JACKSON ADVOCATE – MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2020; VOL. 82, NO. 35

VOL. 82, NO. 35

MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2020

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI

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MISSISSIPPI

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14,044 CASES, 670 DEATHS

‘Deeper Still’:

Spirit-led awakening on the horizon

Four Minneapolis cops fired in cruel killing of innocent George Floyd

Part I: Prelude to an awakening

By DeAnna Tisdale Johnson

Jackson Advocate Publisher “May the Holy Spirit renew the church,” says Rev. CJ Rhodes, Pastor of Mt. Helm Missionary Baptist Church, in the last sentence of the introduction to his new book, Deeper Still: Ministry Empowered by the Holy Spirit. Though this book is a resource for church leaders, others on a quest for more understanding, including historians, bible studiers, church-goers, and knowledge-seekers will take away something from this book.

“The target audience would be preachers, pastors, and denominational leaders. Yet, the hope would be that the story that’s told here can inspire anyone who’s a Christian, person of faith, and even those who may not be,” says Rev. Rhodes.

Rhodes speaks of a time when he was in the “those who may not be” category. Yet, his hunger and search for something more, for something ‘deeper still’ if you will, led him to the precipice

of a new theology that seeks to reignite the spiritual fires of the Baptist church and unite the Baptist faith with charismatic beliefs – the Word Rev. CJ Rhodes and the Spirit – in what Rev. Rhodes calls “Bapticostal”.

Though Rhodes’ life isn’t chronicled in his new manifesto, it is worth delving into his experiences to better understand the spiritual lens in which his beliefs stand on.

Rhodes grew up in the rural town of Hazlehurst, MS, which

See Deeper Still on 9A

George Floyd was held down to the point of death by Minneapolis police

By Earnest McBride JA Contributing Editor

Thousands of outraged Minnesotans hit the streets of Minneapolis Tuesday

evening to confront city and police authorities over the Memorial Day killing of an innocent, non-resisting man George Floyd at the hands of four policemen.

Such large, multiracial protest crowds have rarely been seen since the highlights of the Civil Rights Movement.

Floyd’s death was caught on a 10-minute graphic video

filmed at 2:31 p.m. Monday and broadcast online where millions of sympathizers around the world were bowled over by the casual See Floyd on 9A

College Board gets set for another year, amidst real challenges

By Ivory Phillips

JA Contributing Editor

The Moss Point-Jackson County NAACP equipped the local community with face masks on Saturday, May 23. Members of the NAACP, including President Curley Clark, passed out masks to cars lined up on the corner of MLK and Main Street in Moss Point. They also provided information about COVID-19 for the community.

The College Board, for the third month in a row, held its monthly meeting via telephone.

Only the board president, Ford Dye, was physically present. Higher Education Commissioner Alfred Rankins was also present, but none of the university presidents were in attendance.

The board, nonetheless, proceeded to approve all of the items on its agenda that were open to the public by unanimous votes. The item which received the most publicity was a resolution proclaiming the board’s intent or expectation to have all of the state universities operating in the fall. The resolution did acknowledge, however, that in some cases it may be necessary to offer courses through distance learning. The news of the intent to open in the fall was received with mixed reactions, some

feeling that it is too early and some that were happy to hear the news. The existence of the coronavirus – COVID-19 – is just one of the challenges that must be met. Another is the matter of state funding. The state legislature is expected to deal with that matter over the next several weeks, though as usual, legislative leaders are complaining “poor mouth” again.

Along that same line, several universities, including Alcorn, Delta State, and Jackson State, were given permission to assess additional fees in the fall. This action puts a little bit more of a burden on students and their parents, although not as much as would have a rise in tuition.

Another item that was approved for the coming term of the board was the appointment of committee chairs by board president. Heading up the academic affairs committee will be Dr. Steven Cunningham.

See IHL on 9A

Some states ignore COVID-19 upticks to justify reopening

By Earnest McBride JA Contributing Editor

In their haste to reopen their increasingly anemic economies, several governors, especially in the core South states, have ignored the truth about an increasing number of COVID-19 deaths to justify their actions.

Health officials and local political leaders in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida have stepped forward to denounce their state leaders for using deceptive and false data to

justify reopening of public activities and businesses while the coronavirus onslaught continues to plague their communities.

“In Georgia, data tracking COVID-19 cases has come under question after a misleading chart was posted on the Department of Public Health’s website with the dates out of order, suggesting cases were declining over time,” the Atlanta JournalConstitution reports. That chart was manipulated, the paper said, “to show that the

INSIDE WARD 3 RESIDENT CELEBRATES 99TH BIRTHDAY..... 4A CROSSWORD PUZZLE........................................................11A MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH........................18A

number of new confirmed cases in the counties with the most infections had dropped every single day for the prior two weeks.”

A bar graph used to indicate the coronavirus trends showed a downward trajectory but gave no consistent chronology to accompany the trend. The result was a bewildering confusion for the average reader, the report indicated.

