Politics
Mississippi Women Could Benefit Most from Lift on SNAP Ban
Mississippi women stand to gain the most now that the U.S. government will no longer be able to bar state residents with felony drug convictions from receiving federal food assistance …
Cover
Joe Biden and the Dixiecrats Who Helped His Career
Vice President Joe Biden talked about his mentor James O. Eastland at a rally for Democrat Doug Jones in Birmingham, Ala., in 2017.
LGBT
GOP Rep: Mississippi Needs Hate Crimes Law for LGBT, Disabled People
A Mississippi Republican is calling on her colleagues to support an update to the state's hate-crime laws in the wake of two recent attacks that she believes anti-gay prejudice may …
Personhood
Democrats, Activists 'Infuriated' as Hood Defends Six-Week Abortion Ban
Abortion-rights activists and some Democratic leaders are unhappy with Mississippi's leading Democratic candidate for governor, state Attorney General Jim Hood, after his office filed a brief in defense of the …
Politics
Reeves Falsely Claims Hood Will Let 'Terrorists and Rapists' Vote
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican candidate for governor this year, misled voters on Tuesday when he claimed that state Attorney General Jim Hood would allow "terrorists and rapists" …
Politics
Gov. Bryant Declares April 'Unity Month,' Not 'Confederate Heritage Month'
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared that April is the "Month of Unity" in Mississippi, departing from past years when he declared April "Confederate Heritage Month."
Crime
Mississippi Man's Viral Beating Draws Probe of Possible Hate Crime
When Trevor Gray left a local bar to go to an after party in the early hours of April 13, the Wayne County, Miss., native could not have known that …
Civil Rights
Hood Takes Heat for Blackface Photos, Says Leave Trans Rights Up to Schools
A Hattiesburg woman confronted Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood on Tuesday over yearbook photos from the 1980s that show members of his college fraternity wearing blackface.
Personhood
The Pink House Deals With ‘Heartbeat Bill’ Fallout
"Jesus loves you, mommy. Mommy, please don't kill me," a child's voice pleads from a large speaker system outside Mississippi's last abortion clinic, which is known among its defenders as …
Personhood
Mississippi AG Candidate Vows to Defend Six-Week Abortion Ban
State Rep. Mark Baker, a Republican candidate for Mississippi attorney general, is pledging to take the state's recently passed abortion ban all the way to the Supreme Court.
Civil Rights
Man Pleads Guilty to Burning Cross in Black Mississippi Neighborhood
A Mississippi man who burned a cross in a predominantly African American neighborhood in Covington County pled guilty to federal charges on Friday.
Civil Rights
AG Candidate Vows to Defend State Funding for Anti-LGBT Adoption Agencies
If Mississippians make state Rep. Mark Baker their next attorney general, he vows to fight so that religiously affiliated adoption agencies that accept state funds can continue to legally discriminate …
Civil Rights
MSU Digitizes Endangered Citizens Council Radio Tapes
Stephanie Rolph was a graduate student at Mississippi State University in the mid-2000s when she found a collection of reel-to-reel audio recordings of the Citizens Forum, a broadcast once helmed …
Domestic Violence
Mississippi Reps Vote 'Nay' on Violence Against Women Act
All three Republicans in Mississippi's Congressional delegation voted against renewing the Violence Against Women Act on Thursday.
Education
The Hunt for Vouchers in Mississippi, After All These Years
Republican leaders secretly slipped $2 million for a private-school voucher program into an unrelated funding bill—despite the fact that most Democrats and many Republicans opposed expanding the program.
Civil Rights
Poor Mississippi Counties Are Top IRS Targets in Hunt for Tax Cheats
A new study of IRS practices reveals a tale of two Mississippi counties, with one of the poorest in the state earning the top spot as the most audited in …
Politics
Reeves Skipping First Debate for Governor Despite Early End to Session
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican candidate for governor, will be a no-show at the party's first primary debate on Tuesday night.
Education
GOP Leaders Trick House Into Sending $2 Million to Private Schools
Mississippi will use millions in taxpayer dollars to fund private schools after Republican leaders in the Legislature secretly slipped funds into a bill for state construction projects.
Civil Rights
Mississippi Senate Approves New Map to Boost Black Voting Power
Mississippi lawmakers are working to redraw the lines of a state senate district that two federal courts ruled dilutes black voting power.
Crime
Michael Avenatti Defrauded Mississippi Bank, Prosecutors Charge
Michael Avenatti, the high-profile attorney who formerly represented Stormy Daniels, defrauded a Mississippi bank, federal prosecutors in California charged on Monday.
Education
Teacher Pay in Limbo as Mississippi Senate Balks at $4,000 Raise
The fate of a bill that could grant Mississippi's public-school teachers a $4,000 pay raise over a two-year period remained uncertain Monday morning as lawmakers from both chambers of the …
Civil Rights
Voting Rights Act Denied Mississippi Its 'Sovereignty,' AG Candidate Says
At a Tupelo campaign stop on Monday, Mississippi State Rep. Mark Baker, a Republican candidate for attorney general, said the 1965 Voting Rights Act violated Mississippi's "sovereignty."
Politics
Mississippi Senate Calls for Constitutional Convention, Raising Civil Rights Concerns
Civil-rights protections could be "rolled back" if Mississippi joins a conservative group's effort to amend the U.S. Constitution, a prominent civil-rights organization is warning.
Personhood
Gov. Bryant Signs Abortion Ban in Deadliest State for Babies
With Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves at his side, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed the nation's most restrictive abortion bill into law on Thursday morning.
