V16n26 - Love Over Stigma

Page 1

vol. 16 no. 26

FREE FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 6, 2018

CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF THE JFP

SUBSCRIBE FREE FOR BREAKING NEWS AT JFPDAILY.COM

Your YourMetro MetroEvents EventsCalendar Calendarisisatat

JFPEVENTS.COM JFPEVENTS.COM

The Racist Roots of ing Voters DisenfranchisDr eher, pp 8 - 10

L O V E O V E R STIGMA

Coming Home to the Heights Gordon, pp 14 - 16

Finding Hope in a y Crumbling Librar - 10 Bragg, pp 7

Wakanda Forever

Franklin, p 12

Travis Meadows Comes Home

Smith, p 20


Patty Peck Used Car Super Center Call 833-641-1810 to reach one of our used car specialists and mention these deals featured in the Jackson Free Press. We strive to offer a large selection of quality used cars, SUV’s, Sedans, Coupes, Minivans and Trucks for our Jackson area shoppers. We work very hard to ensure our customer’s satisfaction, as well as making the car buying process as smooth and enjoyable as possible.

point inspection on all Premium t 146 & Premium CertifyPlus Used Cars

Warranty on every Premium Used car, t Lifetime Powertrain truck, SUV or minivan t Love it or Leave it Money Back Guarantee

Used 2016 Ford Fusion SE FWD

Used 2015 Toyota RAV4 XLE FWD

Sale Price: $18,999

Sale Price: $14,212

Sale Price: $19,411

Used 2017 Dodge Charger SXT RWD

Used 2015 Toyota Corolla LE FWD

Used 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe SE FWD

Used 2018 Kia Sportage LX FWD Stock #P12997, 14,870 Miles 23/30 City/Hwy MPG

Stock #P13052, 48,232 Miles 19/30 City/Hwy MPG

Sale Price: $19,874

Stock #A076298A, 43,347 Miles 22/34 City/Hwy MPG

Stock #P13038, 7,821 Miles 29/38 City/Hwy MPG

Sale Price $14,499

Stock #P13042, 28,273 24/31 City/Hwy MPG

Stock #P13001, 47,549 Miles 18/25 City/Hwy MPG

Sale Price: $19,599

Dine In or Carry Out for

UNDER $10

HIBACHI GRILL Steak, Scallops, Tuna, and more!

THAI & JAPANESE Pad Thai, Yaki Udon, and more!

Advertised price excludes tax, tag, registration, title, and $179.85 documentation fee.

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

The Patty Peck Promise

2

Lifetime Powertrain Warranty Money Back Guarantee

Honda Certified Express Service Free Car Wash and Vacuum

4VOOZCSPPL 3PBE 3JEHFMBOE .4 t t XXX QBUUZQFDLIPOEB DPN

SUSHI COMBOS Rainbow Roll, Dynamite Roll, and more!

Come see why our customers rate us 5 stars on Facebook!

Open 7 Days A Week 11:00 am - 9:00 pm 118 Service Dr, Suite 17 Brandon, MS 601-591-7211


JACKSONIAN Sumati Thomas Stephen Wilson

I

t was at Murrah High School where Sumati Thomas, the coordinator of institutional research at Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society’s headquarters in Jackson, first discovered her love of science and technology. She then decided to attend the University of Southern Mississippi to study computer science. Soon after starting, though, a virtualreality course made her switch majors to software engineering with an emphasis in design computing. “It merged my love for art and technology,” she says. Thomas received a bachelor’s degree in software engineering in 2004 from USM and a master’s degree in business administration from Walden University in 2009. She served as an instructional technologist and the director of academic information technology at Tougaloo College from 2004 to 2011. She then heard of an opening for staff support trainer at Phi Theta Kappa. “I love Phi Theta Kappa’s mission, and applied for the position,” she says. “... I moved from doing technology training to data analysis to my current position as coordinator of institutional research.” After graduating from Walden,

contents

Thomas learned that people were forming a roller-derby team, the Magnolia Roller Vixens, and decided to get involved. Thomas, who was a founding member, left the team in 2012. The Vixens merged with Capital City Roller Girls in 2016. “I miss the sisterhood, which was the fun part,” she says. “Derby helped me find my voice and brought out my leadership skills.” In 2014, Thomas and her husband, Brian Thomas, welcomed their now-3year-old daughter, Zoe, to their family. They are expecting a second child in July. “It’s been a long journey for my husband and I to become parents,” Thomas says. “We wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. Our daughter has brought so much to our lives. You get lost in how monotonous life and work can be, but a 3-year-old makes you stop sometimes and just appreciate life and its little wonders.” Her husband works for educational nonprofit Get2College. The couple has been married for almost 12 years and lives in Madison. In her spare time, she enjoys sewing and other arts and crafts. “I have a craft closet that resembles a craft store,” she says. —Maya Parker

cover photo of Sandifer House by Stephen Wilson

6 ............................ Talks 12 ................... editorial 13 ...................... opinion 14 ............ Cover Story 18.......................... 8 Days 19 ........................ Events 19 ....................... sports

6 The Superintendent Search

The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees will interview two consulting firms this week that want to conduct a superintendent search for the district.

21 Unusual Combinations

Italian and barbecue don’t sound like they mix, but the combination works for Angelo’s.

20 .......................... music 20 ........ music listings 21 ........... food & Drink 22 ...................... Puzzles 23 ......................... astro 23 ............... Classifieds

20 On Mississippi Dirt

“I needed to get my feet on Mississippi dirt, where maybe I could get some inspiration and kind of feel at home, you know?” —Travis Meadows, “Travis Meadows: On Mississippi Dirt”

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

4 ............ Editor’s Note

Joshua Black Wilkins; Stephen Wilson; Stephen Wilson

February 28 - March 6, 2018 | Vol. 16 No. 26

3


editor’s note

by Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief

Move On from ‘Antiquated and Useless’ Gang Bill

W

hew, that nightmare is over. A very bad “gang bill” has died in the Legislature for the second year in a row. This death occurred after the Senate passed the bill to criminalize gang association and give expanded sentences to associates of gangs or crews or cliques for up to 15 years. The bill died after a year of The Clarion-Ledger carrying heavy water for the Mississippi Association of Gang Investigators, a wild-west cop group that wants to round up the gangsters, old-school style. All last year, their reporter of “crime/breaking/ mayhem” (per Twitter) kept quoting the bill’s supporters proclaiming “a gang problem!” and reported MAGI members saying they wanted to lock up people simply for being in a gang—guilt by association. That reporter seldom interviews anyone about the gang bill other than law enforcement who want to send more young people to gang-infested prisons where they’re likely to come out worse criminals. She doesn’t talk to former gang members, which isn’t hard at all to do, not to give up my trade secrets. And I have never seen her hunt down an actual criminologist, just taking every MAGI word as gospel. MAGI even has a “Never Back Down” logo of a skull with dripping blood (or maybe it’s milk?) over an apparent AR-15. The logo brings the slogan to mind of the nowdisbanded NYPD Street Crimes Unit that shot unarmed Amadou Diallo 41 times in his yard: “We own the night.” The SCU even had a Hemingway quote printed on their shirts: “Certainly there is no hunting of man like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter.”

The problem with MAGI’s gang bill is that it was circular, leaving no confidence that the people behind it were trying to seek good information and evidence-based strategy. They surveyed cops at a November 2017 convention (which that reporter attended) and sent the lists of suspected gangs to the local Homeland Security’s “fusion center,” which kicked MAGI back a report in December using their data to back the gang bill in January. Then the bill’s spon-

From ‘Never Back Down to ‘We Own the Night’ sor (whom the reporter had quoted all year) took to the floor and argued for it because, you know, gangs are bad. See Spot run. Then, after it came out that the fusion report MAGI provided information to had doubled the number of gang members in Mississippi prisons, the reporter managed to distill the opposition to the bill into “civil-rights groups” and “the Black Caucus.” No, Ledger. The strongest opposition to any such gang bill, and police obsessing about gangs in general, actually comes from crime and violence experts who work daily to end violent crime and use both the research and the evidence-based practices the whole country of violence experts knows about in 2018. It’s hard to type the words “gang violence” into a search engine and not be inundated with reasons the MAGI

gang bill didn’t make a lick of sense. And not because the law might be used to profile African Americans and Hispanics, send them to prison longer if you can attach them to one or another gang, and then take away their voting rights forever. Yes, that is a real danger in today’s world. We all know it, especially the folks who are salivating to disenfranchise black voters (see pages 8-10). We can stipulate this danger even without The Clarion-Ledger reporter’s transparent asides about the Black Caucus being the big opponent of the gang bill. The other, and arguably larger reason, to oppose the gang bill is that it would not do what such a law promises to do: reduce violence and serious crime over time. The crime experts would tell that reporter repeatedly should she bother to ask that policing gang activity is dumb and counterproductive. You should attack the violence and the people committing it, which most of them predict is 10 percent or less of the people who claim some sort of gang association, which is often a way of belonging to something bigger than yourself. (Which contains hints, by the way, of other ways to prevent violence and crime.) I was just in New York City for 10 days to attend a crime-reporting symposium at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice where I have a fellowship (in conjunction with the Quattrone Center at Penn Law). The purpose is to give reporters tools to help know what and who to ask about crime and violence, and they connected us with everyone from the district attorneys of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Houston, Texas, to opioid experts (and a former addict) in Ohio, to the top criminologists and crime researchers in the country, to Koch Industries reps for prison and re-entry reform.

We’ll be reporting on what I learned there over time, but suffice it to say that not one of them expressed the need to police and punish gang association and pile on additional sentences. The opposite, in fact. They know such “general” efforts are counter-productive and that most cities have moved to smarter, “focused” strategies. One of the best-known strategies is headed by David Kennedy, a John Jay professor of criminal justice and the director of the National Network for Safe Communities, which helps set up and run programs often called “Operation Ceasefire” in cities around the country; some of their most recent work is in Birmingham, Ala. In fact, one of the primary strategies the 2016 BOTEC Analysis study of Jackson crime— funded by the Legislature and ignored by the Ledger—embraced was what is often called “the Kennedy model,” which grew out of the successful Boston Gun Project of the 1990s, which he helped establish. Put simply, Kennedy knows gang violence, but doesn’t use the word “gang” much. “‘Gang’ is an antiquated and useless concept,” he told me in his office last week. He criticized the “world of gang enforcement” that fixates on policing gangs, instead of being smart and targeting the small percentage that commit the violence. Stay tuned for more solutions reporting on this front. If the gang bill stays dead as it should, we need to replace it with efforts that are more intelligent and evidencebased and not as likely to increase recidivism and create more violent gang members. To be part of a local dialogue on such causes and solutions, join the Youth Media Project Thursday night, March 1, at Wingfield High School from 6 to 8 p.m. Free. Also see jfp.ms/preventingviolence.

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

contributors

4

Brian Gordon

Ko Bragg

Arielle Dreher

Stephen Wilson

Micah Smith

Rebecca Hester

Kimberly Griffin

Zilpha Young

Freelance writer Brian Gordon is a history teacher in Rochester, N.Y. He enjoys soccer, “The Simpsons” and reading. He is an avid drinker of tea and sometimes misses the potholes of Jackson. He wrote the cover story this issue.

City Reporter Ko Bragg is a Philadelphia, Miss., transplant who recently completed her master’s in journalism. She loves traveling and has been to 25 countries to date. She wrote about libraries and the autism center.

News Reporter Arielle Dreher is working on finding some new hobbies and adopting an otter from the Jackson Zoo. Email her story ideas at arielle@jacksonfreepress.com. She wrote about disenfranchisement and JPS.

Staff Photographer Stephen Wilson is always on the scene, bringing you views from the six. He contributed photographs to this issue, including the cover photo of the former Sandifer House.

Music Editor Micah Smith is married to a great lady, has two dog-children named Kirby and Zelda, and plays in the band Empty Atlas. Send gig info to music@jacksonfreepress.com. He interviewed country artist Travis Meadows.

Events Editor Rebecca Hester recently moved to the Jackson area, and loves Alabama football, Boston Celtics basketball, the outdoors, music, dogs and volunteering as much as humanly possible. She edited the events.

Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin is a Jackson native who loves Jesus, her mama, cooking, traveling, the Callaway Chargers, chocolate, her godson, working out and locally owned restaurants, not necessarily in that order.

Zilpha Young is an ad designer by day, painter, illustrator, seamstress and freelance designer by night. Check out her design portfolio at zilphacreates.com. She designed ads for the issue.


ERICKA WHEELER, RHODES SCHOLAR

SARA DEL CASTILLO, FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR

NOAH BARBIERI, RHODES SCHOLAR, TRUMAN SCHOLAR

DANIEL KEES, FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR

RHODES. FULBRIGHT. TRUMAN. GOLDWATER. COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME. In the past three years, Millsaps College has claimed all five with two Rhodes Scholars, two Fulbright Scholars, a Truman Scholar, a Goldwater recipient, and a College Football Hall of Fame inductee. WORLD CLASS. HERE AT HOME.

SEAN BREWER, COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

At MDWFP’s MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE

CURRENTLY ON VIEW The Mississippi Museum of Art and its programs are sponsored in part by the city of Jackson and Visit Jackson. Support is also provided in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Picturing Mississippi is supported by the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation and

MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM of ART | 380 SOUTH LAMAR STREET | JACKSON, MS 39201 | 601.960.1515

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

MARCH 3

MILLSAPS.EDU

Charlie Buckley (born 1982), Cloudscape with Soybeans, 2016. oil on wood panel. Collection of Paul and Tanya Ellis, Ridgeland,

DIANE BRAVENEC, GOLDWATER SCHOLAR

5


“Mugshots and sensationalized news narratives create lasting impressions that adversely impact communities and widen the historic divide between police and community.”

@jxnfreepress

@jacksonfreepress

— Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba said at City Hall on releasing mugshots.

