Deputy News Editor Maya Miller is a Jackson State University graduate. She writes about crime, music, art and her ever growing obsession with Beyonce. Send her news tips at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @MayaLMiller.
Recent Commentary
Civil Rights
Defending Our Blackness, Unapologetically
I didn't watch the 2016 BET awards last Sunday, but I did partake in the Black Twitter awards watch party where I retweet, lurk from afar and pop some tweets …
Editor's Note
Stand With Victims of Sexual Violence
On the one day a week that I'm allowed to sleep past noon, I woke before dawn to a flurry of Facebook shares of one victim's soul-rattling letter to her …
Editor's Note
A Flower Child at Heart
There's something refreshing about the changing seasons, and I experience it more when the trees bloom and storefronts open their doors to greet those rising from their hibernation under long …
Editor's Note
Always Strive for #BlackExcellence
As much as I'd love to talk about first lady Michelle Obama's perfectly curled hair and her beaming smile, her Jackson State commencement address was probably one of the most …
Civil Rights
Slay, Beyoncé, Slay
I'm proud of Beyonce for using her status as an influential performer to send a message of unapologetic blackness.
Editor's Note
Thank You, Jackson, for Showing Up, Showing Out
If you missed the Best of Jackson party this past Sunday, you missed an event that perfectly exemplifies why the city is so awesome.
Education
Conversations about (Young) Community
Once the panelists at Operation Shoestring's "Conversations About Community" began speaking, everyone seemed to realize, all at once, that we have to listen to our children.
Civil Rights
Aching for Tamir, Fearing for My Life
When the news broke of no indictment against the officer in the Tamir Rice case on Dec. 28, I wasn't shocked or surprised. I was disappointed, I ached for Tamir's …
A Pink Keychain of Mace
One thing everyone told me before I left for college is to always protect myself. Be aware of my surroundings, travel in packs, walk only in well-lit areas—the same diatribe …
Recent Stories
Music
Dream Cult: Working on ‘Weekend’
What began as a group of Jackson friends jamming together as surf-rock band The Weekend Kids has turned into a music career for the members of '80s-inspired indie-pop act Dream …
Business
Frustration Continues over City Furloughs
Standing in the sweltering July heat, city workers, union organizers and their interns gathered this morning on the steps of Jackson City Hall to speak out once again about the …
City & County
Town Hall: Reduce Youth Crime with Less Incarceration, More Engagement
The room was nearly packed on July 14 at Millsaps College as concerned members of the community gathered for a town-hall meeting on preventing violence, gang interruption, and alternatives to …
Person of the Day
Joseph "Piko" Ewoodzie
As a professor of sociology and Africana studies at Davidson College in North Carolina, Joseph "Piko" Ewoodzie wants to uncover what's under the hood of society and discover how the …
City & County
Guilty Pleas, and a Hunt for Prostitutes, Johns and Child Predators
It's been a relatively steady summer of lower crime across the city, with major crimes coming in 17.6 percent lower than 2015 with violent crimes 15.4 percent lower than 2015 …
State
‘Tough Love’: Harlem Gang Expert Visiting Jackson
Dr. Kai Smith, a native of Harlem, runs GRAAFICS, Gang Diversion, Reentry And Absent Fathers Intervention Centers, a program he founded to give young men and women an outlet to …
Civil Rights
Actress Aunjanue Ellis: Mississippi Flag Damages African American Community
Actress and Mississippi native Aunjanue Ellis recently spoke to the Jackson Free Press by phone on heritage, hate and bringing down the flag.
Civil Rights
Film Star: Mississippi Flag an American, Not State, Problem
Local advocates, civil-rights activists and actress Aunjanue Ellis, a Mississippi native and critic of the state flag, held a community town-hall meeting at the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center …
City & County
National Re-entry Month, Officer of the Month, Crime Down Across the City
Mayor Tony Yarber declared that the City of Jackson is participating in National Re-entry Month in support of citizens who have been incarcerated and are now returning to society.
City & County
JPD Honors Fallen Officers with 'Honor and Respect'
Family members of fallen Jackson Police Department officers placed roses on the memorial site outside of JPD headquarters in downtown Jackson yesterday, and were presented with potted peace lilies, a …
Blog Entries
- Thigpen: Charter Schools are 'Free' Schools
- Traffic Delays for First Lady's Commencement Speech
- Planned Parenthood Southeast Denounces Second-Trimester Abortion Method Ban
- Big Day: Flag Rally, Mississippi Primaries and Campaign Parties
- Jackson State University Revises Spring 2016 Academic Calendar, Moves Commencement Dates Forward
- Renamed Hal's St. Paddy's Parade to Honor Hal White, Benefit Batson Children's Hospital
- Mayor Yarber, Public Works to Hold Public Meeting to Address Water Bill Concerns
- U.S. Department of Transportation Awards Jackson $16.5M TIGER Grant
- Jackson Pothole Report: Oct 20, 2015
- City to Estimate Water Bills During Verification Period
- Jackson Pothole Report: Sept. 14, 2015