“The bad news is we are not seeing a reduction in transmission,” said

Dr. Gerardo Chowell, Professor of Mathematical Epidemiology at Georgia State University’s School of Public Health in an interview with the Albany Herald. “But I don’t see a spike in transmission.”

The use of the deceptive tactic of combining diagnostic test and antibody test data into one total has been adopted by a growing number of states. But “the tests measure different things,” CNN reported on May 20. “Diagnostic tests

check for current infection, and antibody tests check for past infection – so combining them could skew[ed] results [will] mislead policy-makers and the public.”

At 1 p.m. Monday, the Georgia Department of Public Health counted 43,344 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 1,830 deaths. More than 513,000 tests were administered. Almost 7,500 Georgians have been hospitalized for COVID-19, with about 1,700 of them admitted to an intensive-care unit.

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ALABAMA RISING Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed views his city as a potential COVID-19 “hotspot” and said on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition Tuesday, May 26, that the challenge to the health system there “has hit unsustainable levels.”

The new coronavirus cases keep going up even as Alabama Governor Kay Ivey tries to justify reopening the state. At least one-third of See Reopening on 9A

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EDUCATION Alcorn plans to offer in-person classes this fall

JANS – The Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) announced that all public Mississippi universities should make plans to offer as many of their in-person classes as possible under federal and state governments’ health guidelines.

“In light of the current health crisis, I know many students and their families are eager to learn about our plans for the upcoming fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters at Alcorn State University,” said University President Felecia M. Nave. “The health and well-being of our students,

faculty, and staff is our highest priority. We are developing options based on IHL and Alcorn task forces’ guidelines with the intention of returning to campus operations in the fall, to the fullest extent prudent.”

The University’s Campus Safe Start Task Force will provide strategies designed to assist the University in determining the best option for a safe in-person fall experience across all campuses (Lorman, Vicksburg, and Natchez). The cross-departmental task force is led by Dr. Keith A. McGee, Interim Provost and Executive

Vice President for Academic Affairs, and is charged with developing guidelines that will ensure the University will meet or exceed all social distancing, cleaning, and safety protocols related to classroom instruction, on-campus housing and dining, and campus activities.

All eight public universities – including Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi Valley State University, the University of Mississippi,

and the University of Southern Mississippi – are developing plans to open for inperson classes.

President Nave added, “I look forward to greeting our students this fall. Mindful of educational continuity, the Alcorn experience is about developing meaningful lifelong friendships, a core set of values, and building essential leadership skills that will serve our students far beyond the classroom. Alcorn is about family and community, connection, and rich tradition where knowledge and character matter.”

Ivy R. Taylor selected as 12th President of Rust College

JANS – The Rust College Board of Trustees has announced the selection of former San Antonio Mayor Ivy Ruth Taylor, as the 12th President of Rust College. She will be the first woman to lead Rust College as President.

The Trustees made their selection following an extensive eight-month search ending with a series of interviews with faculty, staff, students, alumni and representatives from the Holly Springs community. “Dr. Taylor brings energy, intelligence, and competence as well as experience in listening to diverse views and building coalitions,” said Rev. Dr. David Swinton, Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Taylor succeeds President David Beckley who has successfully led the school for 27 years. After a period of transition, Dr. Beckley will retire with the status of President Emeritus.

Dr. Taylor spent six years as a lecturer in Public Administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She also worked at a nonprofit affordable housing agency and served multiple terms as a city

Ivy R. Taylor councilmember prior to her term as Mayor. “We believe the abilities she gained in nonprofit management and political leadership will be readily transferable to an academic setting,” said Swinton.

While serving as mayor, Dr. Taylor joined the Board of Trustees for Huston-Tillotson University, in Austin, Texas.

This sparked for her an additional interest in higher education, especially Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). She is also on the board of the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. She told the Rust College Board of Trustees that she is committed to changing lives,

improving communities, and reducing economic inequality through working in higher education.

“I am honored and humbled to have this opportunity to serve the Rust College community. Through my conversations with the Board, students, faculty, staff, and alumni, it was apparent that many appreciate the impact of Rust College on their lives and want to be part of envisioning its bright future. I am thrilled to be part of writing the next chapter for this historic institution,” said Taylor. She added, “My family and I are looking forward to becoming active members in this community.”

Dr. Taylor received her Bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She recently completed the Doctor of Education Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Her dissertation focused on leadership for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

She credits her academic success to the strong founda-

Millsaps taps Beth Clarke as VP of Enrollment

JANS – Millsaps College has selected Beth Clarke, current Senior Executive Director of Admissions Strategy and Counseling at Sweet Briar College, as Vice President of Enrollment. Clarke will lead the admission and financial aid efforts at Millsaps, and spearhead the college’s comprehen-

Beth Clarke sive efforts to grow and sustain enrollment. Clarke will begin her new role at Millsaps on July 6.

“I am thrilled to welcome Beth Clarke to the Millsaps College family,” said Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, President of Millsaps. “She brings extensive experience in higher education admission to our team, and we are excited about working with her to grow our enrollment and expose more students

to the unique experience of a Millsaps education.”