@jxnfreepress

Addressing Mississippi’s curious list of disenfranchising crimes p8

Thursday, February 22 The Mississippi House of Representatives passes House Bill 1631, which authorizes $100 million in bonds and loans for the “One Lake” project. Friday, February 23 A private group called Friends of Mississippi Civil Rights organizes a gala and symposium to celebrate the new Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, featuring Rep. John Lewis, Rep. Bennie Thompson and others. Saturday, February 24 Two weeks after Donald Trump blocked its full release, the House Intelligence Committee publishes a partially blacked-out version of a classified Democratic memo aiming to counter a GOP narrative that the FBI and Justice Department conspired against Trump as they investigated his ties to Russia.

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

Sunday, February 25 North Korea announces it is willing to talk with the United States during the closing of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

6

Monday, February 26 Mayor Chokwe Lumumba halts the Jackson Police Department from disseminating mugshots of juveniles and those in officer-involved shootings. … The U.S. Supreme Court rejects the Trump administration’s bid to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Tuesday, February 27 The gang bill dies in the Mississippi Legislature. ... A Senate Judiciary Committee amends HB 1083 to allow public and private school administrators to establish school-safety programs that would allow teachers to carry guns. Get breaking news at jfpdaily.com.

Stephen Wilson

Wednesday, February 21 Starkville aldermen deny a request from LGBT support group Starkville Pride to host the city’s first gay pride parade with no explanation. … Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Commissioner Glenn Boyce announces that he will retire on June 30, the end of the state budget year.

Jackson Public Schools Board Vice President Ed Sivak (left) and President Jeanne Hairston (right) said they plan to have a new superintendent in place for the district by July 1, 2018.

JPS Board Pushes Supe Search Forward by Arielle Dreher

J

ackson Public Schools could have a new superintendent by July if the Board of Trustees gets its way. Earlier this month, the board finalized its top two superintendent search firm candidates: McPherson & Jacobsen LLC and Hazard Young Attea Associates. They will interview both firms in open work sessions on Thursday. Last week, Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, discussed the superintendent search with the board. Board vice president Ed Sivak said the conversation was helpful for the upcoming conversations and decisions the board will make. Sivak said the board is considering looking at firms that have done searches in cities similar to Jackson, as well as weighing the options of doing a national or local search—or both.

“(We discussed) the role of the board, you know, pushing the search firm … not just having them conduct a passive search but really to go find the best candidates,” Sivak told reporters last week. Both search firms still in the running have experience in other urban school districts around the country, copies of their responses to the request for proposals show. Hazard Young has worked with school districts in Portland, Ore., Houston, Texas, Los Angeles, Calif., and Boston, Mass. McPherson & Jacobsen has worked with school districts in Little Rock, Ark., Jacksonville, Fla., Charlotte, N.C., and Starkville, Miss. JPS is the second-largest district in Mississippi, with more than 25,000 students in the capital city. Still, the district is smaller than many urban districts nation-

Pencils, printers, papers, computers and any other supply necessary to teach. Broadband and Internet access—yes, this is a real need; just ask the Public Service Commission. A raise, and if #msleg isn’t careful, they could see a West Virginia repeat right here in the ‘Sip.

20% 5% 15%

10%

5%

What Mississippi Teachers Actually Need to be Armed With

wide. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, in North Carolina, has more than 145,000 students, for example. Both search firms have experience working in districts with much larger as well as similar-sized districts to JPS. McPherson & Jacobson estimates costs for its search to be about $37,000. Hazard Young starts its consulting fee at $28,500, but this price tag does not include advertising or background checks or surveys, which could bump that cost to about what McPherson estimates it will cost. Board President Jeanne Hairston said the board selected the two search firms based on their written applications but said she is unafraid to re-issue the RFP if after the interviews if needed. “If we are not satisfied with what they have to offer, I don’t think we would

Professional development and support to succeed. Books written in the last 50 years, including history textbooks that teach accurate civil-rights/ slavery history.

45%

Full funding of MAEP, duh.


“This was one of a number of provisions that the Constitution of 1890 (had) seeking to make it more difficult for black people to exercise their voting rights.” — Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, discussing the state’s list of disenfranchising crimes before passing a study committee bill out of his Judiciary B Committee this week.

“(There are) miracles happening in her autism center.” — Patty Furr, executive director of Jackson-Hinds Library system, on the autism program held in the Eudora Welty Library.

Providing Hope in a Crumbling Library by Ko Bragg

have a problem with re-opening the search because you can’t get a high-quality candidate if you don’t have a high-quality search team,” she said. Hairston emphasized that the board wants a superintendent who is excited about both the challenges and the opportunities of walking into the district. “JPS does have challenges, but we want them to be able to see our incredible strengths in Jackson: our vibrant city, our outstanding citizens, our partners in community and, most particularly, our children that have great potential,” she said. The district is in the throes of several studies, adjustments and additional work to comply with state accreditation standards. Earlier this year, the Council of the Great City Schools recommended that the board re-evaluate the organizational structure of the district. Hairston and Sivak said they wanted to install a new superintendent first before re-organizing.

“We know that right now our priority is getting a strong superintendent in place. We want to make sure we create an environment where she or he can come in and be successful, so we want to be careful about making lots of changes prior to that person getting in place so that they can work with the board to build a structure where our students can succeed,” Sivak told reporters CAP First, Studies Later The six members of the board, who are still pretty new to their roles, have had their fair share of challenges from the beginning. The new board was just a small piece of the city-governor-districtW.K. Kellogg Foundation partnership that helped JPS maintain local control and avoid a state takeover last fall. The Mississippi Department of Education conducted an investigative audit of the district, finding JPS to be out of compliance with 24 state accreditation stan-

someone got stuck or seemed confused. The room quieted with everyone waiting in anticipation and support. “OK, I’ll do it slowly,” Brandon replied. Jinkiri supports as many as 135 local families with 3-year-olds all the way up to 60-year-olds who are on the autism spectrum. Her center is on the first floor of Eudora Welty—the only floor that is currently open to the public because the roof leaks and the second floor has mold. Jinkiri said some of the families stopped coming to the center because they fear the mold could make their kids sick, even though it has not spread to the first floor. The network of libraries overall need help. The Charles Tisdale Library has been closed since last April when the basement flooded with 3 feet of water, leaving black mold in its tracks and 42,000 annual visitors without a library. The Willie Morris Library also leaks, and someone overdosed in Eudora Welty last month. Despite a seemingly grim reality, Jackson-Hinds Libraries Executive Director Patty Furr has hope for the Capital city’s branches and the communities they serve, and she credits the work Jinkiri is doing as an example of a good library’s mission. “(There are) miracles happening in her autism center,” Furr told the Jackson Free Press.

dards. The governor declined to declare an emergency, however, and JPS entered into a time of transition. The State Board of Education still put JPS on probation for their accreditation violations. The Better Together Commission, compiled of local business leaders, educators and other stakeholders in Jackson’s schools, has since hired the Insight Company, from California, to conduct an indepth needs analysis of JPS by November 2018. Additionally, the Council of Great City Schools had already been at Jackson Public Schools last year with plans to release a report this spring. Last week, the JPS board approved the revised corrective action plan, required for JPS to get off probation. The state board will vote on the plan at their March meeting. Sivak said a lot of the corrections needed in the CAP were to ensure that the district has ways to measure and prove that it is meeting accreditation standards.

more LIBRARY, see page 8

Both Hairston and Sivak said the board’s determination to maintain a healthy, working relationship with MDE officials is working. They praised the amount of time that state Department of Education workers have met with the board and JPS officials to iron out the CAP. “Through the back and forth, it’s not adversarial; it’s thought-provoking and coming to the best practice for the district,” Hairston told reporters last week. “And it takes colleagues thinking it through to come up with the best solution.” Hairston said the public often thinks the parties are fighting. “Well no, we’re just trying to build the best corrective action plan so that we can follow it and honor it and feel good about it,” she added. Email reporter Arielle Dreher at arielle@jackson freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @arielle_amara.

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

Stephen Wilson

Ruth Jinkiri hosts classes in the autism resource center in the Eudora Welty Library for as many as 135 local families. The classes include 3-year-olds all the way up to 60-year-olds who are on the autism spectrum.

R

uth Jinkiri warned that her Thursday afternoon young-adult reading class might be particularly lively and loud because they would be celebrating a 30th birthday with cupcakes and ice cream. Jinkiri is known to give snacks at the autism resource center she started at the Eudora Welty Library in downtown Jackson in 2014. One young girl she works with oneon-one asks for what she calls “blue chips” during every session—Ruffles sour cream and cheddar chips with a blue banner at the top of the bag. Jinkiri sent her husband last week to buy several bags to keep on hand. “I use food as an incentive,” Jinkiri said. During the class on Feb. 22, Jinkiri brought out three black Chick-fil-A containers filled with pennies, nickels and dimes, and two envelopes with dollar bills inside. The students passed around laminated cards with food items drawn on them, each with an accompanying cost. The sprinkling of parents and chaperones in the room frowned at the seemingly inflated prices—a canned lemon drink and a container of cheddar goldfish crackers cost $3 each. The students had to take money out of the envelope and containers to pay for their “snack” to reinforce a lesson on counting change. Brandon, a student in the class who wore a blue Tshirt, had to figure out how many dimes made 50 cents. “Take your time,” Jinkiri said, as she did each time

7


TALK | state

A

nthony Witherspoon calls it “divine intervention.” Others might call it luck. The secondterm mayor of Magnolia, Miss., learned quickly how state laws can disenfranchise and significantly alter a person’s life, all depending on what crimes they have committed. Witherspoon, who is black, was convicted of manslaughter in 1992 after shooting a man “in self-defense” after having six

As soon as he got to prison in 1996, Witherspoon began to research his voting rights, and found that manslaughter is not one of the 22 disenfranchising crimes in Mississippi. “[I] discovered that … there were only 10 felonies that disenfranchised someone from their voting rights if convicted of a felony,” Witherspoon recalled. “It said murder, but it didn’t say my charge, which was manslaughter. It said

eligible to vote as well. Any Mississippian, who is a U.S. citizen and has never been convicted of voter fraud or one of the 22 disenfranchising crimes can register to vote and has the right to vote, including men and women in prison. “I actually started registering inmates to vote while in prison, and we continued that campaign once I got out of prison,” he told the Jackson Free Press. Witherspoon worked with the ACLU of Mississippi and the NAACP to help educate Mississippians about the specific list of disenfranchising crimes. When Witherspoon got out of prison in 2002, voter registration forms still by Arielle Dreher no disclaimers about disenfranchising crimes, so he worked with the ACLU on an education campaign in order to register more formally incarcerated Mississippians to vote. One of the disenfranchising crimes in the 1890 Mississippi Constitution is “theft,” which is not currently defined in state law. In 2012, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann published a list of 22 disenfranchising crimes, based on a 2009 attorney general’s opinion. Corey Wiggins, the executive director of the Mississippi NAACP, called on lawmakers “Theft” is still on the to work to restore voting rights for the more than 218,000 Mississippians who are list, as well as receiving stodisenfranchised, at a press conference at the Capitol this session. len property, timber larceny, unlawful taking of motor or seven rounds fired at him, he says today. rape but not aggravated assault.” vehicle, carjacking and felony shoplifting. The Mississippi Supreme Court rejected Witherspoon wrote a letter to the Arson, armed robbery, bigamy, murder two lower court rulings that he was guilty attorney general asking for clarification. and robbery also make the list. of murder, and ultimately a jury convicted The answer was clear: He still had his Witherspoon’s manslaughter convichim of manslaughter, and he drew a 20-year right to vote. He wrote his circuit clerk tion also meant he could hold public ofprison sentence. Witherspoon stayed out of and asked for an absentee ballot to be fice, despite not being allowed to get his prison for four years on an appeal bond and sent to prison. Witherspoon went on to violent offense expunged. In November then served six years in state prison. register several other inmates who were 1992, the Legislature had added two ex-

Arielle Dreher

The Racist Roots of Disenfranchising Voters

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

LIBRARY from page 6

8

‘Give Him that Time’ Kenneth, 13, came into the autism center on Feb. 22 with his mother Saundra Thomas who uses a cane because of a spinal-cord injury. He had on the Jackson Public Schools middle-school uniform—a navy polo and khaki pants. He kept his hands under the table and sat low in his chair but not to the point of slouching. Kenneth spoke with the encouragement of his mother in a low tone that was only slightly above a whisper. Jinkiri could hear him no matter where she was in the room. “Ms. Ruth has really made a difference in our lives be-

cause now Kenneth is able to communicate a lot more,” Saundra told the Jackson Free Press on Tuesday. Last summer, Saundra had been going to other libraries to do research on children with autism and getting services through the public-school system because her son Kenneth is highly functioning and has Asperger’s syndrome. A “sweet” librarian with glasses low on her nose gave Jinkiri’s number to Saundra and told her about the autism resource center. She remembers calling Jinkiri and reaching a “lady with a very distinct voice.” “Nobody has Ms. Ruth’s voice but her,” Saundra said. Jinkiri came to Jackson by way of Northern Nigeria— hence the distinct accent. Jinkiri met with the Thomas family on Saturday at the center, and although Kenneth was reluctant to speak

ceptions to the law that kept anyone convicted of a felony from running for office: manslaughter and tax violations. Witherspoon was convicted of manslaughter in November 1992. “I guarantee that this little country boy did not have that kind of pull with the Legislature, but that’s what happened,” Witherspoon said. In the Courtroom The ACLU of Mississippi attempted to sue the state for its list of disenfranchising crimes when Witherspoon worked there—but did not succeed. Now, the Mississippi Center for Justice is challenging this list in federal court. Changing the list of disenfranchising crimes could change voter turnout for several counties across the state. Mississippi is one of 12 states with disenfranchisement laws that can affect people for life. The list of 22 disenfranchising crimes means an estimated 218,181 people in the state are unable to vote, a new study from the Sentencing Project, One Voice and the Mississippi NAACP, shows. In an analysis of 2016 data, researchers found that 93 percent of those disenfranchised on Mississippi’s list live in the community—not behind bars. “Mississippi has one of the most extreme policies. It’s one of the states that disenfranchises people for life unless there’s intervention either from the governor or from this onerous process where people have to file individual suffrage bills,” Nicole Porter with the Sentencing Project told the Jackson Free Press. Mississippians looking to restore their voting rights must petition the governor for a pardon or executive order or ask their district’s lawmakers to introduce a suffrage bill on their behalf, a process that is far from a guarantee. Gov. Phil more ROOTS see page 10

to Jinkiri, the plants in the room were the kicker. Saundra grows plants at home and Kenneth had gotten used to tending to them. Since going to Jinkiri’s class, Saundra said her son’s grades have improved, despite a brief fluctuation when he was being bullied. During the Thursday class, Kenneth spoke most when his mother suggested he share with the class the reason why he could not make it to the class the week before—the school bus never came. “The bus drivers have other jobs,” he said. Saundra tends to encourage Kenneth to talk more, and she says Jinkiri often shoots her a look that means, “wait.” more LIBRARY, see page 10


Move your auto loan in the right direction and walk away with ...

