"a" | Search | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

All results / Stories / Donna Ladd

Tease photo Editor's Note

‘Blood Sells’ No Excuse to Sell Out Young People

It's as if struggling media outlets want a quick fix of attention from trotting out young faces accused of bad things more often than they feature kids doing amazing things.

Tease photo Civil Rights

The Curse of the Mississippi Flag

The 1894 Mississippi flag, with the Confederate battle emblem as its canton, represents much more than an antiquated piece of cloth.

Tease photo Civil Rights

Anita Hill: Keep the Faith and Keep Moving

Anita Hill has dedicated her work to raising awareness of sexual harassment, domestic abuse, equity and workplace discrimination.

Tease photo Civil Rights

The 42 Vote: Mississippi’s Time of Reckoning

When Mississippi Rep. Lester "Bubba" Carpenter stepped to the microphone at a Republican rally in Tishomingo County and started warning about a "black judge" taking away funds from white schools …

Tease photo Editor's Note

Conceiving a Smarter Future

We're on an arc of history where too many of our lawmakers (and voters) aren't willing to address the disparities that our racist history created—unequal school funding due to forced, …

Tease photo Domestic Violence

Hop on the ‘No More’ Bandwagon

In many ways, I believe tackling domestic abuse in the football arena is the exact right place to focus. It's hard to imagine a more macho sport where power is …

Tease photo Editor's Note

Mississippi: Clawing to the Top

As we've all been riding high in recent weeks over the Mississippi State football team's meteoric rise on the media radar, we've all seen those tweets. You know, the anti-Mississippi …

Tease photo Editor's Note

Of Charles Barbour, TEDx Jackson and Decent Role Models

Simple facts about what built today's inequality are not discussed by people like Charles Barbour. They still use the same old-school scare tactics that should offend white voters because they …

Tease photo Editor's Note

My Only Egg Bowl Regret

David Rae Morris and I both really wish our dads were here to witness this magical season—one in which both teams have helped take a lot of glory away from …

Tease photo Editor's Note

Why Don’t We Value Black Lives?

Young, black men are often killed because white people fear them, and they kill each other because society tells them their lives are worthless. But the most terrifying part is …

Tease photo Civil Rights

Revisiting the Kerner Report: How Much Has Changed Since the 1960s ‘Riots’?

To get at the causes of the riots, and potential ways to prevent them, President Lyndon Johnson assembled the 11-member National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders in July 1967 to …

Tease photo Editor's Note

From Affleck to Baltimore: Sh*t Our Ancestors Did

Forget a "sagging feeling"—it's a gut-punch to discover you descend from a slave owner or plantation overseer, especially when your relatives have laughed off such a notion your whole life, …

Tease photo National

From Terrorists to Politicians, the Council of Conservative Citizens Has a Wide Reach

When I clicked on Dylann Roof's alleged racist "manifesto" yesterday, I wasn't surprised at all to see the name of the Council of Conservative Citizens name-checked. In some ways, I …

Tease photo Editor's Note

O, Speak and We Shall Live

On the night of June 16, 1964, Bud and Beatrice Cole, along with four other adults and two children, were attending a stewards' meeting to discuss finances at the Mt. …

Tease photo Editor's Note

Mrs. Truth, Mr. Humanity

I first visited Battle Creek's monument to Sojourner Truth, an illiterate woman who shed her slave name and chose "Truth," saying "... and truth shall be my abiding name."

Tease photo Editor's Note

Love, Anyway

No, not all men abuse or hurt, but collectively we have condoned a society that excuses it too often when they do.

Tease photo Editor's Note

The Beautiful and the Damned

The courageous young activists of Freedom Summer 1964 bestowed on us the ultimate gift: They freed us from our past. It's up to us now to build a very different …

Tease photo Editor's Note

About Those Pesky ‘Soft Skills’

I want young Mississippians to have a shot at their full potential—and not have to leave their own damn state to do it.

Tease photo Editor's Note

Calling All Men of Character

To reverse the abuse cycle, it takes all of us, especially men.

Tease photo City & County

Learning Academies: Vital for Work Readiness

The Jackson Public Schools district is embracing a strategy that promises to make a huge difference in young people's lives, as well as improve their future success and earning potential …