Clarke has served in her current role at Sweet Briar since 2018, and also served as acting Vice President for Enrollment from August 2019 – December 2019. She helped drive significant growth for the fall of 2020, with applications up 18%, admitted students up 19%, and deposits up 12% compared to the previous year. She also led efforts to develop a new comprehensive financial aid model.

Prior to Sweet Briar, Clarke filled multiple roles at Virginia Wesleyan University, including Assistant Vice President for Enrollment, Associate Dean of Admission, Director of Development, and Director of Alumni Relations. She helped lead efforts that resulted in the university’s highest enrollment on record in the fall of 2017, which included the largest new class since 2001.

“I am looking forward to taking on the new challenges and incredible opportunities that come with this role at Millsaps,” Clarke said.

“Millsaps has a strong reputation as one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the country, and I know we can leverage that reputation to increase enrollment.”

Clarke earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications at Virginia Wesleyan University

The Reunion Committee for the Hinds AHS Class of 1975 is planning a 45th reunion. For additional information, please contact the following persons: Shirley McGriggs Hartsfield, 504-9120973; Linda Scott Brown, 601-278-3313; Mary Kinnard Lofton, 601-529-3514; or Clara Dixon, 601-573-3194.

and a Master of Education in educational policy, planning, and leadership with a specialization in higher education administration at The College of William and Mary.

tion, faith, and values instilled by her mother, a North Carolina native, who never had the chance to pursue her educational dreams. She currently works as a consultant with J.L. Powers and Associates. She relishes time with her family – her husband of 20 years, Rodney, and their daughter, Morgan, a high school student.

Rust College is a United Methodist related liberal arts college in Holly Springs, Mississippi, founded in 1866.

Hinds CC a place for support as well as education for student

JANS – Attending Hinds Community College means never having to go it alone – something Sarrah Bell will carry with her to the next level of her college life.

“My experience at Hinds was wonderful,” Bell said.

“I was scared to start college without any friends from high school. There were times when I felt stressed and wanted to give up, but me being in three different organizations helped a lot. I always had someone whom I could talk to, so I never felt alone.”

Bell, of Jackson, plans to transfer to Jackson State University this fall semester after a successful experience at Hinds’ Jackson CampusAcademic/Technical Center.

She was a part of Phi Theta Kappa honor society on campus, as well as Sunset Readers Book Club and the Sociology Club.

She was recognized for her academic achievement by being named among 28 students given 3E awards for spring 2020. The designation stands for Emphasis on Excellence and Enrichment and the student must carry a 3.5 GPA or higher.

Sarrah Bell Her career goal is to be an elementary instructor. She counts her relationships with Hinds faculty as positive examples to follow going forward.

“Sharon Turner was one of the most helpful teachers I had at Hinds,” she said of her sociology instructor. “She helped me both academically and with personal problems.

She would always give me advice on how to deal with my anxiety. She told me about apps to download for my stress and gave me access to her office if I needed a break. I am truly thankful for her.”

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May 28-June 3, 2020

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State/Metro Happy 99th birthday Ms. Maudine Taylor

Ms. Maudine Taylor is celebrating her 99th birthday! Mrs. Taylor lives on Morton Avenue and is neighbors with Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth I. Stokes. She is a leader in her church and helped to rear children all over the City of Jackson. She operated a successful child care center from her home for many years. She would even pick up and deliver the children. She is pictured with her pastor, Rev. Arthur Sutton, Hinds County Sheriff Commander Eric Wall, and Councilman Stokes, who proclaimed it her day in Ward Three.

Happy 75th birthday Ms. Lucille Winter Johnson

Ms. Lucille Winter Johnson is the oldest out of 12 children. She was born on May 21,1945 in Flora, MS to the late Ms. Elizabeth Winter and Mr. Napoleon Myles, Sr. She has two siblings that has passed – Ms. Essie Veal and Mr. Napoleon Myles, Jr. Ms. Lucille has four children: Jimmie, Jammie, Lisa, and Bobby Johnson. She has 16 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. She have nine siblings: Earnestine Smith, Fannie Coleman, Martha Myles, Mary Myles, Eddie Myles, LV Myles, Westley Myles, Sammie Myles, and Richard Myles. Ms. Lucille loves singing. She has sung with the Gospel Heavenly Wonders, the Gospel Angelettes, and the Gospel Commanders. She now sings in the Unity Fellowship Baptist Church choir under the leadership of Pastor Orlando Franklin.

Supervisors honor the sacrifices of our veterans

Representative Zakiya Summers (D-68) hosted two legislative pages prior to the House recessing its session due to COVID-19.

Standing with her and Speaker Philip Gunn are Amaya Barnes,10th grader at Provine High School, and Trinity Powell, recent graduate from Hillcrest Christian School. Legislative page duties consist primarily of delivery of correspondences and legislative materials.

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors is doing everything it possible can to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Yet, they still made time to honor the sacrifices made by those who gave their lives serving our country in military service. The Board was excited to be able to continue its wreath-laying tradition through a virtual ceremony on Monday, May 25. Pictured above is Hinds County Administrator Jennifer Riley-Collins saluting our fallen soldiers. Riley-Collins is a retired colonel with the United States Army.

