Jackson Free Press

Jere Nash, co-author with Andy Taggart of "Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2006," posted this information about the vote to change the state flag in 2001. It is from their book, and this is his verbatim post, with his permission, about the people who turned out to vote:

"As debate continues about what to do with the Mississippi Flag, I wanted to highlight some of the information Andy and I included in our 2006 book about the April 17, 2001 special flag election. More Mississippians went to the polls that day than voted in the 1999 governor’s election. The 1894 flag prevailed over the alternative new flag by 494,323 votes to 273,359. Of the 1,311 majority white precincts in the state at the time, only 43 supported the new flag. Of those precincts, eighteen were in the Jackson metro area and twelve were in university towns. According to the 2000 Census there were 43 precincts with no African American residents, and the margin in those precincts in favor of the 1894 Flag was 5,887 to 221, or 96.4 percent. In the 408 precincts which had 50 or fewer African Americans, the margin in favor of the 1894 Flag was 89,112 to 8,014, or 91.8 percent. Only two precincts at the time had no white residents. The margin in favor of the new flag in those two precincts was 421 to 5, or 98.8 percent. In the 94 precincts with 50 or fewer white residents, the margin in favor of the new flag was 23,098 to 1,115, or 95.4 percent. Our analysis of all the precincts showed that 90 percent of white voters supported the 1894 flag and 95 percent of black voters supported the new flag design."

Education topped the talking points at the Women's Foundation of Mississippi annual meeting on Thursday. Laurene Powell Jobs (Steve Jobs' widow), Donna Barksdale and Toni Cooley discussed education at national and statewide levels. Jobs is passionate about transforming the educational system in the U.S., and she recently launched a project called XQ: The Super School Project, a project to reimagine high school structure and design by engaging students in the conversation. The XQ project came to Jackson this week, which was why Jobs was in town.

Jobs, Barksdale and Cooley discussed philanthropy and the importance of funding in education. Initiative 42 was discussed and promoted, and Jobs said she supported the Mississippi citizen-driven initiative because funding public schools is necessary for them to leap frog to the place they need to be.

"Everyone in this room should commit to passing Initiative 42," Jobs said.

Jobs said passing Initiative 42 is a tangible way for the community to get involved in education in Mississippi. Jobs' XQ Project focuses on rejuvenating the old high school model, rethinking classroom structure and models.

"If we're going to condemn the system, we ought to understand the system," Jobs said.

Jobs emphasized that students need the ability to be lifelong learners and creative thinkers. Jobs, Barksdale and Cooley discussed the importance of education, particularly for women. Donna Barksdale's husband, Jim Barksdale has donated to pass Initiative 42 and attended the annual meeting on Thursday.

Walmart is closing six Walmart Express stores in Mississippi, all located in the northern part of the state in small towns. The store closures translate to about 180 lost jobs, but the national corporation said its main focus is to take care of the associates, offering them the option to transfer to nearby Walmart or Sam's Club stores. The Walmart Express stores in Belmont, Mantachie, Sardis, Walnut, Derma and Nettleton will close on January 28.

Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield said that some associates will stay on in the Walmart Express stores until all inventory is removed by the second week of February. Associates that have not transferred will be paid for an additional 60 days, and those associates that have been with the company for a year or longer also have a severance option. Walmart is getting rid of most of the Walmart Express stores nationally, and to compensate for potential food shortages in communities where the stores are closing, Walmart will donate $3,000 to local food banks, Hatfield said.

On a more positive note for Walmart workers, all hourly employees can look forward to a wage increase of $10 per hour as long as they have been with the company since Jan. 1. Workers who started work after Jan. 1 can complete a training program in order to watch their wages jump to $10 per hour. The pay raise goes into effect on Feb. 20. Hatfield said that this is a part of Walmart's commitment to investing in their associates and doing things to ensure their employees are happy and engaged with their work. 2016 is Walmart's second year of a $2.7 billion investment in its workers.