MILLSAPS COLLEGE

COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT Spring 2018 | millsaps.edu/enrichment | 601-974-1130 Course

Instructor

Arts and Crafts Basic Enameling Viking Knit Beginning Photography Intermediate Mosaics: Mosaic on Clear Glass Intro to Mosaics - Garden Brick Class Knitting a Cotton T-shirt Knitting a Sock Paint & Antique Almost Anything Like a Pro

Laura Tarbutton Laura Tarbutton Ron Blaylock Teresa Haygood Teresa Haygood Donna Peyton Donna Peyton Latresa Enns

Dance Adult Ballet Class Irish Ceili and Set Dancing

Kathryn G. Wilson Margaret Cupples & Alex McCord

Health and Fitness Boxers Rebellion Hybrid Kickboxing Essential Oils 101 Tai Chi Yoga for Everyone

Jeremy Gordon Rebecca S. Laney-Meers Mike Chadwick Sally Holly

Heritage and History A Brief Architectural History of Woodland Hills Fondren: A Brief Architectural History Mississippi’s Greek Revival Architecture The Architecture of Antebellum Jackson

1%

Cash Back!

&

90

Days No Payment!

Language and Literature How to Edit What You Write How to Sell What You Write The Jane Austen Book Club: The Paradox of Persuasion The Power of Story: Women Owning Their Voices To Tell the Truth: Creative Nonfiction Transformational Writing: How to Find Your Voice

Gerard Helferich James L. Dickerson Carolyn Brown & Susan A. Ford Catherine Gray Ellen Ann Fentress Jean Farish

Money and Business Basics of Investing Mark A. Maxwell Beyond the Basics: Advanced Social Media Workshop Sophie Wolf Facebook Advertising Sophie Wolf Music Beginning Harmonica

Scott Albert Johnson

Personal Development Jump Start Your Career with Volunteerism Organize Your Life! Understanding Your Dreams

Jean Farish Gretchen Cook Karen Mori Bonner

Special Offerings ACT Test Prep Course Dance for Parkinson’s The Art of the Home

Leonard Blanton Krista Bower, Phoebe Pearigen & Mariah Henry Rick Griffin

Give the gift of learning! Enrichment classes make great gifts. Gift certificates are available for community enrichment classes. The spring series classes begin in April 2018. See the full spring schedule of classes at millsaps.edu/enrichment.

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

up to

Todd Sanders Todd Sanders Todd Sanders Todd Sanders

9


TALK | state

ROOTS from page 8

tees passed the measure, so the full Senate will vote on it in the coming week. Similar measures have died in the Senate in previous years.

Bryant has not restored anyone’s right to vote during either of his terms and has not signed a single suffrage bill. Suffrage bills, brought by lawmakers on behalf of their constituents, become effective with twothirds of the Legislature’s approval, with or without his signature. Since 2007, 45 suffrage bills have passed and 83 failed, the Sentencing Project report shows. During Bryant’s first and recent term, lawmakers passed 15 suffrage bills. Some states have automatic voter-rights restoration for people as soon as they leave prison or jail. Maryland just expanded voting rights to people in the community on probation or parole and increased its voter rolls by an estimated 40,000 residents, Porter said. In Mississippi, a similar measure could allow more than 200,000 residents the right to vote again, based on 2016 numbers. A measure to study disenfranchisement passed the House this year with bipartisan support, and on Monday, Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, passed the bill through the Senate Judiciary B Committee, noting constitutional issues with the list of disenfranchising crimes. Senate leadership referred House Bill 774to Judiciary B and the Senate Rules Committee. By press time both commit-

A Racist List of Crimes? Felony disenfranchisement still disproportionately affects African Americans in the state. At a press conference this month, the Mississippi NAACP called on lawmakers to change the state’s stringent disenfranchising laws. “Mississippi’s restrictive suffrage laws do not go far enough in providing a meaningful opportunity for enfranchisement,” Corey Wiggins, executive director of the Mississippi NAACP, said in a press release. “To deny people the fundamental right to vote is at odds with ample evidence showing the expansion of voting rights not only leads to safer communities but has widespread public support.” Nearly 16 percent of the black electorate in the state are disenfranchised, the Sentencing Project report found, using 2016 numbers. Disenfranchising crimes were initially targeted along racial lines. In the 15 years following the Civil War, states ramped up disenfranchising crimes, immediately following black men gaining

Nearly 16 percent of the black electorate in the state are disenfranchised from voting.

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

LIBRARY from page 8

10

“When I’m with Ms. Ruth, she says, ‘give him that time,’” Saundra said. “And I do give him that time, but I know it’s inside him. Sometimes I can just feel what he’s thinking, but he just hasn’t projected it out yet.” In Mississippi, special education is in a tough spot, to say the least, with a teacher shortage in the system and many teachers coming through alternate-route programs rather than obtaining a four-year degree in education. Almost all of Jinkiri’s students have been through JPS, and she feels they are not prepared. “I think the literacy is not there,” Jinkiri said. “And then transitioning, I think JPS is not preparing them for what comes next. ... They are not being prepared to be in the community.”

their right to vote. “The list of crimes that’s in our state Constitution was adopted in 1890 because it was thought that black people were more likely than white people to commit these crimes, and this was one of a number of provisions that the constitution of 1890 (had) seeking to make it more difficult for black people to exercise their voting rights,” Bryan said Monday. Just as Jim Crow laws would do well into the 1960s, the point of the disenfranchisement law was to keep black people from voting. “The motivation for enacting broad felony disenfranchisement laws in this context was clear: preventing newly enfranchised black citizens from exercising political power,” Erin Kelley writes in a 2017 Brennan Center report. Mississippi’s disenfranchisement law was used as a model for other states, when it was adopted in the state’s 1890 Constitution, and even the state Supreme Court acknowledged the racist ties to disenfranchisement, while upholding the list as constitutional six years later. “Restrained by the federal constitution from discriminating against the negro race, the convention discriminated against its characteristics and the offenses to which its weaker member were prone.

Most viral stories at jfp.ms:

1. “The Poverty-Crime Connection” by Lacey McLaughlin 2. “Mississippi College Town’s Leaders Reject Gay Pride Parade,” The Associated Press 3. “‘One Lake’ Plan Moving Forward” by Arielle Dreher 4. “Victoria Carpenter” by ShaCamree Gowdy 5. “An ‘Open Container’ Blueprint” by Ko Bragg

Welty Won’t Last Furr attended a Jackson City Council meeting on Jan. 18 at the invitation of Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote. She told the members that she would potentially like to see Eudora Welty move to another location, considering that building is prime real estate because of the new museums, and it is also currently falling apart. “Long term, I don’t think that you can let the building stay in the state it’s in and not fix it and expect it to last another five or 10 years,” Furr told the Jackson Free Press. “It’s just not going to happen.” As a woman who likes a challenge in the workplace, Furr said she came to Jackson to revamp the library systems in 2014. Furr has a background in information technology, and she is proud to have helped mend the technology gap in the library. She said when she got there, the webpage had not been updated since 1998. Furr takes the technology in the library very seriously—it’s why she hates closing any branch. “We might be the entity that helps somebody get a

… Burglary, theft, arson, and obtaining money under false pretenses were declared to be disqualifications [from voting], while robbery and murders, and other crimes in which violence was the principal ingredient, were not,” the report states. Bryan, who is white, said that Alabama had a similar provision in its constitution that the U.S. Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional. Witherspoon said that during his work with the ACLU of Mississippi he learned that public education was necessary to inform not only inmates but also circuit clerks that going to jail or prison alone is not grounds for losing the right to vote. Today, the disenfranchising crimes are listed on voter-registration forms and online. “Now it’s 22 (disenfranchising crimes). So you know, now it’s 12 that have been applied without an act from the Legislature. I don’t understand how you can amend the Constitution outside a legislative act, but that’s where we are,” Witherspoon said. Email state reporter Arielle Dreher at arielle@jacksonfreepress.com and follow her on Twitter @arielle_amara. Comment on this story at jacksonfreepress.com/state.

Most viral events at jfpevents.com:

1. Tedeschi Trucks Band, Feb. 28 1. Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement 13th Annual Conference, March 1-3 3. Entrepreneur Quarterly Summit, March 1 4. Music in the City—The Music of Easter Europe, March 6 5. “Feminist 101” series, Feb. 28 and March 7

job,” Furr said. “We might be the people who are able to help somebody get an online degree.” With 311,000 people who used computer services last year at Eudora Welty alone, 44 high-speed computers and the fastest connection at any library in the state running at 300 megabytes per second, Furr wants to help bridge Jackson’s digital divide. “A lot of people weren’t born with a mouse in their hands,” Furr said. “Some people are digital immigrants they have to come across the great divide into the online world….” Furr and Jinkiri came into the Jackson-Hinds system around the same time four or so years ago, and since then Jinkiri has basked in the successes of getting a non-verbal child to identify the color yellow or Kenneth becoming more social. “I will not trade it for anything,” Jinkiri said of her work at the library. Comment at jfp.ms. Email city reporter Ko Bragg at ko@jacksonfreepress.com


UP TO 50% OFF FROM LOCAL MERCHANTS

Visit www.jfpdeals.com today!

#& 8:7E 42C5 7@C $18.75

#& 8:7E 42C5 7@C $20

#! 8:7E 42C5 7@C $12

0RINT AND $IGITAL -ARKETING 2EPRESENTATIVE :H·UH ORRNLQJ WR DGG D VSHFLDO QHZ PHPEHU WR WKH -)3 %220 -DFNVRQ VDOHV WHDP <RX VKRXOG KDYH VDOHV RU FXVWRPHU VHUYLFH UHWDLO UHVWDXUDQW H[SHULHQFH DORQJ ZLWK D GULYH WR EXLOG \RXU FDUHHU ZKLOH KHOSLQJ ORFDO EXVLQHVVHV JHW DKHDG LQ WKH -DFNVRQ 0HWUR <RX PXVW EH SHUVRQDEOH RXWJRLQJ SHUVLVWHQW DQG ZLOOLQJ WR OHDUQ &RPPLVVLRQ GULYHQ SRVLWLRQ ZLWK D SDLG WUDLQLQJ SHULRG DQG DFFHVV WR EHQHÀ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

Help Prevent Youth Crime in Jackson

Join a series of local dialogue circles to discuss causes and brainstorm solutions to teen violence.

AllThe voices welcome! first two community dialogues are:

Wingfield High School, March 1, 6 to 8 p.m. 1985 Scanlon Drive, Jackson Jim Hill High School, March 22, 6 to 8 p.m. 2185 Coach Fred Harris Street, Jackson Your feedback will be part of the YMP Youth Crime Summit later this year. Questions: info@youthmediaproject.com, 601-966-0834 Read more about youth crime at jxnpulse.com

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

%& E:4<6E 7@C $35

11


Wakanda Forever

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

I

12

nitially, I reveled just in the idea of “Black Panther.” An overwhelming sense of pride covered me just from anticipation of seeing Wakanda come to life. The trailer for the film was illuminated with beautiful blackness, from the skyline to the wardrobe. The spectacular effects that brought Afro-futuristic detail to the movie sealed it for me. Finally, a black superhero had made it to the big screen. I felt relief mixed with ownership at the idea of finally seeing black folk, Africans, the way I’ve always envisioned them. Daddy painted a stunning picture of the Motherland, our history and heritage, as a perfect image of black beauty for me. While he, of course, taught me about the ugly, tragic parts, he proudly repeated stories of African queens and kings—so much so that not only did I believe him, but I was confident in who I was to become: a queen of royalty draped in Afrocentric garbs that shine with extreme power and authority. The Dora Milaje, T’Challa’s security team and warrior women, protected the Wakandan throne. The indescribable fierceness of the female army wasn’t just dangerously powerful; it was somehow obtainable and easily digestible for me. I’ve always known of tribes of African women warriors, but seeing them in a respected film series like what Marvel is known for, and under the direction of rising star Ryan Coogler, did something to my soul. His insistence on grace and femininity in each fighting scene can’t go unrecognized. While Wakanda is a fictional land, it portrays images of success and wealth that could have been if Africa had not been colonized. It is so vastly opposing to the images we’re fed of what Africa looks like. It pushes us to the edge of our imagination and makes fantasy dance with reality in a beautiful way. The intentional effort to study African tribes and tradition gives a magnetic overview of all that is African. “Black Panther” is a depiction of the Africa that our ancestors knew could exist. Its portrayal of royalty and tradition is what we come from. It’s in our DNA. It’s a bright, new morning light that awakens pride that Hollywood has controlled for generations. Up to this point, we’ve been served a It represents fraction of what most of society envisions when they think about black people— an idea that you know: angry, ratchet, pimps, whores, offers real hope, just folk whose value is lost on them. I suppose Hollywood under-estimated our opportunity and desire to see us complete an entire cast, determination. in starring roles, in positions of power, in beauty and intelligence. Wakanda is a fictional place and exists only in the minds of the comicbook writers, but it represents something very real: a break in mental slavery that has kept us bound for so long that we couldn’t see a world that belonged to us. It represents an idea that offers real hope, opportunity and determination. Wakanda is everywhere. But the place that is most important, where its reign is undeniable, is in our hearts. Once we open them to this fictional place, it is now reality—a reality that we all embrace in unity. Listening to the stories my father shared with me as a young girl gave me a true connection to my African ancestry. I didn’t know that seeing a movie would serve as such a determined reality. There’s nothing fictional about the potential, the history, the traditions, the intelligence, the ancient tribal cultures and excellence Wakanda introduced to some and reintroduced to others. It’s in us—always has been; always will be. Wakanda Forever! Africa Forever! On Tuesday, March 6, at 6 p.m., the Kundi Compound (256 E. Fortification St.) will host a talk on “Black Panther” and black America. The event is free and open to the public. This column does not necessarily reflect the views of the JFP.