820 North Street, Jackson, MS 39202 Message from Ward 2 Councilman

Melvin V. Priester, Jr.

Gerald A. Mumford, Hinds County Attorney Kamesha B. Mumford, City of Canton Judge

Call us at 601.398.2347 to schedule your closing or refinancing of your home.

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Still working hard at City Hall for the residents of Ward 2 and all citizens of Jackson, MS 5375 Executive Place • Jackson, MS 39206 Phone: (601) 353-2460 • Fax: (601) 353-2074 info@electmelpriester.com

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For more information visit http:// HealthyMS. com/covid-19 or call the Mississippi Coronavirus Hotline at 877-978-6453 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.

GOVERNOR TATE REEVES ANNOUNCES SAFE RETURN FOR MISSISSIPPI IN FINAL STAGES OF REOPENING ECONOMY

JANS – On May 27, Governor Tate Reeves announced his Safer At Home order will be ending on June 1 to be replaced by new guidance for the next stage of economic recovery for Mississippi.

In his new Safe Return order, Governor Reeves lays out the latest stage of his measured and strategic plan, opening all businesses in Mississippi to restart the state’s economy. Consulting with Dr. Thomas Dobbs and state health experts, the new executive order details updated social distancing guidelines for Mississippians, businesses, healthcare professionals, and indoor and outdoor recreation.

The Safe Return order takes effect on Monday, June 1 at 8:00 AM as the previous order ends and will remain in effect until Monday, June 15 at 8:00 AM. Governor Reeves also issued another executive order to begin safely reopening ballparks, movie theaters, libraries, and museums to provide additional outlets for Mississippians to take care of their mental health as well as restart the economy. Detailing strict social distancing guidelines for team practices and games, moviegoers, and more, the new executive order also takes effect on Monday, June 1 at 8:00 AM to allow businesses and leagues time to implement the new protocols.

Signed versions of the executive orders will be available on at governorreeves.ms.gov/covid-19.

The strict social distancing guidelines in the Safe Return order include: For Mississippians: • All those in the vulnerable population are instructed to continue sheltering in place to protect their health. This includes all elderly individuals (age 65 or older per CDC guidelines) and individuals with serious underlying health conditions, including high blood pressure, chronic lung disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, and those whose immune systems are compromised as such by chemotherapy for cancer or any other condition requiring such therapy.

• For large group gatherings when social distancing is not possible, groups are limited to 20 people or less indoors and 50 people or less outdoors.

• For large groups gatherings when social distancing is possible, groups are limited to 50 people or less indoors and 100 people or less outdoors.

• All travel may resume, while minimizing non-essential business travel when possible.

For businesses: • All businesses and non-profits in Mississippi are allowed to open, following CDC and Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) guidance to limit transmission.

• Businesses and non-profits are encouraged to continue allow-

ing employees to work from home or telework.

• Retail businesses should continue to implement reasonable measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including limiting the number of customers in their stores at one time to no greater than 50% of their store capacity and making hand sanitizer available to customers upon entry.

• Restaurants and bars must continue to follow in-house dining guidelines set in Executive Orders 1478 and 1486. Bars that do not serve food are allowed to reopen, following those same guidelines.

• Restaurants and bars are now allowed to have live music performances, with customers and musicians maintaining at least a 12-foot distance.

• Salons, barbershops, gyms, tattoo parlors, and other personal care facilities must continue to follow guidelines set in Executive Orders 1480 and 1486.

For public and private buildings: • Public school buildings are allowed to reopen to the public to offer in-person classroom learning, such as summer school programs and special education evaluations.

• Private schools and institutions of higher learning are allowed to reopen their buildings and campuses to the public.

• Reception halls and conference centers are allowed to reopen, limiting to no more than 25% of seating capacity, only holding seated events, and rearranging tables to ensure a 6-foot distance between tables. Any food services must follow the restaurant guidelines under Executive Order 1478.

For healthcare professionals: • Healthcare professionals and facilities may continue performing elective medical and dental procedures and surgeries as allowed and approved by MSDH. Such non-emergent procedures and surgeries should limit their use of disposable PPE and not request PPE from any public source.

• All patients should be screened for recent illness, travel, fever, or recent exposure to COVID-19.

Healthcare professionals and facilities should begin testing all patients prior to procedures or surgeries, if possible.

• No visitors are allowed in the healthcare facility, except for one spouse or caregiver who lives with the patient and only as they are being admitted or discharged.

• For the safety of residents, patients, and staff, visits to hospitals and nursing homes remain prohibited except to visit those receiving imminent end-of-life care, to visit maternity patients, or as otherwise allowed by that healthcare facility.

For outdoor recreation: • People should follow social

distancing and maintain a 6-foot distance from others.

• Executive Order 1473 is amended to allow beaches and sandbars in the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District (PRVWSD) to open, following PRVWSD’s regulations. Beaches and sandbars at state lakes remain closed.

• Recreational boating and fishing and fishing tournaments must continue to follow guidelines set in Executive Orders 1473 and 1486.

