Jackson Free Press

House Where Women Were Held for a Decade is Demolished

With several swipes from the arm of an excavator and applause from spectators, a house where three women were held captive and raped for a decade was demolished Wednesday.

Mayor: All Jackson Businesses Can Open; Employees Must Wear Masks

Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, in an amended ‘Stay Safe Jackson’ executive order taking effect today, loosened restrictions on gatherings and social activities, signaling that the capital city is following the …

Police Retrace Steps of Suspected Serial Killer

Investigators in two states were reviewing unsolved murders and missing person reports after the arrest of an Indiana man who confessed to strangling one woman, told police where to find …

Capital City Pride Breaks City-Wide Event Drought, Encourages Togetherness

After spending its first year of operation limited at every turn by the COVID-19 pandemic, Capital City Pride is prepared to host one of Jackson’s first large-scale events since March …

JUST IN: House Passes Bailout Plan 263-171; Stocks Rally, Then Fall

See: JFP Business Blog

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Senate's bailout plan on the second try. Mississippi congressmen voted the same as they did Monday—with the three Democrats opposing the bailout …

Mixed Messages: The JFP Interview with Big K.R.I.T.

Justin Scott, better known as hip-hop artist Big K.R.I.T., says that he has always felt like a bit of an anomaly.

A Blanket of Love: The JFP Interview With Tougaloo President Beverly Hogan

Tougaloo College's name is a Choctaw word that means where two streams cross, Dr. Beverly Hogan, 53, told me as we sat in her office, talking about her alma mater, …

How the Charter School Bill Died

Rep. Chuck Espy's voice cracked as he jabbed his left index finger into the podium so forcefully that it's a miracle he didn't break the appendage. "I have watched this …

‘Stand Up' Acts

This Friday and Saturday, Jubilee!JAM returns to Capitol Street in downtown Jackson. National juggernauts Ludacris and The Black Crowes headline, but hometown heroes Jesse Robinson, Jonezetta, Kamikaze, Storage 24, Owen …

A Battle Worth Fighting

“A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring success from inhospitable surroundings, is the price of all great achievements.” — Orison Swett Marden

Obama Asserts Mandela's Values are Africa's Future

Challenging African youth to seize a "moment of great promise," President Barack Obama declared Sunday that the future of the young and growing continent still rests in ailing South African …

A Nation of Immigrants

Though I don't know where I come from, one thing is clear: At some point in my ancestry, my family migrated to this country. Like many families that came to …

[Fry] Why Young Minorities Barely Vote

OK, I am ready to vote. But for whom? Let me go through my process of personal questions. The first question is obvious: Which one is a person of color? …

[Doyle] From Dixie, With Love

As a University of Mississippi graduate excited about the progress of his alma mater in the past decade, a strong distaste for the likes of Richard Barrett is interwoven into …

UPDATED: Levee Board Approves ‘One Lake' Plan, Not ‘Two'

Members of the Rankin-Hinds Pearl Flood and Drainage Control District held a press conference this afternoon at the Mississippi TelCom Center, where chairman Billy Orr announced that the District has …

[Publisher's Note] Frank Melton's PR Problem

Last week's "Chamber Confidential" e-newsletter from the MetroJackson Chamber of Commerce popped into my inbox, and the headline of Chamber President Duane O'Neill's note caught my eye: "Doing Business Under …

Bill to Reinstate Ole Miss Mascot, Fight Song Likely to Die

A House bill that proposes to reinstate former Ole Miss mascot Colonel Rebel and require the university to play the controversial "From Dixie With Love" fight song during football games …

Legislature 2006: A House United?

Last year, in the days before the new legislative session, lawmakers were ready to walk into the state capitol with their guns out. Mississippi was, and remains, a state where …

Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

A new book, by Susan Jacoby, asks this question, especially about why so many Americans are so little interested in actual facts before forming (and spewing) opinions. Read more, as …

Ben Allen: Jackson Needs ‘Cultural Investment'

In what appeared to be a cross between a stand-up comedy routine and passionate pro-Jackson monologue, Downtown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen presented an inventory of the city's recent developments …