JPD, Identify Cops Who Shoot Civilians

M

ayor Chokwe Lumumba touted his “progressive agenda” at a Feb. 27 press conference before signing an executive order to stop the release of mugshots of people the Jackson Police Department shoots. Lumumba said JPD will stop releasing mugshots of juveniles, including those arrested as adults, a dangerous practice that can increase violence later and scar falsely accused kids. Even though his executive order did not include the juvenile mugshots, Lumumba said the ban would include those charged as adults, which is a major policy shift. As recently as Feb. 16, the JPD sent reporters a mugshot of a 14-year-old girl charged with murder who was in custody when her photo went out. This order does not address the glaring need for JPD to release names of officers who use excessive and/or fatal force on civilians—the progressive needle does not move without this transparent practice, which departments around the country embrace often within 48 or 72 hours of an incident. Lumumba has been laissez-faire on the matter, saying he does not have a stance on releasing the names either way. After four officer-involved shootings since November 2017, JPD has identified none of the shooters. Lumumba says his executive order should be an example for other municipalities and states to follow. But this is inconsistent. The mayor introduced Interim Chief Anthony Moore as someone “familiar with the trends around the nation, as he teaches criminal justice. The chief

said he would not identify officers who have shot civilians. That refusal ignores the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2015 advisement for departments to release names of officers involved in critical events, including shootings, within 72 hours of the incident. Moore said it is about officers’ safety, even as all departments face the same issue. The DOJ’s report said police could take a couple of days extra if needed to ensure an officer was protected, but not several weeks or months. Moore also said it was a personnel issue, to which we heard someone respond, “An officer shooting is not an HR issue.” Now, JPD investigates officer-involved shootings internally and keeps the names private indefinitely if they ever become public knowledge. It feels like a cover-up even if it is not meant to be one. Outside agencies should investigate if an officer used excessive force, and JPD must not withhold names, how long these officers have been with the force or if they have a record of using excessive force. The mayor’s executive order loosely says that communities of color have always had complex relationships with law enforcement, but that national trends around violence and police-involved shootings do not necessarily reflect reality in Jackson with its majority-black police force. Let us be clear: Race does not give Jackson license to withhold vital information from the public. Doing so will only increase distrust and perhaps bad policing, regardless of the City’s demographics. The City must release the names immediately.

Email letters and opinion to letters@jacksonfreepress.com, fax to 601-510-9019 or mail to 125 South Congress St., Suite 1324, Jackson, Mississippi 39201. Include daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, as well as factchecked.


Adofo Minka Police Violence is Not Déjà Vu

EDITORIAL Managing Editor Amber Helsel State Reporter Arielle Dreher City Reporter Ko Bragg JFP Daily Editor Dustin Cardon Music Editor Micah Smith Events Editor Rebecca Hester Features and Social Media Intern ShaCamree Gowdy Writers Brynn Corbello, Richard Coupe, Bryan Flynn,William Kelly III, Mike McDonald, Greg Pigott, Julie Skipper, Abigail Walker Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Art Director Kristin Brenemen Advertising Designer Zilpha Young Staff Photographer Stephen Wilson ADVERTISING SALES Digital Marketing Specialist Meghan Garner Sales Assistant Cassandra Acker BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS Distribution Manager Richard Laswell Distribution Raymond Carmeans, Clint Dear, Ruby Parks,Tommy Smith Assistant to the CEO Inga-Lill Sjostrom ONLINE Web Editor Dustin Cardon Web Designer Montroe Headd CONTACT US: Letters letters@jacksonfreepress.com Editorial editor@jacksonfreepress.com Queries submissions@jacksonfreepress.com Listings events@jacksonfreepress.com Advertising ads@jacksonfreepress.com Publisher todd@jacksonfreepress.com News tips news@jacksonfreepress.com Fashion style@jacksonfreepress.com Jackson Free Press 125 South Congress Street, Suite 1324 Jackson, Mississippi 39201 Editorial (601) 362-6121 Sales (601) 362-6121 Fax (601) 510-9019 Daily updates at jacksonfreepress.com The Jackson Free Press is the city’s awardwinning, locally owned newsweekly, reaching over 35,000 readers per week via more than 600 distribution locations in the Jackson metro area—and an average of over 35,000 visitors per week at www. jacksonfreepress.com. The Jackson Free Press is free for pick-up by readers; one copy per person, please. First-class subscriptions are available for $100 per year for postage and handling. The Jackson Free Press welcomes thoughtful opinions. The views expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of the publisher or management of Jackson Free Press Inc. © Copyright 2017-2018 Jackson Free Press Inc. All Rights Reserved

I

n Jackson, police violence is not déjà vu; tionately and repeatedly targeted for FIO it is real and systemic. (Field Interrogation and Observation) en On Feb. 21, 2018, a black male counters suggests a reason for flight totally whom the Jackson Police Department unrelated to consciousness of guilt.” or media have yet to identify was the lat- Basically, the Massachusetts Supreme est victim of police violence since Nov. 15, Court overturned the man’s conviction 2017. Since then, local media outlets have because, given how much police stop and reported eight officer-involved shootings. harass black men, the court found that the Although WLBT reported that the man had every reason to run, and runmost recent one was the second officer- ning from officers alone is not enough to involved shooting in 2018, there actually establish the necessary suspicion for them have been three of these this year. JPD to conduct a field interrogation. The eight shot at Reginald Harper on Jan. 4, 2018. shootings in the span of three months here Fortunately, he was not maimed or killed. is important context that must be applied JPD officers fired a fusillade of bullets at to this particular incident. Given this conCrystaline Barnes and killed her on Jan. text, the victim had every reason to believe 27, 2018. The most recent incident of he could be in danger even if he knew the police violence indicated that the man of- persons chasing him were police officers. ficers shot is in critical condition and is In Mississippi, the Massachusetts fighting for his life. Supreme Court’s ruling only has per JPD told WLBT that officers were in suasive authority and is not binding. the area investigating alleged Nonetheless, it should be, drug activity when they apand it is still instructive beproached two men, who ran cause black people throughThe victim out the United States are from them. At some point, one of them allegedly prosubject to the same human had every duced a gun and fired at ofrights violations by police. reason to ficers, which resulted in him In the aftermath of being shot. believe he this shooting, like with oth The officers were not ers, the officers-involved could be in uniform. There is no identities have not been disclear indication that they closed to the public. They in danger. identified themselves. No have been given a paid vacadrugs were found at the tion while their colleagues scene. It appears that JPD investigate their actions. officers were wrong about the victim be- This is detestable and unacceptable. The ing a drug dealer, which means they had Lumumba administration is complicit in no legal right to approach the men. these instances of police violence by virtue Standing on the corner does not rise of its deafening silence on the issue. The to the level of reasonable suspicion that residents of Jackson must hold both JPD’s warrants an officer approaching a person to and the Lumumba administration’s feet to question them. It certainly does not mean the fire with respect to what is clearly a patthat a person is a drug dealer. tern of human-rights abuses. Some will say, “If he was not doing The people must demand that the anything wrong, why did he run?” The identities of the officers in this most recent man’s fleeing could be an indication that he shooting, as well as others, are disclosed. was afraid. When the persons chasing him The officers involved should be fired imdid not abandon their chase, he might have mediately, or at the very least, residents of felt he had to defend himself. Jackson should not continue to pay them Even if the officers did identify them- for exacting violence and brutality under selves, in a case where a gun-possession con- the color of law. The Lumumba adminisviction of a black male was overturned, the tration should order an external audit of Massachusetts Supreme Court held: “We JPD’s policies and procedures, including do not eliminate flight as a factor in the rea- but not limited to, its use-of-force policy. sonable suspicion analysis whenever a black The Jackson community should be male is the subject of an investigatory stop. integrally involved in the reshaping of the However, in such circumstances, flight is department’s policies and procedures benot necessarily probative of a suspect’s state cause we are subject to them. of mind or consciousness of guilt. Rather, Adofo Minka is a human defense lawyer the finding that black males are dispropor- who lives in west Jackson. This column does not necessarily reflect the views of the JFP.

Listings for Fri. 3/2 – Thur. 3/8 Listings for Fri. 4/7 – Thur. 4/13 Red Sparrow R Early Man PG Smurfs: The Lost Beauty and the Village PG Beast (2017) PG Death Wish (2018) Fifty Shades Going in Style R Kong: FreedSkull IslandR PG13 PG13 Peter Rabbit RPG The Case for Game Night R Logan Christ PG The TheShack 15:17 to PG13 Paris Annihilation The Zookeeper’s R PG13 Get Out R Wife PG13 Every Day PG13 Ghost in the Shell Life The Greatest R PG13 (Sun – Thur only)PG Showman Black Panther The Boss Baby PG13 PG The Belko Jumanji: Experiment R Power Rangers Welcome to the Black (3D) (Sun (2017)PantherPG13 – Thur only) PG13 PG13 Jungle

HIBACHI GRILL Steak, Scallops, Tuna, and more!

THAI & JAPANESE Pad Thai, Yaki Udon, and more!

SUSHI COMBOS Sashimi, Special Rolls, and more!

Rated 4 stars on Yelp 'LQH LQ RU &DUU\ 2XW 3TIR WIZIR HE]W E [IIO 1030-A Hwy 51 • Madison Behind the McDonalds in Madison Station

601.790.7999

1002 Treetops Blvd • Flowood Behind the Applebee’s on Lakeland

601.664.7588

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

Editor-in-Chief and CEO Donna Ladd Publisher Todd Stauffer Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin

13


STEPHEN WILSON

Beyond Stigma: Helping the Jacksonians Others Reject by Brian Gordon

The Sandifer House offered those who were HIV- and AIDS-positive respite from the stigma related to the diseases. The house closed in 1992.

T

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

he urns weren’t memorials. They were storage. They were the remains family members did not wish to acknowledge. They were the ashes of dying men who returned to Mississippi to live out their lives, only to discover their families would not permit anyone living with AIDS, even kinfolk, into their homes. The sick came from New York, Los Angeles and Dallas, the larger urban centers where the scourge first took hold. Prejudice drove relatives to close their doors. Landlords and neighborhood associations did the same, denying residency to those struck with the enigmatic incipient disease called AIDS. The Sandifer House, named after the late civil- and gay-rights advocate Eddie Sandifer, rose from this environment. Opening in 1987, the Sandifer House on Jefferson Street offered men and women living with the disease respite from the continuing stigma of being HIV-positive in the early years of the AIDS crisis. It was at the Sandifer House where Jackson’s gay community provided services to their own—filling needs larger societal institutions like government, 14 hospital and family failed to address.

From Robbery to Vigils

“We all figured HIV would come to Jackson eventually,” the late Eddie Sandifer said from a rocking chair in his one-story south Jackson home in 2016. For six decades, the brazen activist donated his energy to civil-rights activism, conventional and not. Sandifer even robbed jewelry stores in the 1960s to help fund civil-rights organizations, earning himself time in Parchman for the crimes. “My radicalism has gotten me in a lot more trouble than my being gay,” he said. Sandifer formed the now-defunct Jackson branch of the Gray Panthers advocacy group for senior citizens and often married same-sex couples in unofficial ceremonies throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Providing direct services to those in need was his specialty, one Sandifer honed as a nursinghome administrator for 20 years. He also became the director of the Mississippi Gay and Lesbian Alliance in 1974. When the weekly gay-interest publication from the alliance, This Month in Mississippi, mentioned expanding cases of the new and fatal HTLV-3 virus killing off young men-having-sex-with-men, often called MSM, in New York and San Francisco, Sandifer knew Jackson had to be prepared. The 1980s continued an era of free love in the gay community, where promiscuity represented pride in who they were. If

the disease did in fact spread through sex, it did so quickly. Those native Mississippians contracting HIV elsewhere would return home for care. “At least for a particular amount of time, people felt more protected in the smaller cities of the South,” Dr. Jeffrey Kelly, a clinical psychologist and one of the first doctors to treat AIDS cases in Mississippi, said, “but it obviously wasn’t true.” Kelly was on staff at the University of Mississippi Medical Center when the first known HIV-positive patient arrived in Mississippi. That patient survived only a few days, but by 1985, more Mississippi natives living with HIV were returning and finding themselves without a home here. “There was paranoia and hysteria around HIV then and not many effective community responses were happening outside of the gay community here,” Kelly said. Families shunned those infected, the government was silent, and at the time, UMMC was weary of becoming known as “the AIDS hospital,” he said. “I think the gay community realized they had to provide their own answer.” The first line of Sandifer House’s mission statement promises “to provide a group home for the support and care of persons living with AIDS that have no other appropriate housing options.” MGLA rented a large white Belhaven

Heights home around 1986 with help from private donors like Levi Strauss Co., which operates a factory in Canton. Sandifer’s partner of more than 30 years, Steven Ray, who is known as Chris, said they even received donations and support from some City and State leaders. Twelve people occupied the house at a given time. They shared rooms, and when one resident passed, another filled the vacancy quickly. The residents were young, 20s and 30s (some older), and mostly men. Many first encountered Sandifer as his car ambled up their driveway to provide transportation to UMMC or other facilities for testing or to the Sandifer House for long-term housing. The pick-ups occurred in the discrete dark of night, so as to not tip off family members and neighbors to any association with the stigmatized illness. “The neighbors threatened to burn down one person’s home south of Meridian when they found out he was positive,” Sandifer said. By day, he worked at a desk near the house’s front entrance while the gaunt residents passed time playing cards, watching television and cooking. “They were close. They became family, most of them,” Sandifer said. When a resident’s condition grew dire, it was up to him and the other residents, those well enough to assist, to tend