• School weight rooms and training facilities must continue to follow guidelines set in Executive Order 1480.

• Outdoor recreational facilities must continue to follow guidelines set in Executive Order 1487.

FOR INDOOR RECREATIONAL FACILITIES For businesses: • Indoor places of amusement, including bowling alleys and playgrounds, are allowed to reopen.

• Before they can reopen, indoor places of amusement must be deep-cleaned, disinfected, and sanitized top to bottom. After opening, facilities must be deepcleaned daily.

• Indoor places of amusement are expected to take every step necessary to comply with the regulations, orders, and guidance from MSDH and CDC to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

• Signage must be posted at each entrance stating no customer with a fever or COVID-19 symptoms are allowed in.

• No more than 50% of maximum capacity is allowed.

• Hand sanitizer must be placed at all entrances and throughout the facility.

• All equipment, machines, and games must be rearranged to ensure at least 6 feet between customers.

• Items and equipment used by customers, like bowling balls and trampolines, must be sanitized and disinfected after each use.

• All high-touch areas must be sanitized at least once every two hours.

• Group gatherings, such as birthday parties, are limited to 20 people max.

For employees: • All employees will be screened daily at the beginning of their shifts, including asking whether they have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the past 14 days and have they had a fever in the last 48 hours.

• Face coverings must be provided to all employees who come in direct contact with customers.

Employees are required to wear that face covering throughout their shift and clean or replace daily.

• All employees must be provided training on how to limit the spread of COVID-19.

For customers: • Customers will be screened

upon entry.

Under Executive Order 1491, the Governor lays out strict social distancing guidelines to allow ballparks, movie theaters, and more to safely reopen, including: YOUTH SPORTS Team practices: • Before practices can resume, league organizers or coaches must provide a copy of Executive Order 1491 to all players and their parents or guardians.

• Each player must be screened by a coach before entering the field for practice, including asking whether they have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the past 14 days and have they had a fever in the last 48 hours.

• Players and their parents or guardians must report any COVID-19 symptoms to a coach.

Any player that exhibits symptoms will be sent home immediately.

• Park personnel, volunteers, and coaches should ensure social distancing is maintained between players as much as possible.

• Players and coaches must sanitize their hands before entering the field and after practice.

• Dugouts are closed during practice. Players’ bags and equipment must be spaced 6 feet apart.

• Parents and guardians must remain in their cars during practice.

• Players should use their own equipment. Shared equipment must be sanitized by a coach before and after each practice.

• Players must bring their own drinks and snacks. No shared drinking fountains, coolers, or snacks are allowed.

Team games – for leagues and coaches: • Before organized games can resume, tournament or league organizers or coaches must provide a copy of Executive Order 1491 to all teams, each player, and each parent or guardian.

• No more than 100 people are allowed at the games, including players, coaches, and fans.

• Coaches should ensure social distancing is maintained between players as much as possible.

• Dugouts may be used during the game with players following social distancing. Teams must sanitize the dugouts after the game.

• Players and coaches must sanitize their hands before entering the field and after each game.

• To ensure social distancing, coaches and tournament organizers are encouraged to implement ways other than handshakes and high fives to show good sportsmanship following a game.

• Signs must be posted at each entrance mandating 6-foot separation between fans from different households.

Team games – for players: • Each player must be screened by a coach before entering the field, including asking whether they have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the past 14

days and have they had a fever in the last 48 hours.

• Players and their parents or guardians must report any COVID-19 symptoms to a coach.

Any player that exhibits symptoms will be sent home immediately.

• Players and coaches must sanitize their hands before entering the field and after each game.

• Players should use their own equipment. Shared equipment must be sanitized by a coach before and after each game.

• Players must bring their own drinks and snacks. No shared drinking fountains, coolers, or snacks are allowed. Concessions stands remain closed.

Team games – for fans: • Fan and players must leave the field immediately after the game and return to their cars. Fans for following games must remain in their cars until teams and fans from the previous game have left.

• Fans are encouraged to wear face coverings, such as a cloth mask, while at the game.

• Fans must bring their own chairs. Bleachers are closed to fans.

• Fan attendance is limited to two household members per player.

MOVIE THEATERS For businesses: • Before they can reopen, theaters must be deep-cleaned, disinfected, and sanitized top to bottom.

After opening, theater auditoriums must be cleaned and disinfected between shows.

• All theaters are expected to take every step necessary to comply with the regulations, orders, and guidance from MSDH and CDC to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

• Theaters must ensure that the ventilation system is working properly.

• Minimizing person-to-person contact through technology, like mobile or online ticket sales and contact-less payment, is encouraged.

• Signage must be posted at each entrance stating no customer with a fever or COVID-19 symptoms are allowed in.

• Showtimes must be staggered to allow ample time for staff to clean and disinfect between shows and prevent customers from congregating in lobbies.

• Ticket sales are limited to 50% of seating capacity.

• Social distancing in waiting lines must be followed.

• All high-touch areas must be sanitized at least once every two hours.

