Jackson Free Press

Fresh off its victory at creating a Latino-friendly city-wide police policy, the Jackson City Council is considering marketing a section of Ward 3 as "pro-gay."

"Gay men have more money than any of us," said Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes, a proponent of the plan to use a tri-county marketing campaign to pepper his ward with gay-friendly neighborhoods. "They don't have any kids, so they spend their kid-money on other things. They go out on the town and they drop cash like they're college students all their lives."

Last year, the council passed a city ordinance restricting police from inquiring about residency status at routine traffic stops or during public interaction--an ordinance that earned the city a label as a "sanctuary city" among white conservatives seeking to crack down on undocumented immigrants in the state.

Stokes, Ward 5 Councilman Charles Tillman and Council President Frank Bluntson said they believed the next logical step in the city's open-door policy should entail the gay community, of whom all three agreed were "revenue generators" for the city.

"There's that club they got over there by the old closed Meadowbrook theater. You should see how that place hops on Fridays." said Tillman, who would not comment on the frequency of his visits. "Those are some of the sweetest people in Jackson. And they dance very well."

Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba told the Jackson Free Press that he did not normally condone over-saturating a community with any single cultural demographic, saying the practice had a history of diluting minority votes.

"By moving them into one area, you decrease their political influence in other areas," Lumumba said. "That's called packing. And it's been used against the black community for years. We need to make sure that by helping gays we don't actually politically harm them in the long run."

City spokesman Chris Mims said the mayor had no official comment upon the council's new agenda, but said the mayor encouraged inclusiveness and welcomed new ideas for drumming up the city's population. Mims said he did not expect the new population to prove a drain on public school resources.

Read the transcript of the full Stokes interview here.

Previous Comments

ID

162957

Comment

"There's that club they got over there by the old closed Meadowbrook theater. You should see how that place hops on Fridays." said Tillman, who would not comment on the frequency of his visits. "Those are some of the sweetest people in Jackson. And they dance very well." That's the paragraph of the day, for sure. I can just picture Tillman moving to the beat.

Author

Brian C Johnson

Date

2011-04-01T12:35:27-06:00

ID

162958

Comment

Is this an April fool's Joke?

Author

Renaldo Bryant

Date

2011-04-01T12:52:42-06:00

ID

162961

Comment

Until Mississippi has a change in how they deal with LGBT in the state. it will be a hard sell. I applaud his efforts but the state laws just don't reflect it.There's no laws in the state supporting equal rights and unless the state is involved in some major discrimination breach and is found to be guilty, you won't see the laws changed. BREAKING NEWS: There is such a case waiting to be heard in a federal courtroom involving such a discrimination violation(s). We will have to see how it plays out. The violations happened under a disaster proclamation and were confirmed to be fact. It just has to go through the process. The governor is aware but I think he is remaining silent as long as he can.

Author

DeGuyz

Date

2011-04-01T13:30:13-06:00

ID

162962

Comment

Man, that was funny! I laughed till I cried.

Author

dd39203

Date

2011-04-01T13:30:38-06:00

ID

162964

Comment

Tillman can rock with the best of them at the "club on Friday nights" but he can't stay awake during city council meetings! I didn't realize that he was light in the loafers.

Author

ELBY

Date

2011-04-01T14:40:24-06:00

ID

162965

Comment

Y'all be sure to click the link to read the rest of Mr. Stokes' comment. More *great* stuff there!

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2011-04-01T14:44:53-06:00

ID

162967

Comment

Click *all* the links, Michael, and big hug!

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2011-04-01T15:05:00-06:00

ID

162969

Comment

April Fools, of course. Nothing in this article is true! (And, yes, Michael Kennedy has already threatened me on Twitter for punking him. Price of doing business.) Have a good weekend, all.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2011-04-01T16:54:02-06:00

ID

162972

Comment

...and I thought I would make it through the day unscathed.

Author

DeGuyz

Date

2011-04-02T14:34:18-06:00