COURTESY ONE NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN ARCHIVES

in early March 1991. Within two weeks after the series was published, she says, each resident she lived with had died. “If it hadn’t been for Eddie, I don’t know where they could have gone,” Faulkner, who now works as communications director for the City of Tupelo, said. Vivid in Faulkner’s memories is the anxiety other Belhaven Heights residents showed toward the house and its occupants then. “People would always walk on the other side of the house,” she said. “They treated the residents with disdain.” Sandifer recalls a neighbor across the street who would report the licenseplate numbers of visiting doctors and nurses to the Mississippi Department of Health until the doctors and nurses stopped coming by. “Many still thought it was a contagious disease, that a wave could pass it,” Sandifer said. “The residents were the new lepers.” Pearson believes it was economic fear that drove the neighborhood to op‘Not All Gloom and Doom’ pose the house. “‘Not by our house’ was MGLA provided meals and mainthe mentality,” Pearson said. “It wasn’t that tenance, though local churches and other they had no sense of the illness. People groups such as Wells United wanted to protect their investMethodist Church would serve ment.” or bring meals. Priscilla Pearson From the moment the Sandiwas both a Wells Methodist volfer House opened, the Belhaven unteer and a neighbor in BelHeights Conservation Association haven Heights. fought to have it closed. Margaret “Everyone referred to it Moize, the association president, as ‘The AIDS House,’” Pearpetitioned the City of Jackson to son said. “Inside was kind of a shut it down, the Associated Press hushed setting. A sense of grave reported at the time. illness was present.” A Jackson Daily News story A dead man was lying on from the late 1980s says Moize the sofa one night when Kelly contended that the Sandifer was called to the Sandifer House. House should be classified as a The resident had passed away hospice, which would require earlier in the evening. Shaken approval from the Mississippi residents sought out Kelly to State Board of Health to operate. come by for counseling. But MGLA opened the Sandifer “Not having spiritual supHouse as a boarding home, which port, social support, having to required no State approval. Evenhide who you are, these are pretty tually, the Jackson City Council bad for all people’s well being, no ruled against the neighborhood matter what,” Kelly told the Jackassociation, and the Sandifer son Free Press. The belief that House continued operating as a death was inevitable for those livboarding home. ing with AIDS in that era gnawed Then-Mayor Dale Danks Jr. at many Sandifer residents. could have vetoed the council rulKelly said what residents reing, but in a lengthy statement, Eddie Sandifer, the namesake of the Sandifer House ally needed that night was a minthe three-term Democrat wrote in Belhaven Heights, fought for civil and LGBT rights throughout his colorful life. He passed away at the ister, not a psychologist. that treating the Sandifer House age of 87 in 2016. On assignment from The any differently from similar perClarion-Ledger, then-reporter sonal-care homes in the Jackson Leesha Faulkner moved into the Sandifer an apartment until the test results ultimate- “would constitute a violation of equal proHouse for two weeks in 1991 as part of a ly came back negative. Like the subjects of tection of the law.” The neighborhood asseries titled “Living with AIDS.” She played her reporting, the stigma surrounding HIV sociation appealed the ruling to the Hinds cards with the residents and read William prevented her from going home. County Circuit Court, but the “boarding Faulkner’s “The Bear” with another. Faulkner’s Sandifer House articles, home” label for the Sandifer House reFaulkner remembered some guys ap- around a dozen, ran in The Clarion-Ledger mained in place.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Kelly was one of the first doctors to treat AIDs cases in Mississippi.

By the early 1990s, the infrastructure of the house was in dire need of upkeep. A financial shortfall kept the sunken floorboards from repair, with the sole working bathroom descending lower and lower. A fetid smell took hold in the house, and rodents scurrying by became a prevalent sight. Occupancy was halved to six residents, and Sandifer’s fundraising efforts could not relieve the budget strain. In October 1992, MGLA elected to close down the Sandifer House. Sandifer and the organization did their best to find housing for the last residents. Ray provided shelter to the last three people after the house closed. Sandifer Returns Home

The roads of Belhaven Heights are smoother now than they were a quartercentury ago. The azure summer sky had yet to fade as Eddie Sandifer delicately exited the car in front of the Jefferson Street house in August 2015. Helped by his walker and wearing white tennis shoes, gray sweatpants and a white charity T-shirt, the 86-year-old headed toward the old Sandifer House for the first time since the last resident packed up in 1992. The Belhaven Heights Neighborhood Association raised no objections. Residents did not report any license-plate numbers. The current occupants of the old Sandifer House, Kim and Dale Gibson, greeted Sandifer at the door. The husband and wife are familiar with the home’s history, but until recently were unaware the its former namesake was still living. Sandifer traced its history through the hallways. “My office was right over there,” Sandifer said. He walked by the mantel where the urns had sat. He walked past what was the dining room where Leesha Faulkner played cards and Kelly counseled the dying

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

plying make-up and going out downtown at night. She and the residents joked about the police officers who hastily backed away from an approaching resident and the petrified patrons at the farmers market who feared AIDS could be transferred from a breath or a touch. Some people would even cross the sidewalk when they saw them coming. “There were funny moments, not all doom and gloom,” Faulkner said in an interview. “But there was a pall over the house. The illness did that.” One night, Faulkner was deep into a card game with a couple of other residents when a low moan resonated through the walls. The card game continued into the night, as did the moaning. It was coming from a dying resident in an adjacent room. The players did their best to ignore the helpless agony. “What struck me then was that each resident was hearing his future that night. That still sticks with me to this day,” Faulkner said. Upon leaving the Sandifer House, Faulkner’s then-husband made her get tested for HIV, not allowing her to live at home until she did so. Faulkner stayed in

COURTESY JEFFREY KELLY

to them. They picked up medication, cleaned up diarrhea, called ambulances. Ray estimates that it cost $5,000 a month to operate the house, a constant expense that the local gay community helped cover. He says the house required ongoing maintenance—he recalls doing plumbing work in the dead of winter. At Jack and Jill’s Tavern (now closed), owner Jack Myers charged an extra cover for years, with all proceeds going to MGLA. The gay bars were the communal gathering spaces for a grieving community. Jack and Jill’s main room held cigarette-lighter vigils almost every week. It was difficult to find anyone in the gay community whose inner circle was not affected by AIDS back then. “I lost a lot of friends,” Myers said. Jack and Jill’s donated $15,000 to the Sandifer House from 1985 until 1992, without which Sandifer said the house could not have functioned. No government agency at the local, state or national level provided funding.

more STIGMA, see page 16 15


Beyond Stigma

from page 15 courtesy Catherine Sullivan

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

Catherine Sullivan (right, pictured with daughter Sarah Sullivan) says erasing the lingering stigma tied to HIV, along with creating equal access to care, is key to lowering the rates of homelessness.

16

Download our new app!

Mon. - Sat., 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Maywood Mart Shopping Center 1220 E. Northside Dr. 601-366-5676 www.mcdadeswineandspirits.com Please Drink Responsibly

residents late into the night. “Being back is really nice. I was well pleased with the house,” he said. A white Delta baggage label was around the handle of Sandifer’s walker. He had recently returned from panels in Washington, D.C., and New York City, where he spoke of his jewelry-store escapades during the civil-rights era. These speaking events were rare for Sandifer in the years before his death. Although he kept abreast of the latest developments surrounding HIV advocacy in Mississippi, his activism years were behind him. He spent his final days mostly at home, in his bedroom, watching the news from the rocking chair as his black lab, B.B. Ray, interrogated every shoe in the room. Sandifer’s cremated remains now sit in his former south Jackson home. The capital city where his other house once gave shelter to the desperate is still dealing with a housing battle that has been waging for three decades and counting. While medical advances have stopped AIDS from being a death sentence, the overlap of the disease and homelessness among the LGBT population in Jackson persists. The Mississippi Department of Health data show that Hinds County had 96 reported HIV cases in 2016, with 424 statewide. Jackson is one of the epicenters of the nation’s HIV epidemic. AIDSVu estimates that 2,797 Jacksonians are living with HIV, the majority of them black men. Grace House, which opened its doors in 1995, three years after the Sandifer House closed, is one of three local organizations specifically designed to serve the housing needs of Jacksonians living with HIV.

“Both AIDS and homelessness are at epidemic numbers,” Catherine Sullivan, executive director of Grace House, said in February 2018. “It’s abysmal.” An influx of federal grants from the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program is allowing Grace House to expand the number of beds it can offer to 600 to 800 a year. Still, Sullivan says that the path to lowering homelessness rates is through erasing the lingering stigma tied to the disease, along with reasons such as creating equal access to care. “Stigma is huge,” Sullivan said. “(With) the African American community in the Bible Belt, the stigma is glaring. Even the LGBT community can stigmatize HIV and AIDS. It is stigma on top of stigma on top of stigma.” Rovoskie Mays, who is HIV-positive and working toward an associate degree in nursing, has experienced this stigma firsthand. He found out he has the disease in October 2015. On a recommendation from his UMMC doctor, a skeptical Mays entered the Grace House. In addition to a warm bed, Mays, 22, receives food, schooling and medicine from the place he now calls “life-saving beyond measures.” “Grace House helps people remember that they’re still human,” he said. “There I learned to be brave, to have peace, and be proud of who I am.” Both Grace House and Mays are inextricably linked to the same community and struggle Sandifer fought to assist many years ago. The struggle endures, but with adequate funding and effective medicine, the potential to curb homelessness among Jacksonians living with AIDS is greater than ever before, even if the stigma sadly remains.


JFPmenus.com

Paid advertising section. Call 601-362-6121 x11 to list your restaurant

AMERICAN/SOUTHERN CUISINE Eddie & Ruby’s Snack Bar 7BMMFZ 4U +BDLTPO t

Eddie & Ruby’s Snack Bar is one of the original fish houses that still serve their original homemade batter recipe.

The best Gumbo and Cajun specialties in town for your events, special occasions or just lunch and dinner.

The Iron Horse Grill 8 1FBSM 4U +BDLTPO t The smell of charcoal greets you, the music carries you inside.

Lillie’s Restaurant )XZ & $MJOUPO t .FUSPDFOUFS .BMM 'PPE $PVSU +BDLTPO t Home cooking for lunch and dinner in two locations at an outstanding price.

The Manship Wood Fired Kitchen / 4UBUF 4U +BDLTPO t The Manship transforms the essence of Mediterranean food while maintaining a southern flair.

Mother’s Kitchen /FBM 4U $MJOUPO t Just like Mom’s cooking. Visit Clinton’s newest home style restaurant with various options daily.

PIZZA

The Pizza Shack & 'PSUJm DBUJPO 4U +BDLTPO .4 t

The Pizza Shack, serving new inventive pizzas and the classics. Apps, sandwiches, salads, and beer options awaits you too!

BARBEQUE

E & L Barbeque #BJMFZ "WF +BDLTPO t

Serving BBQ to Jackson for over 25 years, we smoke every rib, tip and link and top it with our award winning BBQ sauce!

Hickory Pit $BOUPO .BSU 3E +BDLTPO t The “Best Butts in Town� features BBQ chicken, beef and pork along with burgers and po’boys.

The Pig and Pint / 4UBUF 4U +BDLTPO t Winner of Best of Jackson 2016 “Best BBQ.� Serving competition-style BBQ and a great beer selection.

MEDITERRANEAN/GREEK

Aladdin Mediterranean Grill -BLFMBOE %S +BDLTPO t Delicious authentic dishes including lamb dishes, hummus, falafel, kababs, shwarma.

STEAK & SEAFOOD

Drago’s Seafood Restaurant & $PVOUZ -JOF 3PBE +BDLTPO t Drago’s offers authentic New Orleans-themed seafood dishes, including their famous Charbroiled Oysters and fresh live Maine lobsters.

Eslava’s Grille -BLFMBOE %S 'MPXPPE t

Eslava’s Grille Seafood, Steaks and Pasta

Seafood, steaks and pastas with a Latin influence.

HEALTHY

Freshii .BD,FO[JF -O 'MPXPPE t Eat. Energize. That’s our motto. Serving up made to-order burritos, soups, fresh salads and much more.

COMING UP

_________________________

WEDNESDAY 2/28

NEW BOURBON STREET JAZZ BAND Dining Room - 6-10pm - Free _________________________

THURSDAY 3/1

TRAVIS MEADOWS

Friday, March 2

GRAYSON CAPPS

country rocker returns to duling to melt your mind

Saturday, March 3

THE WOODLAND

Red Room - Doors: 7 Show:8-9:30 Tix:$7 @ the door Ages:18+ _________________________

mississippi night with jsco and seth power

BILL & TEMPERANCE

JARED & THE MILL

FRIDAY 3/2

Dining Room - 7-10pm - Free _________________________

Tuesday, March 20 southwestern indie rockers in the house!

SATURDAY 3/3

Saturday, March 24

Dining Room - 7-10pm - Free _________________________

THE MULLIGAN BROTHERS

THOMAS JACKSON MONDAY 3/5

CENTRAL MS BLUES SOCIETY PRESENTS:

BLUE MONDAY Dining Room - 7 - 11pm

emerging americana stars coming to duling!

Friday, March 30

$3 Members $5 Non-Members _________________________

TUESDAY 3/6

DINNER, DRINKS & JAZZ W/ RAPHAEL SEMMES

KILLER BEAZ

the king of comedy returns! save up!

Saturday, March 31

Dining Room - 6-9pm - Free _________________________

WEDNESDAY 3/7

SPENCER THOMAS & MARIE DANIELLE Dining Room - 6-10pm - Free _________________________

UPCOMING: _________________________ 3/10 Liza Ann & Sun Seeker Red Room 3/16 Marching MalfunctionSecondline Stomp @Cathead

3/17 Hal’s St. Paddy’s Parade and Festival Downtown Jackson Artfully Alive at 35

3/20 MS Humanities Council Presents “Ideas on Tap� 3/23 Tyler Childers - Red Room _________________________ OFFICIAL

HOUSE VODKA

Visit HalandMals.com for a full menu and event schedule

601.948.0888 200 S. Commerce St. Downtown Jackson, MS

WILL HOGE

americana singer straight out of nashville

Friday, April 20

YOUNG VALLEY

ALBUM RELEASE SHOW come party with jackson's folk rock heroes just announced!

