Jackson Free Press

The Day That Emmett Died

Twelve-year-old Simeon Wright lay in his bed in his family's small house near Money, Miss., in the Mississippi Delta. It was Saturday night, Aug. 27, 1955, and Simeon was tired …

Hills And Gullies On State Street

I've got two different things I need to say this week, and they're almost impossible to segue between, so let me just get the first one out of the way.

Inter-racial couples - What about the Children?

I have noticed a growing number of inter-racial couples in the Jackson area in recent years. At first I thought there was a curiosity factor running wild. However, I have …

The Death of Conservatism (As We Know It)?

Conservative columnist David Brooks rethinks today's Republican Party in the cover story of this week's New York Times Magazine: "Democrats may imagine that the G.O.P. is an amalgam of fat …

Dr. Thomas Dobbs: COVID-19 Improvement, But Schools Pose Grave Danger

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs sees improvement in the fight against COVID-19 following the governor’s two-week mask mandate across Mississippi. But a return to in-person schooling presents grave danger.

The Undisclosed

Melton Wins Mayor's Race in Low Turn-Out

Remember that today is Election Day! You can vote from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in your usual polling places. For vital candidate and voting information about Jackson races, read …

Interrupting the Poverty Cycle: Looking Back to Move Forward in Mississippi

Otibehia Allen's days in the Mississippi Delta start and end with her five children—three boys and two girls. She feeds them. Clothes them. Their well-being rests on her shoulders. She …

BREAKING: Melton, Kids Accused of Destroying Private Home

Photo Gallery of Destruction

Fantasy Island

Developers are cheering and environmentalists are jeering as the Lefleur Lakes ("Two Lakes") project gains momentum, helped along by political support from men like Mayor Frank Melton and Gov. Haley …

Pennsylvania Judge Rules: Intelligent Design is Not Science

The Dover "monkey trial" (discussed in a previous blog entry here) ended exactly as it should have: With a ruling that defends the scientific method from those who would push …

Thoughts on Spike Lee's Comments in Oxford

Thought you all would find this interesting: Spike Lee visited University of MS today (something I had heard nothing about here locally) and made national news.

[Ali] Bootstrap Fury

I was attempting to have a nonviolent "discussion" with my conservative father the other day when he said the phrase, "Pulling themselves up by their bootstraps." After quickly looking around …

Obama To Address Joint Session of Congress

According to The Hill, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress next Looks like Obama will be working to get the talking stick back after a month of …

The Day After: Dems Take Washington

OK, here's your chance. Gloat. Whine. Vent. What are your thoughts on the very decisive mandate the country sent last night? Let 'er rip.

Election Post-Mortem

Well, all, there weren't a lot of surprises Tuesday night, and a lot of our prayers about the state rising above the race game went unanswered ... for now. But …

Let's Do the Time Warp, Aga-inn

This is a hard column to write. Sometimes something is so painful, so heart-wrenching that you don't want to expose it. You just want to ignore it, and hope no …

Jackson's Comeback

You can feel it in the air. Jacksonians are starting to believe in the power of Mississippi's capital city to be great, to rise from the ashes that fiery politics …

Day 4: Partial Verdict Not Revealed

Reporting by Brian Johnson

According to Judge Webster, the jury has reached a unanimous decision on 10 of the 11 charges; there is one charge that they can't reach a verdict on. Webster, at …

No Tea Party of the Left, Please

The pent-up frustration caused by not speaking out in a clear voice finds a venue this Saturday when some Jacksonians will gather in Smith Park for Occupy Mississippi, a localized …