• Hand sanitizer must be placed at all entrances and in concession areas.

• Theaters are encouraged to develop new procedures for concessions to minimize person-toperson contact, such as grab-n-go and single use utensils.

For employees: • All employees will be screened daily at the beginning of their shifts, including asking

whether they have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the past 14 days and have they had a fever in the last 48 hours.

• All employees must be provided training on how to limit the spread of COVID-19.

• Face coverings must be provided to all employees who come in direct contact with customers.

Employees are required to wear that face covering throughout their shift and clean or replace daily.

For customers: • Customers are encouraged to wear a face covering, such as a cloth mask, while inside.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS For facilities: • Before they can reopen, facilities must be deep-cleaned, disinfected, and sanitized top to bottom.

• All libraries and museums are expected to take every step necessary to comply with the regulations, orders, and guidance from MSDH and CDC to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

• No more than 50% of maximum capacity.

• Social distancing must be followed through the facility.

• Tables must be rearranged to ensure at least 6 feet between tables. Seating at each table is limited to 6 people.

• All high-touch areas must be sanitized at least once every two hours.

• Hand sanitizer must be placed at all entrances and in concession areas.

• Group tours and activities are limited to 20 people max.

• Museum cafes are allowed to resume, following in-house dining guidelines in Executive Order 1478.

For employees: • All employees will be screened daily at the beginning of their shifts, including asking whether they have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the past 14 days and have they had a fever in the last 48 hours.

• All employees must be provided training on how to limit the spread of COVID-19.

• Face coverings must be provided to all employees who come in direct contact with customers.

Employees are encouraged to wear face shields while tattooing a customer.

• Minimizing person-to-person contact through technology, like mobile or online ticket sales and contact-less payment, is encouraged.

• Signage must be posted at each entrance stating no customer with a fever or COVID-19 symptoms are allowed in.

For customers: • Customers are encouraged to wear a face covering, such as a cloth mask, while inside.

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ENTERTAINMENT Forbes Magazine spotlights Lynn Dow’s short film ‘Compassionate Release’

Twin sisters, Jassy and Janet, played by real life twins Sasha and Sable Boykin, from the movie Compassionate Release share a tender moment. (Photo courtesy of Up the Road Films) York prison. During her childBy Earnest McBride Jackson Advocate Contributing Editor hood in Harlem, one of her Director Lynn Dow’s short uncles had been arrested for film Compassionate Release is possession of marijuana and a plea for mercy for seriously her grandmother took her to ill inmates first brought to the visit him. Her uncle had organ screen less than a year before failure and was given early the ravages of COVID-19 release and died shortly after raised the public concern that returning home. many older and disabled in“My uncle went to prison mates might die as result of the in New York on marijuana virus. charges,” Dow said. “He had Screened at the 2020 Pan advanced liver disease and we African Film Festival in were able to bring him home.

February in Los Angeles, the He died a month after being heart-wrenching story of a released.” hardworking widowed mother Dow studied film at facing the demise of one of Columbia U. and went to her twin daughters in the late work on Wall Street before stages of kidney infection in a devoting herself full time to New York prison has received cinema. She wrote and directgrowing attention with the ad- ed three of the five short films vent of the coronavirus. she has been involved with.

Forbes Magazine featured Compassionate Release is her a review by former Wall most recent film.

Street lawyer Walter Pavlo “She had planned to traverse in its May 8 edition, saying, the country taking part in film “Compassionate Release was festivals,” Pavlo said. “While supposed to be showing at film many of the festivals have festivals across the country, but been postponed, watching a pandemic got in the way.” this powerful film is a must...

“Families have fought for Her awards include Best Short decades for the dignity of al- Script in the Story Mode lowing their incarcerated International Script Awards, loved ones to be released so placed in the American Gem that they could live the short Literary Festival, a screenremainder of their life at play winner in the Colorado home,” Pavlo said.

International Film Festival, Real life twins Sable and and numerous festival official Sasha Boykin play the roles selections around the country.” of Jasmine or Jassy, and Mississippi inmates have Janet, at one time a loving, suffered many dangers and inseparable pair, who now as threats to their lives in the adolescents are on divergent last two years. Their plight tracts. Jasmine has taken the gained worldwide exposure rap for possession of an il- following a number of rallegal amount of marijuana to lies and calls for the release keep her boyfriend from go- of inmates serving time for ing back to prison. The other nonviolent crimes. The comtwin, Janet, is unforgiving and passionate release provision thinks primarily of the “good is a part of Mississippi’s pelife” she imagines she will nal system as it is in most have after getting her degree other states. But as the onset from Harvard. of COVID-19 kept advancActress Stephanie Pope ing, Governor Tate Reeves plays the lead role of Carol, emphasized that he would not mother of the twins, who consider it, no matter what demonstrates a true nobility toll the virus might take on of character and purpose as the prison population. she faces the task of rescuing “Unlike many other states, I her beloved daughter from an do not believe we ought to use early death in prison. the excuse of a pandemic to Director Dow knew from change our sentencing strucpersonal experience what it ture in our criminal justice meant to have a seriously ill system,” Reeves said in a May relative locked away in a New 4 press conference.