Tuesday, April 24

RAILROAD EARTH

an evening with jam band icons. get pumped! just announced!

Friday, July 27

PAULA COLE

ardenland bucket list show right here!

Get on the Hip Ship COMPLETE SHOW LISTINGS & TICKETS

dulinghall.com

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

Gumbo Girl )XZ 8 +BDLTPO t

17


THURSDAY 3/1

SATURDAY 3/3

TUESDAY 3/6

“Sing Your Song 2” is at Duling Hall.

The Fossil Road Show is at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.

“Music in the City” is at the Mississippi Museum of Art.

BEST BETS Feb. 28 Mar. 7, 2018

“Little Women: The Musical” is at 7:30 p.m. at Belhaven University Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Drive). The musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel follows the life of the March sisters. Additional dates: March 1-3, 7:30 p.m., March 3, 2 p.m. $10 admission, $5 for students and seniors; belhaven.edu.

courtesy Belhaven University THeatre

WEDNESDAY 2/28

“Little Women: The Musical” continues at the Belhaven University Center for the Arts from Feb. 28 through March 3.

THURSDAY 3/1

courtesy University of Memphis

“Help Prevent Youth Crime in Jackson” is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Wingfield High School (1985 Scanlon Drive). The community dialogue circles feature a discussion of causes and potential solutions to teen violence. The feedback will be part of the YMP Youth Crime Summit later this year. Free; call 601-966-0834; youthmedia project.com. … Mississippi native Travis Meadows performs at 8 p.m. at Hal & Mal’s (200 Commerce St.). The country singer-songwriter’s latest album is “First Cigarette.” Doors open at 7 p.m. $7 admission; halandmals.com.

are Rev. Susan Hrostowski and Kathy Garner, two litigants involved in LGBT-rights cases in Mississippi. Free; call 601-974-1000; millsaps.edu. … The JackTown ThrowDown BBQ Competition is from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Renaissance at Colony Park (1000 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ridgeland) in front of Seafood R’evolution. Local restaurants, organizations and individuals compete for the “best barbecue” prize. Includes music from Rolling Smoke. Proceeds go to local charities. Additional date: March 3, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. $10 at gate; find it on Facebook.

SATURDAY 3/3

“Cirque Goes to the Cinema” is at 7:30 p.m. at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). The Mississippi Symphony by Rebecca Hester Orchestra performs a selection of music from films alongside aerial jacksonfreepress.com flyers, acrobats and jugglers $20$54; msorchestra.com. … Taylor Fax: 601-510-9019 Kropp performs at 10 p.m. at Daily updates at Martin’s Restaurant & Bar (214 jfpevents.com S. State St.). The Nashville-based singer-songwriter’s debut album is titled “Coming Up for Air.” Jason Daniels also performs. Admission TBA; martinslounge.net.

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

events@

Otis L. Sanford, a journalism professor at the University of Mississippi, is one of the speakers for “History is Lunch” at the Two Mississippi Museums on Wednesday, Feb. 28.

FRIDAY 3/2

“Why We’re Staying: Being LGBTQ+ in Mississippi” is at 1 p.m. at Millsaps College (1701 N. State St.) in Ger18 trude C. Ford Academic Complex room 215. The speakers

SUNDAY 3/4

The Sam’s Lounge Crawfish Boil is from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Sam’s Lounge (5035 Interstate 55 N. Frontage Road). The event includes all-you-can-eat crawfish, happy

hour drink specials from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and more. $15 in advance, $20 at the door; find it on Facebook.

MONDAY 3/5

The “Fit & Flirt” Intro Series begins at 7 p.m. at Taboo Dance & Aerial Fitness (856 S. State St.). The four-week introductory pole fitness course teaches participants fundamentals of spins, climbs and transitions, as well as dance and core-conditioning movies. Includes eight hour-long sessions, two classes per week and four free dropin classes. Limited space. $120; mytaboofitness.com.

TUESDAY 3/6

The Hinds County Voter Roundtable is from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the M.W. Stringer Grand Lodge (1072 J.R. Lynch St.). The strategy session is designed to brainstorm ways to increase voter turnout in Hinds County in preparation for the primaries and midterm elections. Free; call 601-955-9671; find it on Facebook.

WEDNESDAY 3/7

History Is Lunch is from noon to 1 p.m. at the Two Mississippi Museums (222 North St.) in Neilsen Auditorium. Gene Datell and Otis L. Sanford present on the topic “Reckoning with Race: The Perspective of Two Native Mississippians.” Free; mdah.ms.gov. … “Motown the Musical” is at 7:30 p.m. at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). The play tells the true story of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. $70-$80; ticketmaster.com.


JFP-SPONSORED

SPORTS & WELLNESS

Help Prevent Youth Crime in Jackson March 1, 6-8 p.m., at Wingfield High School (1985 Scanlon Drive). The community dialogue features a discussion of causes and potential solutions to teen violence. Free; youthmediaproject.com.

Hope Conference March 3, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at First Baptist Church of Jackson (431 N. State St.). The educational event is for cancer patients, survivors, families and caregivers, and includes presentations from medical experts, health professionals and cancer specialists. Preregister. Free admission; hopeconferencejackson.com.

COMMUNITY Events at Two Mississippi Museums (222 North St.) • History Is Lunch Feb. 28, noon-1 p.m. Heather Wilcox presents on the topic “Mount Olive: Preserving and Restoring a Historic Cemetery.” Free; mdah.ms.gov. • Uniting the Torch & the Flame: Recognizing Mississippi Civil Rights Veterans March 1, 5:30 p.m. The ceremony honors civil-rights veterans and bridges the gap between them and youth. Includes guest speakers, live performances and more. Free; eventbrite.com. • History Is Lunch March 7, noon-1 p.m. Gene Datell and Otis L. Sanford present on “Reckoning with Race: The Perspective of Two Native Mississippians.” Free; mdah.ms.gov. Entrepreneur Quarterly Meetup March 1, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at Sal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St.). Local entrepreneurs network and hear from a panel of speakers. Includes pizza and drink specials. Free admission; find it on Facebook. Cars Under the Stars March 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., at Mississippi Trade Mart (1200 Mississippi St.). The 11th annual vintage car show is a fundraiser for the Mississippi Automotive Manufacturers Association scholarship foundation. Free admission, donations encouraged; find it on Facebook. Fossil Road Show March 3, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). The show includes special fossil exhibits, fossil digs and more. $6 for adults, $4 for ages 3-18, $5 for seniors; mdwfp.com.

KIDS Dr. Seuss’ Silly Birthday Celebration March 3, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Museum Blvd.). The birthday celebration features cooking demonstrations, story times, crafts, photos with characters, and more. $10 admission; mschildrensmuseum.org.

DiabetaPalooza March 3, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., at Jackson Marriott (200 E. Amite St.). The 39th annual conference features presentations on dia-

SLATE

Adding to the Pain: The Impact of the Opioid Crisis on Sickle Cell March 3, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., at Willie Morris Library (4912 Old Canton Road). The Mississippi Sickle Cell Foundation hosts the seminar on the affects of the opioid epidemic on sickle cell patients. Lunch provided. Registration required. Free; find it on Facebook. Outcast BMX: Family Celebration Night March 7, 6-7:30 p.m., at First Baptist Church of Madison (2100 Main St., Madison). The Christian BMX stunt team features riders from around the country. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

the best in sports over the next seven days

by Bryan Flynn, follow at jfpsports.com, @jfpsports

The MSU women’s basketball team keeps making history. The squad completed the first 30-0 regular season in school history and is the top seed in the SEC Tournament. THURSDAY, MARCH 1

College basketball (8:30-10:30 p.m., SECN): If the UM Rebels can get past Florida on Wednesday, they have a date with Missouri in round two of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament. FRIDAY, MARCH 2

College basketball (noon-2 p.m., SECN): MSU opens the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament in the quarterfinals against the winner between Alabama and Kentucky. SATURDAY, MARCH 3

College basketball (4-6 p.m., ESPNU): If MSU gets past its quarterfinal matchup, then a date with either LSU, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt or Arkansas awaits the Bulldogs in the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament semifinals. SUNDAY, MARCH 4

College basketball (3:30-6 p.m., ESPN2): Tune in for the title game of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, with the winner getting an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

MONDAY, MARCH 5

College basketball (8-10 p.m., ESPN2): A team from a small conference will punch its ticket to the Big Dance by winning the Southern Conference Men’s Tournament. TUESDAY, MARCH 6

College basketball (6-8 p.m., ESPN): Another small-conference team will get into the NCAA Tournament by winning the Horizon League Men’s Tournament. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7

College basketball (6-11 p.m., SECN): Get yourself ready for back-to-back opening-round games in the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, with the University of Mississippi playing in one of these two games. MSU is just the second team in the history of the SEC to reach a 30-0 regular season, the first being the 19971998 Tennessee Volunteers. Tennessee finished that season undefeated in route to a national championship.

Events at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.) • Sing Your Song 2 March 1, 7-9 p.m. A dozen finalists perform for an audience and a panel of judges featuring “American Idol” winner Kris Allen. $20-$50; find it on Facebook. • Grayson Capps March 2, 8 p.m. The bluesrock and Americana singer-songwriter performs. Cary Hudson also performs. $10 in advance, $15 at the door; ardenland.net. Travis Meadows March 1, 7-9:30 p.m., at Hal & Mal’s (200 Commerce St.). The Mississippinative country singer-songwriter’s latest album is titled “First Cigarette.” $7; find it on Facebook. An Evening with Travis Tritt March 1, 7:30 p.m., at City Hall Live (1000 Municipal Drive, Brandon). The Grammy-winning country artist performs. $57-$261; vividseats.com. Mississippi Community Symphonic Band Concert March 3, 3-5 p.m., at Christ United Methodist Church (6000 Old Canton Road). The band features musicians from around the Jackson metro area. Mississippi Swing also performs. Free admission; mcsb.us. Sing for Our City: A Choral Celebration March 3, 7:30-9 p.m., at St. Phillip’s Episcopal Church (5400 Old Canton Road). The Metro Male Chorus performs a concert benefitting the Refill Cafe’s workforce-training community project. $20, $5 for students; find it on Facebook.

LITERARY SIGNINGS Events at Lemuria Books (Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 202) • “Perennials” Feb. 28, 5 p.m. Julie Cantrell signs copies. $15.99 book; lemuriabooks.com. • “The Cadaver King and the County Dentist” March 1, 5 p.m. Radley Balko and Tucker Carrington sign copies. $28 book; lemuriabooks.com. • “Promise” March 3, 1 p.m. Minrose Gwin signs copies. $25.99 book; lemuriabooks.com. • “40 Days” March 7, 5 p.m. Joe Lee signs copies. $24.95 book; lemuriabooks.com. Community Forum March 1, 10 a.m., at Jackson State University (1400 J.R. Lynch St.). In the Student Center Theatre. Angie Thomas, the author of “The Hate U Give,” is the speaker. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

FOOD & DRINK JackTown ThrowDown BBQ Competition March 2, 4-9 p.m., March 3, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., at Renaissance at Colony Park (1000 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ridgeland). In front of Seafood R’evolution. Entrants compete for the “best barbecue” title. Includes music from Rolling Smoke. $10 admission; find it on Facebook. The First Boil March 3, 1-8 p.m., at Cathead Distillery (422 S. Farish St.). The family-friendly event features distillery tours, music from Epic Funk Brass Band, beers, crawfish, games and more. Free admission; find it on Facebook. Sam’s Lounge Crawfish Boil March 4, 3-10 p.m., at Sam’s Lounge (5035 Interstate 55 N. Frontage Road). Includes all-you-can-eat crawfish, happy hour drink specials from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and more. $15 in advance, $20 at the door; find it on Facebook.

betes management from renowned educators, the latest in diabetes research and technology, and more. Breakfast and lunch provided. $25 adults, $10 ages 12-17, free for children with diabetes; call 601-957-7878; msdiabetes.org. Health & Wellness Expo March 3, 9-11 a.m., at Tougaloo College (500 W. County Line Road, Tougaloo). Includes health screenings, vendors, nutrition experts, a self-defense demonstration, fitness activities, a kid’s zone, snacks, door prizes and more. Free admission; find it on Facebook. Helicopter Ball Drop & Spring Sport Showcase March 3, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School (370 Old Agency Road, Ridgeland). Guests can watch varsity and junior-varsity lacrosse and baseball games. Includes a helicopter golf-ball drop fundraiser, where participants win prizes if their ball lands closest to the target. $20 per ball, $100 for six balls; gosaints.org/balldrop.

STAGE & SCREEN “Motown the Musical” March 7, 7:30 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). The play tells the story of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. $70-$80; ticketmaster.com.

CONCERTS & FESTIVALS

BE THE CHANGE

Events at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.) • Tedeschi Trucks Band Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks front the blues-rock band. Marc Broussard also performs. $39.50-$69.50; ardenland.net. • Cirque Goes to the Cinema March 3, 7:30 p.m. The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra performs music from films alongside circus performers. $20-$54; msorchestra.com.

Hinds County Voter Roundtable March 6, 5:30-7 p.m., at M.W. Stringer Grand Lodge (1072 J.R. Lynch St.). The strategy session is designed to find ways to increase voter turnout in Hinds County. Free; find it on Facebook. Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings, or to add your own events online. You can also email event details to events@jacksonfreepress.com to be added to the calendar. The deadline is noon the Wednesday prior to the week of publication.

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

EXHIBIT OPENINGS Art & Coffee: Wake Up & Sing! March 3, 10-11:30 a.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Spoken-word artist Monica Atkins and civil-rights veteran Hollis Watkins lead participants through exhibitions. Includes free coffee. Free admission; msmuseumart.org.

19


Music listings are due noon Monday to be included in print and online listings: music@jacksonfreepress.com.

