Jackson Free Press

Teach For America and the Retention Problem

Schools across Mississippi struggle to keep teachers, which educators and experts say is due in part to low salaries and an overall inability to keep Mississippi's most promising young adults …

Facing the Mirror, From Kingston Frazier to Karl Oliver

Little Kingston Frazier is our mirror. The brutal murder of this 6-year-old in Jackson last week reflected the absolute best and the abhorrent worst of our community.

Obamacare: Five Years and Counting

With Bryant's vow to undermine the ACA, the feds concluded that a state-run exchange was untenable. In January 2013, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius turned down Mississippi's …

A Call to Action in Mississippi Horse Trainer's Death

Hundreds of people gathered Sunday night at a baseball park in a small Mississippi town to remember a black man who died after a physical encounter with a white police …

Bus Union Decries ‘Outsourcing’ of JATRAN

With the City of Jackson in the middle of a marketing blitz for recent and proposed changes to the capital city's mass-transit service, JATRAN, a chorus of discontent is growing …

Sanaa Hill

One year ago, on Dec. 9, Sanaa Hill was doing her homework at the Sykes Road Boys and Girls Club when a stray bullet from an AK-47 came through the …

Hot Rumors

Welcome to Rumor Central, where we have all the dope on who's going to be coaching where. Which dope will be coaching your favorite team next?

Paying Attention

While I love living in a country where any citizen can run for public office, I also hate living in a country where so many think they should.

Seattle's Former Top Cop Says End Drug War

In an op ed this weekend in the Seattle Times (and, it seems, the LA Times, since he's bylined as "Special to the Los Angeles Times"), Norm Stamper, former chief …

OPINION: Finding the Good in Jackson, Miss.

Someone asked me recently what I think about the state of Jackson. After my immediate chuckle, I responded: "It's home. It's my hometown, where I have become who I am, …

The JFP Interview with Jim Hood

Attorney General Jim Hood appears to be a natural prosecutor, although it was a career path he initially resisted. His father was a Chickasaw County attorney and prosecutor. In 2003, …

Stampede

Republicans proved they can win elections. Now they must prove they can govern.

On Dec. 20, Haley Barbour stepped to the podium on the 18th floor of the Walter Sillers building to make his final budget recommendation to reporters—and started hacking away at …

An Editor and a Gentleman

An odd fluke of fate brought me to the patch of dirt where three civil rights workers were murdered in my home county, holding the hand of James Chaney's daughter …

Fifty Years Of Unrest: The JFP Interview With Leslie McLemore

Photos by Roy Adkins & Brian Johnson

Ward 2 Councilman Leslie McLemore is rarely afraid to speak his mind. He started young when it comes to being vociferous. He began his career as a social activist fresh …

Mississippi Enacts No New Gun Laws in 2018

Mississippi has enacted no new state laws this year to either regulate gun ownership or expand where firearms may be carried.

Last Day

I can not believe that my last day at the JFP is tomorrow. It seems like yesterday that I came in on June 1, and got right to work doing …

B.B. King to be Laid to Rest Next Week in Mississippi Delta

The body of blues legend B.B. King will return next week to the Mississippi Delta where his life and career began.

Gore Endorses Dean

Former Vice President Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean for president today. AP reports: "Gore said Dean 'really is the only candidate who has been able to inspire at the grass--roots …

What I Believe

The whole concept of campaigning is a three-ring circus, with promises as big as elephants and speeches with barbs that fly like throwing knives.

Exploring Jackson’s History

Jackson is a city overflowing with history—civil-war history, civil-rights history, prehistory and much more. For decades it's been a cultural hub in the South, a testament to the good and …