All results / Stories / Donna Ladd
Of Truth and the Shortest Month
I admit it: I've never been Black History Month's biggest fan. Let me put that another way: I don't like how media tend to treat Black History Month. Too often, …
All God's Children
One image won't leave my head since I finished my part of the cover story I wrote this issue with freelance writer Valerie Wells (starts here): A deputy with his …
Higher Ground
Amid all the bellowing anger and finger-pointing and insults and threats to shove tennis balls you-know-where, last week I was fortunate enough to participate in something remarkable in downtown Jackson.
Talking Back in Flyover Country
Not too long before the election, I found an e-mail I'd missed from a young Mississippi artist: "Donna, I think this article deserves a talented rebuttal. See what you can …
Do the Right Thing and ... Report
As I proofread this week's cover story about the stories mainstream media won't cover, I thought back to the first year of the Jackson Free Press.
Time For Strength
I was talking to a police officer recently about a domestic-abuse situation I'm worried about. It was the case of a local woman whose partner has beaten her for years. …
Into the Groove
Back in the 1980s, I wasn't too worried about much of anything. I was living in Washington, D.C., working by day as a legal assistant for a huge broadcast corporation …
For Noella
When Kimberly Griffin told me that the Fondren Theatre Workshop had agreed to direct "The Vagina Monologues" in Jackson, I was happily stunned. Nearly seven years ago when we started …
Tarring and Feathering Faye Peterson
I was sitting in the student center at Belhaven College Friday afternoon, participating in a media-ethics forum with several other media leaders from around town. The conversation was compelling, and …
Real Love Can Be Tough
Love is a funny thing. It too often earns its status as a four-letter word. It bites us in the ass. It keeps us awake and alive. It motivates us.
Frank's World
We're living through one of the worst D-movies one could imagine. In fact, this flick likely wouldn't get made in the first place because no one would buy it. Roll …
Art is the Best Revenge
This past Saturday I gave a seminar on freelance writing, and a whole lot of creative people showed up.
For The Girls
While reading the first draft of Natalie Collier's cover story this issue about domestic abuse, I was overtaken by emotion and memories.
Two Steps Forward
"Leave." That one-word tweet came from a conservative dude in Louisiana, not Mississippi. But he wasn't pleased that I was talking about crazy legislation that the right wing has wrought …
President Obama: ' I Believe That We Can Be Better'
Following is the verbatim text of President Obama's remarks at the Tucson memorial tonight:
To the families of those we've lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants who are gathered here, the people of Tucson …
Gov. Haley Barbour
"To the Freedom Riders yourselves, our state does celebrate and thank you for your courage, your commitment, your suffering and your sacrifices of 50 years ago. We apologize to you …
Editor's Note
Inherit the Flame
I haven't written much over the years about the man I like to think of as my "real father." Maybe it's too painful.