Meridian Mayor Percy Bland meets the Season 18 winner of “The Voice”! Todd Tilghman is a Mississippi pastor, also from Meridian, who landed himself on Blake Shelton’s team, helping the acclaimed country singer to gain his seventh win as a coach. Tilghman was known for his high spirits and charismatic presence on the show. At age 42, he is also the oldest winner of the show. Tilghman is the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Meridian.

He is married to his high school sweetheart, Brooke, and they have eight children.

Jackson Advocate

Jackson, Mississippi

May 28-June 3, 2020

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Due to social distancing in light of the COVID-19 crisis, please visit the website or social media page of the churches listed below for changes in Worship Service.

Church Directory

Together: The Black Press and the Pulpit Will Uplift the Community.

Aldersgate

New Bethel

655 Beasley Rd. • Jackson, MS 39206

450 Culbertson Ave. • Jackson, MS 39209

M.B. Church

United Methodist Church Email: AldersgateUMC@comcast.net Phone: 601.366.8071

Sunday School.................................9:30 a.m.

115 Maddox Rd. • Jackson, MS 39212

Sunday Worship............................. 11:00 a.m.

Prayer Meeting.............5:30 p.m. Wednesday

Men’s Bible Study - 1st Monday of each month @ 6:00 p.m.

“A Church After God’s Own Heart”

Anderson

United Methodist Church

Sunday School

11am

Sunday Worship Service

Sunday Church Services...................10:30 a.m.

Live Radio Broadcast: WOAD AM 1300 11:00 a.m.–12:00 Noon

6:30pm Wednesday Bible Study

Bible Classes, Wednesdays Midday: 12:00 p.m. & Evening: 6:30 p.m.

Rev. Johniel Henry Pastor

10am

(601) 969-3481 Office • (601) 969-1957 Fax Email: Revfrlenoir@aol.com Sunday School....................................9:15 a.m.

Pastor Aaron & Lady Latona Banks Senior Pastors

Mission: To be a church empowered by the Glory of God, providing an atmosphere of faith, taking life beyond the norm!

A Church Preparing for a Home Not Built By Man

Greater Bethlehem Temple Church

New Hope Baptist Church

Sunday School: 9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Sunday Morning Worship Service: 11:00 a.m.

Sunday Evening Worship Service: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Early Morning Prayer Services (M-F): 5:30 a.m. – 6:30 a.m.

Noon Day Prayer Services (M-F): 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Sunday Worship........8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.

Bible Class Wednesday 12:00 Noon & 7:00 p.m.

Dr. F. R. Lenoir Pastor

1555 Beasley Rd., Jackson, MS 39206

Sunday School............................ 8:00 a.m.

Worship Service.......................... 9:30 a.m.

5202 Watkins Drive (Administrative Offices)

(Exception is Wednesday for Noon Bible Class)

Monday Night Prayer: 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday Noon Day Bible Class: Noon – 1:00 p.m.

Wednesday Evening Bible Class: 7:00 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.

Bishop Robert N. Friday Evening Youth & Young Adult Service: 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Fortson, Sr.

“Building on a Righteous Foundation”

Monday - Friday.............8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Wed. Prayer Meeting.......................6:00 p.m.

Wed. Bible Study.............................6:30 p.m.

Dr. Jerry Young, Pastor

www.newhope-baptist.org • 601-366-7002

Saint Christopher’s Episcopal Church of the Ascension

Cade Chapel

Missionary Baptist Church

643 Beasley Road • Jackson, MS 39206 All are welcome!

Phone: (601) 366-6768 • Email: SaintChristophers@comcast.net

Website: https://saintchristophers.dioms.org

(Sunday) The Holy Eucharist: 9:00 a.m.

Monday Bible Study: 4:00 p.m.

St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church embraces all who approach as we proclaim that the Kingdom of God has come near.

Central United Methodist Church “Here, Let No One Be A Stranger” 500 N. Farish St. • Jackson, MS 39202

Phone: 601-355-7858 & 601-355-7854 • Fax: 601-355-1737

219 Hinds Blvd.

Raymond, MS 39154 (601) 720-0624

kenyamartin@hotmail.com KRMartin@4MartinsAtLaw.com “A Christ Centered Church, Striving for a Spirit of Excellence”

Sunday School: 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship Service: 10:30 a.m.

Tuesday Bible Study Service: 7:00 p.m.

5 Ready for a fresh word?

5 Ready for things to actually improve in your life?

5 Ready for more understanding and clarity?

Sunday School.................. 9:00 a.m.

Sunday Worship..............10:00 a.m.

Various Wednesday Mid-Week Services 6:00 p.m.

We can help!!

Rev. David McCoy Pastor

Christ Tabernacle Church 1201 Cooper Road • Jackson, MS 39212

“We are Kingdom Witnesses, Worshipers and Workers”

Pastor Kenya R. Martin & Min. Tommie A. Martin

Real change starts by simply taking a single step...

Move by faith and never by sight!!

