Jackson Free Press

Crossroads 2020 Film Reviews

This year's Crossroads Film Festival allows participants to stream any of the event's 18 films on their own time through the festival's end on Dec. 15. Read our writers' reviews …

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 …

Bill Skinner

"/> William Louis "Bill" Skinner, II, a Mississippi native, was born into a family of Mississippi Law Enforcement, and has continued that legacy to this day. Bill, the oldest son …

Jackson’s First Couple: How the Lumumbas Met and Why They Love Jackson

Jackson's first couple's story begins in a kindergarten classroom at North Jackson Elementary School. They both remember walking to school together with other kids in the neighborhood and playing together …

Local Jails, Prisons a Petri Dish for COVID-19?

Prisoner advocates describe the COVID-19 situation as a ticking time bomb in Mississippi, where 19,000 people are serving sentences behind state prison bars and 5,200 people languish for months or …

DA Files: ‘Too Sweet’ Reverend, Old Faces Back in News

Names of men who were involved in the late and controversial Mayor Frank Melton's universe keep popping up in the convoluted accusations encircling Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith.

Woman Sues City of Jackson, Alleges Pay-to-Play Scheme, Sexual Harassment

Mayor Tony Yarber and the City of Jackson are facing another lawsuit alleging sexual harassment from a former employee, except this time the former Equal Business Opportunity manager asserts that …

Tough Questions for David Banner

"God I know that we pimp, God I know that we wrong, God I know I should talk about more in all of my songs, I know these kids are …

Harvey Johnson Leads in New Mayoral Phone Survey

Verbatim from Brad Chism:

Friends, Below is a topline from the survey yesterday. Further below is a repeat of the explanations and qualifiers-these are important. From the blog traffic it appears that some don't …

R. Kelly Trial - who's to blame?

So many of you are probably familiar with the case of statutory rape that singer R. Kelly is facing. So word is that Kelly and the underaged female are denying …

[Sawyer] Man At His Worst

I have been away from the writing world for a while, away from the whirling dervishes that are American politics. But I must admit, it's hard to shake off a …

Runnin' with the Big Dawgs

We were sitting in the office around 7 p.m. last Friday anticipating another "press weekend." Stephen and I were in a heated discussion about some aspect of the upcoming issue …

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 …

Students: We Want Our Black History

A clash between Murrah High School students and school administrators was diffused recently when the principal agreed to dedicate some school afternoon time and the school auditorium to the celebration …

JFP Exclusive: Meet Witness Stephen Stamboulieh

See an archive of JFP stories and blogging on Frank Melton

Saved By Grace

The fighter lies on the floor in a locker room at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. He lets it all go as country music streams from his headphones to help him …

Byram: ‘Worth Fighting For?'

The city of Jackson sallied forth with plans to creep its southern border a little further south June 13 when city attorneys pled a case for annexation before a Hinds …

The Regulator: The JFP Interview with Gary Anderson

Photos by Roy Adkins & Adam Lynch

Gary Anderson wants to be Mississippi's insurance commissioner, and he's not pulling any punches in the race. The Byhalia native knows a thing or two about politics: He worked under …

Never Back Down: Mississippi Escalates War on Gangs

Mississippi law enforcement may soon be able to decide young people are a gang even if they're not part of a larger criminal enterprise with a hierarchy and criminal connections …

Why Few Mississippi Mothers Nurse Their Babies

As she stared through the nursery window at her four-day-old twins, 22-year-old Francesca Maxwell ticked off her reasons for wanting to breast-feed: Her obstetrician advised it. Her mother thought it …