Jackson Free Press

Change the State Flag

I just found your article regarding the state flag (Donna Ladd, Editor's Note, Oct. 30, 2013) and agree with you 100 percent about it needing to be changed.

I personally believe the best path to having it replaced is for business and higher education leaders (including football coaches) to quietly press the Legislature and governor, much the same way it happened in Georgia when it changed its state flag. If memory serves correctly, the CEO of Home Depot and President Jimmy Carter were instrumental in bringing about change in Georgia. I personally lobbied for the return of the "Magnolia flag" as a compromise. Unfortunately, our state Legislature is riddled with "good-ole-boys" who are perfectly happy with the status-quo. Best of luck in this endeavor.

Richard McNeer, Oxford, Miss.

On 'Mississippi Values'

I am a life-long resident of the state and grew up in the '50s and '60s, as the Jim Crow era transitioned into more complex strategies with the passage of federal laws that address the legal and inalienable rights of all the citizens of this country.

I am concerned with Chris McDaniel's perception of Mississippi. He runs on a platform based on prayer in schools, against "The Affordable Care Act," for the right to carry a gun, and curtailing federal expenditures. He speaks of "Mississippi values" with what seems to be an unquestionable reverence.

I love Mississippi. My ancestors helped build this state with their blood, sweat and astronomical sacrifices. In our state, modern day Jim Crowism and Reconstructionism make for strange bedfellows. We seem to walk a fine line trying to stifle the progress of people of color, yet project a semblance of advancement.

Let's take an honest look at our state. It has several glaring issues, but one that strikes my heart the deepest is the condition of the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility, which is run by a private firm.

This facility is located only 70 miles from state Sen. Chris McDaniel's Jackson offices. Judge Carleton Reeves, the U.S. district court judge for the South Mississippi, wrote in a 2012 court order that conditions at the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility violated state, federal and criminal laws, and the Constitution of the United States—yes, the same Constitution that allows you to carry a gun to church.

Evidence gathered for a report by the Justice Department and a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) painted a picture of such horror that should not occur anywhere in the civilized world.

The kids housed in this facility were subjected to physical and sexual mistreatment, and perhaps worst of all, psychological abuse, including long-term solitary confinement for minor offenses. The guards regularly had sex with their young charges. The guards sold drugs on site and staged Gladiator-style fights. Efforts are underway to clean up and clear out Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility, which one judge called a cesspool where children as young as 13 received inhumane treatment.

According to the Census Bureau, Mississippi is the poorest state in the U.S. Twenty-two percent of residents live below the poverty level. In 2011, Mississippi spent over $1.5 billion on welfare, and in 2012, one in five Mississippians received food stamps, the highest rate of reliance on food assistance in the nation.

Our state leads the nation in a number of health-care problems. According to the 2013 edition of America's Health Rankings, 770,000 adults are obese, and almost 280,000 adults have diabetes in the state. We have the highest rate of heart disease and second highest rate of diabetes.

Mississippi also has the highest rate of single-parent households, the lowest average life expectancy, the highest rate of teenage pregnancy, and one of the lowest levels of adult literacy in the nation.

Mississippi, dominated by conservative politicians, has health care, income and economic disparities that are some of the worst in the United States.

If we keep holding on to our prejudices and fail to make a serious and sustained effort to upgrade the welfare of all our citizens, then I guess it will continue to be "status quo" or worse, and Sen. Chris McDaniel will continue to smile when uses the term "Mississippi values."

J. Ted Williams, Hattiesburg, Miss.