Jackson Free Press

10 Local Stories of the Week

There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.

*Best of: People and Community

<b>Best Local Scandal, Best Public Figure,

As much as I attempt to cover issues apart from city politics, I always end up getting dragged right back to the council chambers and good ol' Frank Melton, a …

Replacing Ben: Four Men Compete in a Changing Ward

Photos by Darren Schwindaman

Retiring Councilman Ben Allen got a super send-off Monday from friends and family at Bravo! Restaurant in Highland Village. A crowd containing personalities such as secretary of state candidate Delbert …

Hyde-Smith Attended All-White ‘Seg Academy’ to Avoid Integration

U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith attended and graduated from a segregation academy that were set up so that white parents could avoid having to send their children to schools with black …

Who Gets To Crown The King?

Melton told the Jackson Free Press that he plans to move ahead with an alternate group of investors for the King Edward Hotel renovation if work does not begin by …

Chairman Bryant

Will Mississippi Elect a Radical-Right Governor?

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant 56, took his place on the far right of his Republican opponents on stage and thanked his wife, mother-in-law and voters for making his campaign possible. …

U.S. Supreme Court to Review Texas Redistricting Scheme

AP is reporting today:

Hazel Brannon Smith, Crusading Journalist and 'Scalawag'

Durant native and author Jeff Howell recalls his 13-year-old self discovering African American basketball player Walt Frazier in his library's red, white and blue 1976 edition of the "World Book."

Neighbors Saving Precinct 1

The Jackson Police Department has taken some heavy blows in recent conversations concerning Jackson—even as crime in the city has been on a steady decline over the last three years, …

The Jackson Free Press Wins 7 SPJ Awards

The Jackson Free Press has won seven southeast regional Society of Professional Journalists, including five first-place prizes.

Mayor Lumumba on Murders: Police Cannot 'Enter the Minds and Stop These People'

Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba sent out a statement addressing several murders that roiled the capital city over the weekend—from a preacher killed in the Washington Addition to a teenager killed …

The Mayor's Race That Wasn't

The JFP started out the election season in January determined to learn as much as possible about both the character and the specific plans of the candidates for mayor of …

The Rev. Wright Controversy: More Than Meets the Eye?

"Dear Jodi: Thank you for engaging in one of the biggest misrepresentations of the truth I have ever seen in sixty-five years." This is how Rev. Jeremiah Wright begins a …

Jackson Less ‘Dangerous' In 2004

Ironically, a murder binge in the city—nine fatal shootings in 10 days—comes just as a national crime-rating outfit released good news for the city of Jackson, at least about its …

Family Values

Our history as a state and a nation is filled with atrocious efforts to destroy the self-esteem of black men. During the entire arc of slavery and then Jim Crow …

[Ladd] Gentlemen, Tone It Down

Every day of the past week I've heard someone, usually a white progressive, ridicule City Councilman Kenneth I. Stokes. "He's crazy." "He's a lunatic." "He's a racist." The outspoken Ward …

Melton Mismanagement Hits the 'Bottom Line

This week, city officials finally handed in their budget revisions to the City Council, detailing cuts that will be made to city departments in order to reconcile a nearly $4 …

Nader 'Spoiling' McCain?

Independent Party presidential hopeful Ralph Nader asked Jackson supporters this weekend to sign a petition to include him on the Mississippi ballot in November. Nader's Independent Party requires at least …

Jackson 7th Most Improved in Morgan Quitno

Jackson was among the most improved cities in the new edition of the Morgan Quitno Annual Safest/Most Dangerous City ratings. Jackson, which ranked 42nd most dangerous overall, was the 7th …

Civil Rights Museum Part of Tougaloo ‘Master Plan'

Tougaloo College President Beverly Hogan told The Clarion-Ledger today that a civil rights museum has been part of the college's "master plan" for years: