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Jacksonian
Shermel Carthan
Shermel Carthan describes himself as a modern-day Renaissance man. He has singing, dancing, modeling, rapping, acting and more in his repertoire.
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Editor's Note
Need Solutions? Love The Problem
What Jackson needs, perhaps more than anything else, is more taxpaying people to help shoulder the burden and work on solutions.
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Suspect in 2 Mississippi Killings Dies of Apparent Suicide
After an intense manhunt, authorities in Mississippi said a college instructor wanted in the deaths of a woman he lived with and a university professor he worked with died of …
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Kentucky Clerk Won't Interfere with Gay Marriage Licenses
Clerk Kim Davis returned to work Monday for the first time since being jailed for disobeying a federal judge and said she was faced with a "seemingly impossible choice" between …
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White House Rolling Out Red Carpet for Pope Francis
When Pope Francis arrives on his first-ever visit to the United States, he will be welcomed in a way that few world leaders have: with President Barack Obama waiting at …
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Deadly Northern California Wildfire Incinerates Homes
An explosive wildfire burned largely unchecked Monday after incinerating homes, apartment blocks and hundreds of other buildings as it raced through rural communities in Northern California's Lake County.
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Civil Rights
Music Legend Steve Earle: The Mississippi Flag Must Change
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Steve Earle is the latest person to join the flag debate though his voice comes in the form of a good-old-fashioned protest song.
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4 European Nations Strongly Rebuff Mandatory Migrant Quotas
The migrant crisis is "probably the biggest challenge for the European Union in its history," Germany's foreign minister declared Friday — but despite his warning, at least four Central European …
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Steve Earle Weighs in on Flag
By micah_smithAcclaimed singer-songwriter Steve Earle is the latest voice to join the flag debate, though his voice comes in the form of a good-old-fashioned protest song. On the track, titled "Mississippi, It's Time," the Virginia-born musician denounces the Confederate battle emblem's position on the Mississippi state flag, which has been a point of contention yet again following a white-supremacist gunman's slaying of nine African Americans at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C., on June 17.
“I grew up in the South and lived there until I was 50, and I know that I’m not the only southerner who never believed for one second that the Confederate battle flag is symbolic of anything but racism in anything like a modern context,” Steve Earle said in a press release. “This is about giving those southerners a voice.”
Earle and his band, the Dukes, release the song for download on iTunes this Friday, Sept. 11, with all proceeds going to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The lyrics feature a number of powerful and to-the-point phrases, such as, Mississippi, don't you reckon it's time that the flag came down because the world turned 'round? We can't move ahead if we're looking behind," and "I wish I was in a land that never held a soul in bondage ever. I wouldn't have to drag these chains behind. Mississippi, it's time."
Near the track's close, though, Earle trades any semblance of metaphor for blunt outrage: "What the hell, Mississippi? Mississippi, you're out of your mind. Mississippi, God d***, even Alabama and South Carolina (have) come across the line."
As people from without and within the state push for the removal of the Confederate flag—and the dark ideals it represents—the decision ultimately rests with state lawmakers who can't seem to come to an agreement.
Earle, a pupil of famed songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, has had countless hits on the country music charts, both from his own releases, such as his debut record, 1986's "Guitar Town," and from hits for legends like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Emmylou Harris.
Visit Southern Poverty Law Center's website to listen to "Mississippi, It's Time."
http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2015/sep/10/22928/
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Food
Bottoms Up, Angels
When Toni Francis' husband, T, came home from a trip to Vicksburg, Francis never imagined that one day, she'd become the marketing and events coordinator for the Jackson chapter of …
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Civil Rights
The Next Fight: LGBT Workplace Rights
Lavell Brown filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued him a right-to-sue notice in February.
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Music
James McMurtry: Plain English
Americana singer-songwriter James McMurtry grew up all over the South, but his attitude and style is pure Texas.
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Biz Roundup
Bring the Heat, Revolution's Corner and Siemens Milestone
Revolution's Corner is a new bodega operating in the space that formerly housed Adobo at the corner of Pearl and Roach streets in the Standard Life Building.
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Business
Revolution's Corner, Bodega and Chill Spot, Open Downtown
Abraham Santa Cruz is trying to make a way for a new downtown venture called Revolution's Corner, now open at the corner of Pearl and Roach streets in the Standard …
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Person of the Day
Máirtín de Cógáin
Cork, Ireland-born entertainer Máirtín de Cógáin, an enthusiastic promoter of the Celtic and Irish heritages, has become a CelticFest favorite for many.
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Food Truck Fridays
By amber_helselIf you work downtown, or just like to be there, you now have another option for lunch. Every Friday until Oct. 9, local food trucks will be at Smith Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for We Are Jackson Food Truck Friday. If you need another reason to check it out, each Friday will have a DJ. This Friday, Sept. 11, DJ Kool Aid of WRBJ 97.7 FM will be there, and the food trucks will be Hog Heaven, LurnyD's Grille, Small Town Hotdogs and Pop Culture Ice Pops. For more information, contact Shelia Byrd, the director of communications for Mayor Tony Yarber, at 601-960-2324.
http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2015/sep/08/22873/
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Bryan's Rant
College Football’s Realities and Arrests
Thursday marks the start of the 2015-2016 college football season. Here are a couple of things to chew on while you wait for your favorite team to kickoff the season.
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Katrina: Words After the Storm
Here are a few great reads that remind us of the struggles and triumphs in the midst of one of America’s costliest storms, Hurricane Katrina.
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UNESCO Chief: IS Destruction of Syrian Temple 'Intolerable'
Islamic State militants in Syria committed an "intolerable crime against civilization" by destroying the Temple of Bel, one of the ancient world's most iconic monuments, the head of the U.N. …
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City & County
Yarber: No Tax Hike in Revised Budget, Furloughs Still on the Table
When Mayor Tony Yarber submits the second draft of his budget proposal to the Jackson City Council next week, the plan will not include an 8-percent tax increase.
