Maimed and Tamed, by Palmer Houchins
I was maimed by rock and roll.
Nonetheless, I have always been enthralled by the spectacle of live music. There was a mystifying sense of power and community contained therein. While my particular tastes and understanding of …
Busting Out of Jail, by David McCarty
Ten years after Elvis died, Bob Dylan said that when he first heard the King's first single "That's All Right" as a kid, it "was like busting out of jail." …
Cover
Tough Questions for David Banner
A Jackson rap star talks frankly about young criminals and crime hysteria in Jackson.
TALK: 2nd Amendment Tort Reform
Right before Congress adjourned for Easter, Rep Chip Pickering (R-3rd District) was getting busy, doing his part to spread the "tort reform" revolution. His staff happily released a statement saying …
TALK: State Pops Up on Gaydar
In the wake of U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's remarks this past week that some critics feel equate homosexuality with bigamy and incest, a Mississippi state senator has come out against …
Radical Crime-Fighting: What is Community Policing?
Police Chief Robert Moore could be the only man in the city who knows what "community policing" really means—and just how hard it could be to implement in Jackson. Yet, …
David Banner, Native Son, by J. Bingo Holman
Also read the JFP "Tough Questions for David Banner" interview here
Reading from the Same Page
Back in 1961, during the dark days of Jim Crow when local African-Americans had to stage read-ins to get to the books in the public library, it would have been …
CRIME: Playing the Numbers
The question of whether Jackson is "safe" has become about as polarizing as "Ford vs. Chevy" or "fats vs. carbohydrates." It depends on whom you ask. Crime is up 15 …
Blame Game: Who's At Fault for the City's Crime?
Editor's Note: Links to all of the JFP's crime stories to date are archived below this story.
The Greatest Lie
It was press night, and all sorts of people were lining up to ask me stuff so we could put this issue to bed. But I had to leave for …
Love, Not Blood
To protest a war on Iraq, on Monday, March 3, Millsaps College joined others in all 50 states and 59 countries in one of 1,004 simultaneous performances of Aristophanes' Greek …
Ain't Easy Being Green
Lifelong Mississippian and local folk musician Sherman Lee Dillon made history on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 27, when he filed a statement of intent and announced his candidacy for …
Elizabeth Robinson
Elizabeth Robinson did not take art classes while enrolled at the Mississippi University for Women. Until the school featured a 20-year retrospective of her work, she did not even know …
Winona-Wannabes
"It was my first time, I promise," a tearful teenage girl says, as she shifts her eyes everywhere except on the guy sitting beside her. "I swear, I've never done …
Let's Just Be Friends
Old Mississippi wouldn't have allowed them to be friends. Back in the 1960s, when Cornelius "C" Turner, a black man, was fighting for civil rights in the state, he could …
Cotton Is King, by Steve Cheseborough
Eddie Cotton Jr. doesn't see any reason to leave Jackson. "Man, this town has been good to me," says the 32-year-old blues singer-guitarist. "They show appreciation. If you get to …
Feeling the Indie Pulse, by Herman Snell
Those of us old enough to remember W.C. Don's, Midnight Sun, Inez's, The Mosquito and the University Pub recall these ground-breaking Jackson music establishments with a nostalgic sigh of passing. …
MUSIC: Sultry and Soulful, by Courtney Lange
It's another sultry Wednesday night on Northside Drive. Women dressed to the nines and men wearing slick suits and hats sit casually at bistro tables drinking fancy, colorful drinks. Red …
Jimmy King
We sit on the concrete steps that protrude out of the grass on an empty lot near the corner of Pearl and Minerva, I on a white handkerchief that Jimmy …
Jazz Supreme, by Andy Saje
For many, seven is a lucky number, representing good fortune. In jazz, the seventh chords are one of the essential building blocks of improvisation. In downtown Jackson, Seven* is the …
Singing the Gospel, by Stacia V. Hunter
I've been on the gospel scene in Jackson for almost 10 years as a gospel announcer, writer and an event planner; as a result, I've seen the ebb and flow …
The Girl Wants Her Turn
When is it my turn to plant my views all over the grounds of the state capitol? A group called Silent No More, a national anti-abortion organization, in conjunction with …
Live at the Rodeo
After seeing the Columbia shuttle tragedy unfold on television, I walked out the door and felt the sun on my face, and smelled the warm winter air that only the …
HeArts for a Good Cause
HeArts Against Aids, a fund-raiser, in its 11th year, that will be held at Hal & Mal's on Feb. 15.
Takin' the A Train
"The Last of the Mississippi Jukes"—will debut on the Black STARZ! cable network Feb. 16 at 8 p.m.
We, the Dougla
The show was a wild mix. Act I: Afro-Hindu Caribbean Tribal Dance. Act II: Disco Grooves and Soul Train moves. Act III: Classic European ballet based on a Russian folktale. …
Women Done Wrong
You get 10 women together, and nine of them will have a story to tell about how a man has done them wrong. Give the tenth one a little time, …
Church vs. Cars
Belhaven residents are speaking out against First Presbyterian Church's proposed plan to close Pinehurst and Belhaven streets for 30 minutes twice a day to decrease traffic in its part of …
Sally Slavinski
Sally Slavinski, 36, slides into a chair in Hal & Mal's 30 minutes before we open. She apologizes for being late, explaining that she just ran 11 miles in training …
A Dream Lost
"When America celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, students in schools named after Dr. King will be reciting the 'I have a dream' speech in auditoriums where there are no …
Trolling for Alternatives
"We must find an alternative to war and bloodshed." Those words by the late, great Martin Luther King Jr. are helping drive thousands of America to organize against a preemptive …
Radical Peace
It was one of those gatherings you don't see very often in Jackson. Three young international peace protesters—"radicals," you could call them—carried copies of "World War III," a radical New …
THEY DID: Queen Makes Big-Ass Promise
Not too long after I met Jill Conner Browne, I was bouncing around Downtown alongside a huge rolling crown. I was wearing a sequined green padded number that flattened my …
A Spoken Word Revival
The power of the spoken word needs to be felt by a variety of ages and races, says poet and activist Jolivette Anderson. Currently the artist-in-residence at Lanier High School …
In the Name of Human Decency
Ronald Chris Foster is still alive … for now. Amid rising dissent, on Jan. 6 Gov. Ronnie Musgrove temporarily stopped the execution of Foster, who was 17 when he attempted …
Is Political Change Afoot?
"Bullet proof." "Political invulnerability." "Going to win." "Sure loser." The problem with conventional wisdom is that it is usually more self-fulfilling than wise, especially when promulgated by folks who just …
Jackson Diary
Edited by JoAnne Prichard Morris
Here's a great way to get into print in the Jackson Free Press. Just send us your true anecdotes, short tales and observations from your life in Jackson, or beyond …
Don't Nobody Know: Lalee's Kin
Everyone who cares about human dignity and justice should see "Lalee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton," which debuted on HBO Sept. 18. I first saw it during the Crossroads Film …
Daddy's Little Running Back
As a child, my dream was to play running back for the greatest professional football team, at that time the Chicago Bears. I thought I would never see the day …
Edward St. Pé, by Todd Stauffer
OFFSTAGE: Crooning Again
Edward St. Pé, local weatherman-turned-CEO of WeatherVision, has another passion—singing American standards. St. Pé stopped singing nearly eight years ago, but he says he's always missed it. "If you sing, …
Braggin' in Brass, by JC Patterson
Hear, and dance to, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Friday night (Dec. 20) at George Street Grocery.
