Jackson Free Press

[Cohen] Beware the Writhing of a Starving Beast

When Haley Barbour was running for governor, the national GOP pulled out its heaviest hitters to canvass the state for his campaign. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Rudy Giuliani …

David Dennis, Jr.

Tall, slim, wearing his hair in neat, short braids, David Dennis Jr. looks like a high school basketball player, maybe on his way to play in college—if he's got the …

Telling Our Own Stories

Our readers' grass-roots "Fahrenheit 601" campaign to bring Michael Moore's film to Jackson is inspiring them to band together to bring other independent and edgy films to Jackson. Since we …

'Mississippi Burning' and Other Tall Tales

In one of those bizarre twists of fate that keep happening to me since I returned to Mississippi, I ended up recently spending a Saturday afternoon in Neshoba County with …

[Hutchinson] What is ‘the Truth,' Mr. Cosby?

Comedian Bill Cosby's partial recant that his knock of allegedly bad behaving blacks was a call for action and not a broad brush stroke indictment of all poor blacks, came …

[Jacktown] Aggressive and Musical, by Alphonso Mayfield

What's up, Jackson? I want to update you on a few develops on albums from some of your favorite Jacktown artists. With all the excitement going on surrounding Jubilee! Jam …

Nader Slams ‘Paymasters'

Green Party presidential hopeful Ralph Nader came to town June 16, sounding more like his old ball-busting, consumer-advocate self than a man trying to upset the presidential apple cart.

[Ask JoAnne] The Dreaded Sentence Prayer

A. You're right, nobody really sent in that question. But it's not totally made up. It's a question I get all too often—the dreaded question. It's the dreaded question because …

Great Americans

Tamaya Daniels sat in the lobby of the new girl's dorm at Tougaloo College, watching the Lakers vs. Pistons game on television. A center for Nottingham High School in Syracuse. …

Down a Southern Road

Monday, June 21, is the 40th anniversary of the deaths of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.

Dick Molpus Raises the Roof in Neshoba County

June 20, 2004—With Gov. Haley Barbour sitting right behind him, former Secretary of State and Neshoba County native Dick Molpus made a thundering speech in honor of slain civil rights …

Barbour and his Deadbeat Mississippians

June 11, 2004–Today in The New York Times, columnist Bob Herbert nails Barbour's cuts to Medicaid recipients–the worst Medicaid cuts ever: "If you want to see 'compassionate' conservatism in action, …

Hoops City

The Jackson Rage won't have to leave home for the playoffs, a luxury for both the team and its fans. The WBA will hold its first championship weekend at Jackson …

"Folk Funk," Bobby Rush

So why the hell isn't Bobby Rush famous?

In a 50-plus year career, he's recorded well over 20 albums, one with Philly Soul legends Gamble and Huff. Last year he starred in one of the films in the …

City of Brutality: A Review of ‘City of God'

Crime, redemption and the viciousness of the human animal are the fundamental elements of "City of God (Cidade de Deus)," a brutal and beautiful drama from Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles. …

Politics of the Blues

Otis Taylor is one of the few blues artists today who has explicitly addressed lynching; his song "Saint Martha Blues" tells in painful detail the story of his great-grandfather's lynching …

Charles Hooker

Charles Hollingsworth Hooker Jr., 58, holds dear his faith, family, furniture—mid-century modern business furniture, that is—and jazz. After growing up in his father's downtown business, the Mississippi Stationery Company, the …

Men We Love

In honor of Dad's day, we want to spotlight just a few of the Jacksonian men we love.

Former Gov. William Winter, 81, is such an obvious choice for the "Men We Love" issue that we almost feel silly including him. But, as politics get uglier and more …

Where's the Monk?

"Van Helsing—The Game" looks and feels like a medieval "Enter the Matrix" and plays like "Devil May Cry 2"—both of which flopped. Fortunately, it also manages to combine the good …

18 Going on 21: Jubilee Jam! Almost Legal!

Mississippi's largest annual music festival has returned for its 18th birthday after its near-fatal deluge of rain and indebtedness in 2003. Jubilee! Jam, with its move to mid-June, has been …