THE DELTA (full list at http://www.cathead.biz/livemusic.html )...

[Stauffer] A 21st Century Boom Town?

When we launched the Jackson Free Press seven years ago this week, it was with a cover story on Jackson's "creative class." Seven years later as the JFP rolls into …

[Kamikaze] Spread the Projack Love

I'm what you call a ProJack. I steadfastly support anything in Jackson—community, music and business. If you operate or reside firmly within this city's borders, I pray for your success.

Brilla Scores for Jackson

The Mississippi Brilla has high hopes for the 2012 season. After posting a 12-2-2 record last year and winning its first playoff game, the soccer team is looking to accomplish …

Stand Up Big

When I shook his hand, I knew instantly that Larry Jackson wasn't a full-time comedian. His enormous paw, covered with callouses and cuts, swallowed my hand. In fact, he's only …

Self Defense or Murder?

Edna Mae Sanders first met former Navy Seal Sherman Sanders at a Baton Rouge party in March 2005. She gave him her phone number, and it wasn't long before he …

Doing it For Jackson

In spring 2010, Grady Griffin received an urgent phone call from Craig Noone. A large oak tree had fallen in Greenwood Cemetery, close to Eudora Welty's grave.

Divisiveness Hurts Kids and Families

Cue the ominous voice: "Imagine for a moment this road is our county line. This side represents one of the most violent cities in the nation. Over here, on our …

‘Old Southern' Cooking with Sara Foster

Sara Foster's career has come back home. After growing up in Tennessee in a family of cooks, Foster went to culinary school in New York. She worked with Martha Stewart …

Our Over-Medicated Nation

On her first visit with me a few weeks ago, Mrs. Johnson, a 32-year-old schoolteacher, announced that she had a condition that "sounds like fibro-something."

More to Graham Investigation?

Charles Carter, president of the National Emergency Communications Institute, says that there is more to state Auditor Stacey Pickering's investigation of Hinds County Supervisor Robert Graham than the state has …

Homeless Conference Promotes Self-Sufficiency

Despite the fact that 34-year-old Andrew Black works as a bagger at McDade's Market, he slept in Poindexter Park last night because he has been unable to find affordable housing.

Simulation Builds Respect for Poor People

It's getting close to the end of the month, and the "Chen" family is trying to decide which bills they can afford to pay. The utility company tells them their …

[Outlaw] Home on the Ranch

Feel free to judge, but I've lived in eight different places since 2004. Yes, I'm aware that makes me sound like a Gypsy, but I can defend myself. Justin and …

[Mott] Pulling Hard for Our Future

Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Prize-winner from Kenya, planted seven trees in 1977 in honor of seven women environmentalists. Jailed and reviled for her own environmental activism, Maathai's seven trees became …

The Dawn of a New America

Let me start this post by explaining who and what I am. I am the oldest son of civil rights advocate James Meredith who integrated the University of Mississippi back …

[City Buzz] Best Gov, Gandhi in Jackson, Two Lakes Doom, more

BEST GOVERNOR: Haley Barbour may have ridden the GOP machine into town, but he's got a long way to go before he can take over the throne of Governor Emeritus …

Don't Drink the Water

A month ago, Martin and a handful of neighbors in rural Sunflower County made national news, when ABC Nightly News devoted two minutes to their six-year fight for what many …