FEB. 28 - Wednesday 1908 Provisions - Bill Ellison 6:30 p.m. Alumni House - Brian Jones 5:30-7:30 p.m. Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Hal & Mal’s - New Bourbon Street Jazz Band 6-9 p.m. free Kathryn’s - Larry Brewer & Doug Hurd 6:30-9:30 p.m. McB’s - Phil & Trace 8 p.m. Pelican Cove - Sid Thompson 6-10 p.m. Shucker’s - Sonny Brooks 7:30 p.m. free Table 100 - Andy Henderson 6 p.m. Thalia Mara Hall - Tedeschi Trucks Band w/ Marc Broussard 7:30 p.m. $39.50-$69.50

March 1 - Thursday

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

March 2 - Friday

20

1908 Provisions - Ronnie McGee 6:30 p.m. Bonny Blair’s - Phil & Seth 7:30-11:30 p.m. Char - Ronnie Brown 6 p.m. Drago’s - Hunter Gibson 6-9 p.m. Duling Hall - Grayson Capps w/ Cary Hudson 8 p.m. $10 advance $15 door F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon & the MS Sound midnight $10 Fondren Underground - Fondren Guitars Student Rock Band 5:30 p.m. free

March 3 - Saturday Bonny Blair’s - Jason Turner 7:30-11:30 p.m. Cathead - The First Boil feat. Epic Funk Brass Band 2-6 p.m. free Char - Bill Clark 6 p.m. Christ UMC - MS Community Symphonic Band 3-5 p.m. free

St. Phillip’s Episcopal Church Metro Male Chorus w/ Murrah High School Singers 7:30-9 p.m. $20, $5 students Surin of Thailand - The Vibe Doctors 6-9 p.m. Table 100 - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Thalia Mara Hall - MS Symphony Orchestra’s “Cirque Goes to the Cinema” 7:30 p.m. $20-$54 Underground 119 - Grady Champion 9 p.m.

March 4 - Sunday 1908 Provisions - Knight Bruce 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Char - Big Easy Three 11 a.m.; Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. The Hideaway - Sunday Jam 4-8 p.m. free Pelican Cove - Ronnie Brown noon-4 p.m.; Larry Brewer & Doug Hurd 5-9 p.m. Shucker’s - Acoustic Crossroads 3:30 p.m. Table 100 - Raphael Semmes Trio 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Dan Michael Colbert 6-9 p.m. Wellington’s - Andy Hardwick 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

March 5 - Monday Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Hal & Mal’s - Central MS Blues Society (rest) 7 p.m. $5 Kathryn’s - Joseph LaSalla 6:30-9:30 p.m. Pelican Cove - Anna Livi 6-10 p.m. Table 100 - Andrew Pates 6 p.m.

March 6 - Tuesday Grady Champion Duling Hall - The Woodland w/ JSCO & Seth Power 9 p.m. $7 advance $10 door F. Jones Corner - Big Money Mel & Small Change Wayne 10 p.m. $1; Sherman Lee Dillon & the MS Sound midnight $10 Georgia Blue, Flowood - Andy Tanas Hal & Mal’s - Thomas Jackson 7 p.m. free The Hideaway - Jason Miller Band 9 p.m. $10 Iron Horse Grill - Ms. Pleschette 9 p.m. Kathryn’s - Travelin’ Jane 7-10:30 p.m. Martin’s - Taylor Kropp w/ Jason Daniels 10 p.m. Pelican Cove - Stace & Cassie 1-5 p.m.; Phil & Trace 6-10 p.m. Shucker’s - Steele Heart 3:30 p.m.; Lovin Ledbetter 8 p.m. $5; Josh Journeay 10 p.m. Soul Wired - “The Love Jones” feat. IRHYME 9 p.m. $10 advance $15 door

3/3 - Keith Sweat - IP Casino, Resort & Spa, Biloxi 3/3 - Ani DiFranco - Varsity Theatre, Baton Rouge 3/6 - Flogging Molly - House of Blues, New Orleans 3/7 - Flaming Lips - Iron City, Birmingham

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Drago’s - Johnny Barranco 6-9 p.m. Fenian’s - Open Mic 9 p.m. Hal & Mal’s - Dinner, Drinks & Jazz feat. Raphael Semmes & Friends 6-9 p.m. free Kathryn’s - Stace & Cassie 6:30-9:30 p.m. MS College - Honors Concert 7:30 p.m. $10, $5 students MS Museum of Art - Milena Rusanova & Shawn Leopard 5:15 p.m. free Table 100 - Chalmers Davis 6 p.m.

March 7 - Wednesday 1908 Provisions - Bill Ellison 6:30 p.m. Drago’s - Johnny Barranco 6-9 p.m. Hal & Mal’s - Spencer Thomas & Marie Danielle 7 p.m. free Kathryn’s - Gator Trio 6:30-9:30 p.m. Pelican Cove - Robin Blakeney 6-10 p.m. Shucker’s - Proximity 7-10 p.m. Table 100 - Andy Henderson 6 p.m.

music

Travis Meadows: On Mississippi Dirt

T

by Micah Smith

ravis Meadows may not be a house- “It was so weird because I was kind of hold name for every country-music hung-up, and I couldn’t get a bead on it,” fan, but the Nashville, Tenn., sing- Meadows says. “I told my girlfriend at the er-songwriter has made a place time, who’s now my wife, that I needed to for himself among the biggest stars in the get my feet on Mississippi dirt, where maygenre. Artists such as Eric Church, Hank be I could get some inspiration and kind of Williams Jr., Wynonna Judd, Dierks Bent- feel at home, you know?” ley and Jake Owens have all performed his Soon after, Meadows was in Clarkssongs and co-writes with others. dale at the Shack Up Inn, a favorite for fans With the number of cuts that he has of Delta music, and he began to write the written for fellow musicians, one might as- album’s opening track, “Sideways.” sume that writing his second album, “First Cigarette,” released October 2017, was a quick process. Instead, it took about three years to complete, although Meadows says it all started with his debut album, 2010’s “Killin’ Uncle Buzzy.” Meadows, who grew up in Jackson and Brandon, spent much of his life dealing with drug and alcohol addiction. He began working on “Uncle Buzzy” after a stay in a rehabiliCountry artist Travis Meadows, a Jackson, Miss., tation center. Now native now based in Nashville, Tenn., performs at Hal seven years sober, he & Mal’s on Thursday, March 1. wanted to do something a little differently on “First Cigarette” than he had on “That’s kind of when I knew I had his debut or his 2013 EP, “Old Ghosts a record in me,” he says. “… When I got and Unfinished Business.” there, it opened up, and the record started “The biggest difference was that first coming to me. It was awesome.” record was, I hate to use the (phrase) ‘a Meadows may be letting a little more dark record,’ but it was kind of a diary, a light into his music these days, but he gives cathartic project processing me getting a word of warning to country fans who sober and going through that whole pro- aren’t sure what to expect when he percess,” Meadows says. forms in Jackson this Thursday, March 1. “I’d been touring on those songs, and “You know, my shows are not a ‘honI’m playing clubs and vineyards and win- ky-tonk’ experience. If you’re going to get eries and stuff, singing these songs about drunk and get laid, this is probably not the me getting sober. I just had an epiphany: place you want to go. There’s a lot of sto‘I kind of need to lighten the hell up a little rytelling, you know, Mississippi back-roads bit and let people catch their breath.’” kind of storytelling, and some songs that While he didn’t stray from the weight- go with that. It’s almost like—god, I don’t ier lyrics for which his fans know him, know—like a Springsteen video with EuMeadows says that he wanted the new dora Welty or Flannery O’Connor directalbum to have a sense of levity at times, al- ing the video,” he says with a laugh. lowing listeners to sit back for a moment Travis Meadows performs at 8 p.m. and be OK with the world. on March 1 at Hal & Mal’s (200 Com Even knowing the tone of the record, merce St.). Admission is $7, the doors open at the songs for “First Cigarette” did not come 7 p.m., and the event is for ages 18 and up. to him immediately. Visit travismeadows.com.

Joshua Black WIlkins

1908 Provisions - Andy Henderson 6:30 p.m. Bonny Blair’s - Colt Barron 7-11 p.m. Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. City Hall Live, Brandon - Travis Tritt 7:30 p.m. $37-$47 Drago’s - Johnny Barranco 6-9 p.m. Duling Hall - “Sing Your Song 2” feat. Kris Allen 6-9 p.m. $20 admission $50 VIP F. Jones Corner - Raul Valinti & the F. Jones Challenge Band 10 p.m. $5 Georgia Blue, Flowood - Aaron Coker Hal & Mal’s - Travis Meadows 7 p.m. $7 Hops & Habanas - Dazz & Brie 7 p.m. Iron Horse Grill - Brian Jones 6 p.m. Kathryn’s - Steele Heart 6:30-9:30 p.m. Pelican Cove - Sonny & Don 6-10 p.m. Shucker’s - Road Hogs 7:30 p.m. free Spacecamp - Hovvdy w/ El Obo 8-11 p.m. $7 Table 100 - Andrew Pates 6 p.m. Underground 119 - Thomas Lovett Trio 7-10:30 p.m.

Georgia Blue, Flowood - Shaun Patterson Hal & Mal’s - Bill & Temperance 7 p.m. free Iron Horse Grill - Sherman Lee Dillon 9 p.m. ISH Grill & Bar - Karen Brown & Musiq Theory w/ DJ Phil 9 p.m. Kathryn’s - Faze 4 7-10:30 p.m. Martin’s - The Gills 10 p.m. Mudbugs 042 - Phil & Trace 7-10 p.m. Olde Towne Grille, Brandon James Bailey 5-8:30 p.m. Pelican Cove - Path to Eden 6-10 p.m. Shucker’s - Sonny Duo 5:30 p.m.; Lovin Ledbetter 8 p.m. $5; Chad Perry 10 p.m. Table 100 - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Underground 119 - Chris Gill & the Sole Shakers 8:30 p.m. WonderLust - DJ Taboo 8 p.m.

File Photo

MUSIC | live


food&drink

Angelo’s Unlikely Pairing by Seth Reeks Stephen Wilson

Blue Plate Specials 11am-3pm Mon-Fri Includes a Non-Alcoholic Drink

MONDAY Red Beans & Bangers

Smithwick’s ale braised, The Flora Butcher Irish sausage, Two Brooks Farm rice, Gil’s garlic crostini

buttermilk fried, bone-in chop, Guinness onion gravy, champ, sauteed garlic greens

TUESDAY Chicken Curry

THURSDAY Drunken Hamburger Steak

roasted Springer Mountain Farms chicken, bell pepper, onion, Two Brooks Farm rice or hand cut chips

A

Creekstone Farms beef, whiskey glazed onions, Guinness gravy, mashed potatoes, garlic parmesan creamed kale

FRIDAY Fish & Grits

blackened Simmons catfish, Irish cheddar Delta Grind grits, smoked tomato relish, pea tendrils

% &ORTIl CATION 3T s www.fenianspub.com -ON &RI AM AM s 3AT PM AM s 3UN PM AM

Angelo’s owner Chris Angelo says that serving Italian, barbecue and pizza was not his original idea, but it has worked out. The restaurant has dishes such as the Titan pizza with pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, onions, mushrooms, olives and more.

thing.� He left the Cherokee in 1995. Ryan serves as a manager in the restaurant. “This is what I’ve grown up around. I love getting to come in and see my dad everyday,� he says. Throughout the years, the Angelos strived to create a family-oriented atmosphere in their restaurant. “There’s never a stranger in this place,� says cook Craig Hamilton. “Everyone knows everyone. There’s hardly a stranger who walks through the door.� Angelo says word of mouth is great for his restaurant. “If you asked anyone in this area about our restaurant, they’d say, ‘Oh yeah, we’ve been there.’ It’s become the neighborhood place,� he says. “We get all kinds of people, from off the interstate. We get all the blue-collar workers from the factories.� Angelo’s (128 Weisenberger Road, Gluckstadt, 601-898-1070) is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.., and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, find the business on Facebook.

JFPmenus.com Paid advertising section. Call 601-362-6121 x11 to list your restaurant

BARS, PUBS & BURGERS

Fenian’s Pub & 'PSUJm DBUJPO 4U +BDLTPO t

Classic Irish pub featuring a menu of traditional food, pub sandwiches & Irish beers on tap.

Green Room #PVOET 4U +BDLTPO t We’re still #1! Best Place to Play Pool - Best of Jackson 2016

Hal and Mal’s 4 $PNNFSDF 4U +BDLTPO t Pub favorites meet Gulf Coast and Cajun specialties like red beans and rice, the Oyster Platter or daily specials.

Martin’s Restaurant and Lounge 4PVUI 4UBUF 4U +BDLTPO t Lunch specials, pub appetizers or order from the full menu of po-boys and entrees. Full bar, beer selection.

ASIAN

Bonfire Grill 4FSWJDF %S #SBOEPO t Brandon’s new dine in and carry out Japanese & Thai Express.

Fusion Japanese and Thai Cuisine 5SFFUPQT #MWE 'MPXPPE t " )XZ .BEJTPO t Specializing in fresh Japanese and Thai cuisine, our extensive menu features everything from curries to fresh sushi.

Surin of Thailand 0ME $BOUPO 3E +BDLTPO t Jackson’s Newest Authentic Thai & Sushi Bar with 26 signature martini’s and extensive wine list.

