Jackson Free Press

No Deposit, No Return

If you were the melodramatic type, you might call it a nightmare. Barely a year into the new mandates, and increased (and largely unfunded) costs, of the federal No Child …

Daddy, Get Up: This Son of Natchez Wants Justice, Too

Photo of Wharlest Jackson Jr. by Kate Medley

When Wharlest Jackson Sr., 36, left his job at the Armstrong Rubber Co. in North Natchez the evening of Feb. 27, 1967, life was looking pretty good for him.

Where are the Rock Stars?

When Judy Coleman was 16, she watched MTV's "Rock the Vote" special "Choose or Lose" religiously. The rock stars sucked her in.

Creative Class Rising

Now and then, we bring our first cover story ever back to the top of the site to remind readers just how close Jackson is to becoming a magnet for …

Grounded Ginger

Jackson residents do not have to search far these days to find creative artists of all ages and disciplines making waves and changing the face of this city's burgeoning art …

Travels with JoAnne

You don't have to go past the Mississippi border to enjoy some of the best road trips in the U.S.: My two top destinations are Natchez and Greenwood—Natchez for old …

Jail Generation: Lost Time, Lost Voice

"I've been working 14 years to keep my sanity, now I'm on vacation," mused J.J. Tennison, speaking in a slow, metered voice. In 1990, Tennison, then 18, and Antoine "Soda …

Vote, @#%$ It! (The College Student Voter Guide)

If every college student in the state of Mississippi voted this year, you would probably be the most powerful voting bloc in the state. Here's what you need to know, …

*Artist In Residence: Rebekah Potter

In the most fortuitous of natural developments, Rebekah Potter's height sealed her fate as an artist. "I wanted to be a horsejockey," the 31-year-old woman says. "But I grew too …

Tort Reform: Myths and Realities

Some persistent myths seem to surround the tort reform discussion—even in media reporting—while other items are often offered as facts while they're closer to either assumptions or just simply guesses. …

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 …

Singling Out Single Moms

Great—another Hallmark holiday, as if picking out cards for your half-sister's secretary's niece's baptism wasn't enough already. Hoping to spark a national trend, American Singles Education Inc. is sponsoring a …

MAMAS WHO THINK: Primal Worry

I started worrying seven years ago. Constant worry—about my health, my diet, my energy, my exercise, my toothpaste, my hair color, everything. I was pregnant, and therefore worried. Pregnancy snuck …

It's About You

<b>Can Young Voters Change Mississippi?</b>

If you're under 25, you don't count, at least not for much. Now, before you get huffy, let me explain. Only 42 percent of you voted in the last Mississippi …

[The JFP Interview] Justice James Graves

When James Graves first walks into the room for our interview, I'm amazed by his stature. He's a big man. He almost makes me feel like David standing near Goliath …

‘Thurgood's Coming:' Tale of a Hero Lawyer

When Thurgood Marshall hung out his shingle in 1933 as an attorney in his hometown of Baltimore, he immediately became a very popular attorney among fellow African Americans. One problem, …

Just Another Church

Methodist minister Ed King worked and lived Freedom Summer in Mississippi in 1964. The Vicksburg native ran for lieutenant governor on the Freedom Vote mock election ballot while Aaron Henry …

Vanishing Votes

First, the purges. In the months leading up to the November 2000 presidential election, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, in coordination with Gov. Jeb Bush, ordered local election supervisors …

CRIME: Playing the Numbers

The question of whether Jackson is "safe" has become about as polarizing as "Ford vs. Chevy" or "fats vs. carbohydrates." It depends on whom you ask. Crime is up 15 …

Oprah, You Bad, Bad Girl

Stern isn't the only thorn in the FCC's paw. Bush's conservative agenda has spawned several new definitions of what indecent means, resulting in tons of FCC battles.