Jackson Free Press

Beyond Blame: JPS Works to Avoid State Takeover of Local Schools

At the last Jackson Public Schools board meeting of the year, parents and community members crowded the board room in downtown Jackson, accidentally brushing knees together as they filled the …

Inside the Closed Mental Health Meetings

While Attorney General Jim Hood has not yet opened mental-health task force meetings to public and media scrutiny, members of the group are talking about how they are trying to …

What Legislation Is Still Alive; What's Dead at the Capitol

Lawmakers have about a week to pass hundreds of bills out of each chamber, after committee chairmen and women made their first round of cuts to proposed legislation this year.

Fireworks and Festivities

Celebrate the Fourth of July this year with local businesses such as Campbell's Bakery, Nandy’s Candy and more.

Espy: Trump Tariffs Hurt Mississippi Farmers; Opponents Dodge Issue

President Donald Trump's tariffs on China are hurting Mississippi farmers, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy said in a press conference at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum on Friday.

Lumumba 'Eager' for New Zoo Management Company to Take Over

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba hinted that the Jackson Zoological Society's time as the managing entity of the Jackson Zoo could be coming to a close.

Gov. Bryant: Transgender People Do Not Deserve Hiring Protections

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant joined 15 other Republican leaders across the country in signing a brief that asks the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that the 1964 Civil Rights Act …

Body Cams, Community Policing, Mental Health Funds on JPD's DOJ Wish List

The Jackson Police Department hopes to equip its officers with body cameras and increase its "community policing" capacity with funds from U.S. Department of Justice.

Gov. Phil Bryant Confirms Third Option for Jackson Public Schools

Gov. Phil Bryant confirmed this morning that he is working with several organizations as well as the Mississippi Department of Education to find a third option to revitalize the state's …

An Editor and a Gentleman

An odd fluke of fate brought me to the patch of dirt where three civil rights workers were murdered in my home county, holding the hand of James Chaney's daughter …

The State of Mississippi’s Debt, Finances

The State of Mississippi is in an $8.4-billion financial hole, a new report based on the State's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, or CAFR, shows.

City Roundup: Local Control for ’Hoods, Crime’s Root Causes, Taxi Wars

In its third annual attempt, the Jackson City Council worked to approve a resolution to support a private, local fund resource for neighborhood associations to address their local issues, like …

Area Restaurants Win Awards, Open, Close, Renovate

Ciara Brown calls her restaurant, Ciara's Bakery and Cafe, "a one-stop shop where you can taste the difference."

Frances Fortner’s Family Seeks to Teach Lesson to City, Businesses of Jackson

Almost six months to the day, Frances Fortner's mother and father have filed a wrongful-death suit against the City of Jackson, Superior Asphalt, Sigma Corporation, IMS Engineers Inc., and Integrated …

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 …

Mississippi Democratic Party Rolls Over, Plays Dead

"In 2006," DNC chair Howard Dean predicts, "Democrats will take back the House and Senate."

Too Little, Too Late?

Behind the Silver Slipper Casino in Bay St. Louis, a fleet of commercial fishing boats sits quietly before sunrise on April 30. Even though it's the last day of oyster …

Radical Faith: The Revolution of John Perkins

Dust shimmers on the gray pickups and egg-crate-grille Chevrolets as tinsel and Christmas lights pierce the dark night.

Still Divided Over Race?

See what you think.

The Creative Loafing's John Sugg (from Atlanta) is back with a rather sweeping package of stories on race relations in South, with much focus on Mississippi. (Sidebar on continued efforts …

Support Arts in School

Ask for More Arts brings artists into classrooms to integrate arts with other subjects. In four years, AFMA has exposed thousands of students to creative writing, theater, song writing and …