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

t Angelo’s, the tables are stocked with Italian and pizzeria staples such as shakers of parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper, and something more unusual for an Italian restaurant: squeeze bottles full of barbecue sauce. “We hear all the time, ‘Man, this is the first barbecue and Italian restaurant I’ve ever walked into.’ It’s probably the only one,� owner Chris Angelo says. Angelo started the restaurant with his cousin, Jay Angelo, in 2014. Jay left the business after the first year, making Chris Angelo the sole owner. He brought his son Ryan in to help run the restaurant. The location was once the home of a barbecue restaurant, Pig Shack. “They had just bought a $10,000 smoker, and we didn’t want it going to waste,� Angelo says, so they decided to incorporate barbecue dishes into the menu. “We have pulled-pork pizza; we’ve got country-fried steak on our blue-plate menu; we’ve got spaghetti and lasagna, (and) brisket burgers,� Angelo says. Mixing barbecue and Italian food has been a test for the restaurant. “The menu has been a trial and error,� Ryan says. “We have a lot of family recipes on our menu. Some of it is specials that customers like, and we’ll add those and take something off that’s not selling.� The Angelos say they owe their success to the variety of food and the quality which they strive to maintain. “Somebody can have barbecue, somebody can have pizza, and somebody can have lasagna,� Ryan says. Angelo has worked in the restaurant business for most of his life, and for most of that time, he worked with his family. “I worked at the Cherokee Drive-In for 10 years,� Angelo, whose family owned the business, says. “Working around family is a big plus. It’s tough, but it’s a good

WEDNESDAY Fried Pork Chop

21


44 Afternoon break 45 Part of FWIW 46 Congo basin animal 50 Solar system center 51 Surprised sounds 54 Madeline of “Blazing Saddles” 55 Much, much smaller? 60 Fish eggs 61 “That’s ___ shame” 62 Go out with Carrie Ann of “Dancing With the Stars?” 64 Blue-gray shade 65 Back in time 66 Ambulance attendant 67 Scammed 68 Actor Jeong 69 Hard worker’s output

BY MATT JONES

38 Outlaw 39 Notable period 40 Current measure 41 Utmost degree 45 Put gas in 47 Holiday procession 48 Intense fear 49 Short play length 50 What a two-letter abbreviation may denote 51 “August: ___ County” (2013 Streep film) 52 Show interest in, in a way

53 Figure out 55 Laundry 56 “Alice’s Restaurant” chronicler Guthrie 57 Affirmative votes 58 Bismarck’s home (abbr.) 59 Wheel accessories 63 Word after “brand spanking” ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords.com)

Last Week’s Answers

For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800 655-6548. Reference puzzle #866.

Down

“Sounds Like It’s ‘18” —you’ll hear it in the middle. Across

1 Mature insect stage 6 528i maker 9 Arrears 14 Once less than once 15 Noise at the dentist 16 Andrews of “Mary Poppins” 17 Port-au-Prince or Fort-Libertè, as an example of what to call cities? 19 “___ we all?” 20 City SE of Oklahoma City 21 Just the right amount of stellar? 23 Haves and have-___

25 They may be removed in “premium” versions 26 Some smartphones 27 Uncool sort 29 Uncle, in Oaxaca 30 Software problem 33 Jazz combo instrument 37 Facebook action 38 Oscar news about “Reds” or “Bulworth” (or “Network”)? 42 Shirt sleeves 43 Journalist Cokie who appears on ABC and NPR

1 Under one’s control 2 Grassland 3 Do some flying 4 Figure out 5 First of its kind (abbr.) 6 Made some barnyard noises 7 Half of a 1960s pop quartet 8 Put a sharper edge on 9 “___ Unchained” (Tarantino movie) 10 Continent-wide money 11 Chicken Cordon ___ 12 Triangle sound 13 Late-night host Meyers 18 Program begun under FDR 22 Alchemist’s potion 24 Stadium capacity 28 Crispy sandwich 29 Mild 30 Drill piece 31 Island strings, for short 32 Diploma equivalent 34 Power in old movies 35 ___ about (roughly) 36 Show sorrow 37 Eye surgery acronym

BY MATT JONES Last Week’s Answers

“Kaidoku”

Each of the 26 letters of the alphabet is represented in this grid by a number between 1 and 26. Using letter frequency, word-pattern recognition, and the numbers as your guides, fill in the grid with well-known English words (HINT: since a Q is always followed by a U, try hunting down the Q first). Only lowercase, unhyphenated words are allowed in kaidoku, so you won’t see anything like STOCKHOLM or LONG-LOST in here (but you might see AFGHAN, since it has an uncapitalized meaning, too). Now stop wasting my precious time and SOLVE! psychosudoku@gmail.com

LAVENDER LATTE

THE NEW SEASONAL LATTE WITH A FLORAL CITRUS SWEETNESS

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

C U P S E S P R E S S O C A F E.C O M

22

MEDITERRANEAN GRILL

WE ARE NOW ON WAITR! Have your favorites delivered right to your door.

Treat your sweetheart to a night out and the best latin food in town with our

DATE NIGHT SPECIAL! Enjoy an appetizer, two entrees, and a dessert to share!

All for $30

Monday-Wednesday Nights at Eslava’s Grille Dinner Hours: 5pm-10pm 730 Lakeland Dr. Jackson, MS | 601-366-6033 | Sun-Thurs: 11am - 10pm, Fri-Sat: 11am - 11pm W E D ELIVER F OR C ATERING O RDERS Fondren / Belhaven / UMC area

2481 Lakeland Drive Flowood | 601.932.4070


PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

As you make appointments in the coming months, you could re-use calendars from 2007 and 2001. During those years, all the dates fell on the same days of the week as they do in 2018. On the other hand, Pisces, please don’t try to learn the same lessons you learned in 2007 and 2001. Don’t get snagged in identical traps or sucked into similar riddles or obsessed with comparable illusions. On the other other hand, it might help for you to recall the detours you had to take back then, since you may thereby figure out how to avoid having to repeat boring old experiences that you don’t need to repeat.

On Sept. 1, 1666, a London baker named Thomas Farriner didn’t take proper precautions to douse the fire in his oven before he went to sleep. Consequences were serious. The conflagration that ignited in his little shop burned down large parts of the city. Three hundred twenty years later, a group of bakers gathered at the original site to offer a ritual atonement. “It’s never too late to apologize,� said one official, acknowledging the tardiness of the gesture. In that spirit, Aries, I invite you to finally dissolve a clump of guilt you’ve been carrying ... or express gratitude that you should have delivered long ago ... or resolve a messy ending that still bothers you ... or transform your relationship with an old wound ... or all of the above.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

The Committee to Fanatically Promote Taurus’ Success is pleased to see that you’re not waiting politely for your next turn. You have come to the brilliant realization that what used to be your fair share is no longer sufficient. You intuitively sense that you have a cosmic mandate to skip a few steps—to ask for more and better and faster results. As a reward for this outbreak of shrewd and well-deserved selflove, and in recognition of the blessings that are currently showering down on your astrological House of Noble Greed, you are hereby granted three weeks’ worth of extra service, free bonuses, special treatment and abundant slack.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

No one can be somewhat pregnant. You either are or you’re not. But from a metaphorical perspective, your current state is a close approximation to that impossible condition. Are you or are you not going to commit yourself to birthing a new creation? Decide soon, please. Opt for one or the other resolution; don’t remain in the gray area. And there’s more to consider. You are indulging in excessive in-betweenness in other areas of your life, as well. You’re almost brave and sort of free and semi-faithful. My advice about these halfway states is the same: Either go all the way or else stop pretending you might.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

The Appalachian Trail is a 2,200-mile path that runs through the eastern United States. Hikers can wind their way through forests and wilderness areas from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia. Along the way they may encounter black bears, bobcats, porcupines, and wild boars. These natural wonders may seem to be at a remote distance from civilization, but they are in fact conveniently accessible from America’s biggest metropolis. For $8.75, you can take a train from Grand Central Station in New York City to an entry point of the Appalachian Trail. This scenario is an apt metaphor for you right now, Cancerian. With relative ease, you can escape from your routines and habits. I hope you take advantage!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

Is 2018 turning out to be as I expected it would be for you? Have you become more accepting of yourself and further at peace with your mysterious destiny? Are you benefiting from greater stability and security? Do you feel more at home in the world and better nurtured by your close allies? If for some reason these developments are not yet in bloom, withdraw from every lesser concern and turn your focus to them. Make sure you make full use of the gifts that life is conspiring to provide for you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

“You can’t find intimacy—you can’t find home—when you’re always hiding behind masks,� says Pulitzer Prize-winning

novelist Junot DĂ­az. “Intimacy requires a certain level of vulnerability. It requires a certain level of you exposing your fragmented, contradictory self to someone else. You running the risk of having your core self rejected and hurt and misunderstood.â€? I can’t imagine any better advice to offer you as you navigate your way through the next seven weeks, Virgo. You will have a wildly fertile opportunity to find and create more intimacy. But in order to take full advantage, you’ll have to be brave and candid and unshielded.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

In the coming weeks, you could reach several odd personal bests. For instance, your ability to distinguish between flowery bullshit and inventive truth-telling will be at a peak. Your “imperfections� will be more interesting and forgivable than usual, and might even work to your advantage, as well. I suspect you’ll also have an adorable inclination to accomplish the half-right thing when it’s impossible to do the perfectly right thing. Finally, all the astrological omens suggest that you will have a tricky power to capitalize on lucky lapses.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

French philosopher Blaise Pascal said, “If you do not love too much, you do not love enough.� American author Henry David Thoreau declared. “There is no remedy for love but to love more.� I would hesitate to offer these two formulations in the horoscope of any other sign but yours, Scorpio. And I would even hesitate to offer them to you at any other time besides right now. But I feel that you currently have the strength of character and fertile willpower necessary to make righteous use of such stringently medicinal magic. So please proceed with my agenda for you, which is to become the Smartest, Feistiest, Most Resourceful Lover Who Has Ever Lived.

SERVICES DISH TV Book Publishing DISH Network. 190+ Channels. Become a published author! FREE Install. FREE Hopper HDInternational distribution, print and digital formats. Books sold DVR. $49.99/month (24 months) at major retailers. Contact Page Add High Speed Internet - $14.95 Publishing for your FREE author (where avail.) CALL Today & SAVE 25%! 1-866-698-8159 submission kit. CALL 1- 844-206-0206 PERSONALS AT&T U-verse NEW AT&T INTERNET OFFER. $20 Meet Singles! and $30/mo plans available when Meet singles right now! No paid you bundle. 99% Reliable 100% operators, just real people like Affordable. HURRY, OFFER ENDS you. Browse greetings, exchange SOON. New Customers Only. CALL messages and connect live. Try it NOW 1-800-670-8371 free. Call now: 800-513-9842

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD:

Post an ad, call 601-362-6121, ext. 11 or fax to 601-510-9019. Deadline: Mondays at Noon.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

The state of Kansas has more than 6,000 ghost towns— places where people once lived, but then abandoned. Daniel C. Fitzgerald has written six books documenting these places. He’s an expert on researching what remains of the past and drawing conclusions based on the old evidence. In accordance with current astrological omens, I suggest you consider doing comparable research into your own lost and half-forgotten history. You can generate vigorous psychic energy by communing with origins and memories. Remembering who you used to be will clarify your future.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

It’s not quite a revolution that’s in the works. But it is a sprightly evolution. Accelerating developments may test your ability to adjust gracefully. Quickly-shifting story lines will ask you to be resilient and flexible. But the unruly flow won’t throw you into a stressful tizzy as long as you treat it as an interesting challenge instead of an inconvenient imposition. My advice is not to stiffen your mood or narrow your range of expression, but rather to be like an actor in an improvisation class. Fluidity is your word of power.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

It’s the Productive Paradox Phase of your cycle. You can generate good luck and unexpected help by romancing the contradictions. For example: 1. You’ll enhance your freedom by risking deeper commitment. 2. You’ll gain greater control over wild influences by loosening your grip and providing more spaciousness. 3. If you are willing to appear naive, empty or foolish, you’ll set the stage for getting smarter. 4. A blessing you didn’t realize you needed will come your way after you relinquish a burdensome “asset.� 5. Greater power will flow your way if you expand your capacity for receptivity.

Homework: What good old thing could you give up in order to attract a great new thing into your life? Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

0RINT AND $IGITAL -ARKETING 2EPRESENTATIVE :H¡UH ORRNLQJ WR DGG D VSHFLDO QHZ PHPEHU WR WKH -)3 %220 -DFNVRQ VDOHV WHDP <RX VKRXOG KDYH VDOHV RU FXVWRPHU VHUYLFH UHWDLO UHVWDXUDQW H[SHULHQFH DORQJ ZLWK D GULYH WR EXLOG \RXU FDUHHU ZKLOH KHOSLQJ ORFDO EXVLQHVVHV JHW DKHDG LQ WKH -DFNVRQ 0HWUR <RX PXVW EH SHUVRQDEOH RXWJRLQJ SHUVLVWHQW DQG ZLOOLQJ WR OHDUQ &RPPLVVLRQ GULYHQ SRVLWLRQ ZLWK D SDLG WUDLQLQJ SHULRG DQG DFFHVV WR EHQHĂ€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

February 28 - March 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

BULLE TIN BOARD: Classifieds As low as $25!

23


" $ !

#

%& " !" $

E TH G Join Us On Our

Expanded Patio

Live Music Every Thurs, Fri & Sat Night!

O RO M

E RE N

*/5&3/

-Pool Is CoolThank you for voting The Green Room “Best Place to Play Pool� once again, extending our run of a Best of Jackson winner since 2006!

INDUSTRY HAPPY HOUR Daily 11pm -2am DAILY 12pm BEER- 7pm SPECIALS

POOL LEAGUE Mon - Fri Night

DRINK SPECIALS "52'%23 s 7).'3 s &5,, "!2 '!4%$ 0!2+).' s ")' 3#2%%. 46 3 LEAGUE AND TEAM PLAY B EGINNERS TO A DVANCED I NSTRUCTORS A VAILABLE

444 Bounds St. Jackson MS

601-718-7665

"5 5)& +'1 %POÂľU GFUDI DPGGFF Thurs March 1 - Thomas Lovett Trio

Hone your skills, gain valuable experience and college credit*. Set your hours, and attend free training workshops.

8F DVSSFOUMZ IBWF PQFOJOHT JO UIF GPMMPXJOH BSFBT Feb March 2 - Chris Gill & The Sole Shakers

s .EWS 2EPORTING s -USIC !RTS #ULTURE 7RITING s 0HOTOGRAPHY s 'RAPHIC $ESIGN s 3OCIAL -EDIA s -ARKETING %VENTS

*OUFSFTUFE

Feb March 3 - Grady Champion

www.underground119.com 119 S. President St. Jackson

E-mail interns@jacksonfreepress.com, telling us why you want to intern with us and what makes you the ideal candidate. *College credit available to currently enrolled college students in select disciplines.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.