Cover
‘Why Can’t I Break That Barrier?’: The JFP Interview with AG Hopeful Jennifer Riley Collins
During our afternoon interview with Jennifer Riley Collins in downtown Jackson, she explained why she believes she is up to the momentous task of becoming the first African American woman …
Personhood
Legislative Update: Fetal Heartbeats, Teacher Pay, Tort Reform
Daniella Dismuke-Roja is an activist who is challenging laws that she believes threaten the rights of Mississippians. On March 14, she traveled to Jackson and joined a group of Democratic …
Civil Rights
‘I Can’t Keep Calm’: Myrlie Evers-Williams ‘Incensed’ at Bryant, Hyde-Smith
Civil-rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams told a radio host Friday that she refused “sit down and be quiet” after Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant credited only President Donald Trump and the state’s …
Immigration
Sen. Roger Wicker Defies Trump With Vote Against National Emergency Order
At the Neshoba County Fair in August 2018, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker sought to assure a suspicious, conservative crowd of his allegiance to President Donald Trump's agenda.
Civil Rights
Phil Bryant Praises White Officials for Evers Honor, Bashes Bennie Thompson
In the wake of a new federal law declaring civil-rights hero Medgar Evers' home a national monument, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant credited President Donald Trump and Mississippi's two white Republican …
Politics
Ronnie Crudup Jr. Wins Special Election for South Jackson House Seat
Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn called Ronnie Crudup, Jr. Tuesday evening to congratulate him on his victory after voters in south Jackson elected the local activist to fill a vacated …
Education
Mississippi Teachers Unimpressed As House Ups Two-Year Pay Raise to $4,000
Mississippi teachers told the Jackson Free Press that they agreed with critics of the Legislature's $1,000 raise bill, and they had their own criticisms of even a $4,000 raise.
Politics
Mississippi Holds Special Elections for Three House Seats Today
Mississippi voters in three state House districts head to the polls today to elect new representatives to fill vacant seats.
Politics
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' 2003 Victory over Gary Anderson 'All About Race,' Critics Say
In his successful 2003 bid for state treasurer, critics accused current-Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves of running ads designed to remind voters that his Democratic opponent, Gary Anderson was black. …
City & County
Voucher Bill Dies at Legislature, Possibly Ending Program Next Year
Mississippi's education voucher program, which subsidizes private-school tuition at the expense of public schools, could end next year after lawmakers allowed a bill to extend it to die in committee.
Politics
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Plans 2020 Kickoff With High-Dollar Donors
Just months after winning the most closely contested U.S. Senate race in Mississippi since the 1980s, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith plans to kick off her 2020 re-election bid next month …
Politics
'Take This Country Back': State Legislators Want Constitutional Convention
On Feb. 21, 2019, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Allen West asked state legislators to do something Americans have not done since the time when muskets and bayonets were commonplace—call …
Politics
Democratic House Leader David Baria Won’t Seek Re-Election
Mississippi House Minority Leader David Baria will not seek re-election to his seat, the Bay St. Louis Democrat announced unexpectedly in a letter to supporters Friday afternoon.
Politics
GOP Kills Tort Reform Amendment Requiring 'Reasonable' Safety Efforts
Businesses no longer would have to "take reasonable steps" to prevent violence on their premises after Republicans defeated a proposed amendment to a "tort-reform" bill working through the Mississippi Legislature, …
Crime
Bryant: GOP Would've 'Hollered' If Obama Pushed Criminal Reform
"You're the only president that can do this," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says he privately told President Trump last year, as he urged the fellow Republican to support criminal-justice reform.
Education
Hosemann Talks River Floods, Jackson Water, Yearly Teacher Pay Raises
Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann expounded Monday on a lawsuit against the federal government over flooding along the Mississippi River, but said his office would not "wade into" issues …
Politics
Mike Espy Boosts Young House Candidate With Endorsement, Data
Brandon Rue, president of a student organization at the University of Southern Mississippi called Common Causeto, plans to run as a Democrat for Mississippi House District 102, the state legislative …
Education
Voucher Program Helping Seg Schools Should Go, Education Advocates Say
On Valentine's Day, a voucher program that subsidizes private schools for special- needs children got the gift of four more years from the Mississippi Senate—even though many private schools in …
Cover
Mississippi: The Battleground for Roe v. Wade’s Future?
Red states, emboldened by the Trump regime, are passing hardline anti-abortion laws aimed at triggering a reconsideration of Roe at the nation's highest court—laws like the fetal heartbeat bills the …
Politics
Legislative Update: Tort Reform, Heartbeat Bills, Teacher Pay Moves Forward
On Feb. 13, the House and Senate passed "fetal heartbeat" bills, which ban abortions after a heartbeat is detected. Doctors can detect heartbeats as early as six weeks, making it …
Personhood
Dem Lt. Gov. Hopeful Voted for Abortion Ban So White Dems Don't Go Extinct
Hit with a wave of anger from his own party after he voted for a bill that essentially bans abortions after six weeks, Mississippi House Rep. Jay Hughes offered a …
Politics
Tate Reeves Spoke at Event Where 'Yankees' Were Compared to 'Nazis'
Surrounded by cotton and Confederate flags, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves praised the Sons of Confederate Veterans at their national reunion in Vicksburg in July 2013.
Politics
Hood: Judge Tate Reeves for 'Rebel Flags,' Not Frat's College Blackface
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood "did all kinds of stupid things in college," but he is "sure" wearing blackface is not one of them, he told a crowd in Jackson …
Politics
'Landowners' Tort Reform Bill Would Mean 'Safe Zones' for Crime, Critics Say
Mississippi senators delighted the business community last week when they passed a bill to cut down on lawsuits against property owners, but strong opposition remains among law enforcement, advocates for …
Politics
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' Fraternity Wore Black Face, Hurled the N-Word at Black Students
As a college student at Millsaps, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves participated in a fraternity known for blackface, racial epithets and Confederate dances, a Jackson Free Press examination of Millsaps …