Pastor David Watkins | Min. Jessica Shields

Mailing Address: 5709 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, MS 39209

Hanging Moss Road Church of Christ

5225 Hanging Moss Road, Jackson, MS 39206 601.982.5219 • cwpittman1@comcast.net

Sunday

Church School........... 8 AM Worship..................... 9 AM Hosea J. Hines

Wednesday

Sunday School: 9:30 AM Wednesday Bible Class: 12 noon & 6:00 PM

Pastor

Bible Study............12 Noon & 6:30 PM

www.christtabernaclechurch.org 601-373-1711

College Hill Baptist Church

Moving the Masses Toward the Mission of the Master

1600 Florence Avenue • Jackson, MS 39204 Phone: 601.355.2670 • Email: chmbc@collegehillchurch.org Sunday Worship Service – 10:00 a.m.

Sunday School – 8:45 a.m.

Intercessory Prayer – Mondays at 9:00 a.m.

Dr. Michael T. Williams Pastor

Wednesday Night Together (WNT) 6:30 p.m. – Prayer Service 7:00 p.m. – Bible Study Classes

223 Beasley Road | Jackson, MS 39206 | PH: 601-956-4784 FAX: 601-956-1851 | info@strongerhope.org

Hope Spring MB Church

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May 28-June 3, 2020

Tizzy’s Take

We Can’t Breathe

By DeAnna Tisdale Johnson Jackson Advocate Publisher

I’ve had a few instances where I have been conscious about how important breath is to survival. In one instance, I must have been about 6 or 7. I reference that age because it was around the time I began to sleep in my own bed. Yes, I was a late bloomer. I was wrapped up in the covers, and I remember holding my breath. A few seconds later, it became clear to me that I couldn’t hold on to it forever. I had to release it and begin the process over and over again.

The next time was a little more startling. My mom, dad, and I were enjoying dinner out, as we usually did, at Piccadilly’s – before it was the Jackson Medical Mall – and I began feasting on my favorite vegetable. But this time, the delicious cheese-covered broccoli had a leaf on it that didn’t go down too smoothly, and there were a few seconds where the three of us were in sheer panic over my inability to dislodge the foreign object. Although I don’t remember the specifics, the fresh air that entered my lungs, after what seemed like hours, was heaven sent.

Even more so, I’m hyper aware of my breath as a singer. How much I take in can be the difference in a beautiful melodic line or cracking on a high note. But in America in 2020 – and in years past – breath is the difference between life and death for a black person with coronavirus or a black man arrested by police.

Though new information is being released about COVID-19 every day, we all know that its primary function is to infiltrate the body through and attack the respiratory tract. This can cause pneumonia which leads to an inability for one to breath on their own. And African Americans are being disproportionately affected. We make up 338 of the 670 deaths in Mississippi alone thus far.

For George Floyd, an accusation and subsequent arrest from four officers of the Minneapolis, Minnesota Police Department led to his untimely and gruesome death. What is even more alarming is that he used his last breaths to speak up for himself and to communicate that he couldn’t breathe.

As a collective, the black community has been doing the same thing. We’re screaming at the top of our lungs for this country to recognize that our lives matter. But all they say is that they matter too. We’re screaming at the top of our lungs that there are disparities and disadvantages running rampant in every facet of our lives – from education to healthcare to finance to access to resources to mental health to racial equity and so on and so forth – but we’re still not heard.

We’re running out of breath! We’re running out of time! Something has got to give. We can’t continue on in this perpetual hamster wheel. We don’t deserve it and we didn’t ask for it. Terry McMillan had it right: We’re all waiting to exhale. And I can’t wait for the day that we can.

Jackson Advocate

Mississippi must become a human rights model, a workers’ state

By Ivory Phillips

Jackson Advocate Contributing Editor

Mississippi has been trumpeted as one of the poorest, most racist, and undereducated states in the nation since shortly after the Civil War. Because of the kinds of leaders who have run the state since reconstruction, that reputation has been duly earned. The state has been run into the ground.

When one looks at the success stories of the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Rev. C.L. Franklin, James Earl Jones, Ida B. Wells, and Sam Cooke, however, it becomes clear that the state has had and continues to have the human resources necessary to become a totally different place. Under the influence of bad leaders, much of the state’s population has been deliberately prevented from fully developing. It is time, now, to overcome the obstacles and reach its full potential.

The state has enough working-class people who do not get all that they deserve, enough black and brown people who have suffered the slings and arrows of racial injustice, and enough progressive and fairminded white people to make this into such a model state. These groups simply need be aroused, motivated, and organized to take that giant step into history. It can be done through the right kind of branding and public campaigns.

Every time an individual decides to run for office, he/she should be quizzed and supported or rejected on the basis of his/her record and stance on human rights matters.

Those positions should follow them around the state as they campaign, so that workingclass people, progressives, and black and brown people will always keep them in mind as criteria for serving in Mississippi.

That is how we begin stamping or branding Mississippi as a human rights model, a working-people state. Workers’ rights are human rights and human rights are workers’ rights.

It is the right of all human beings to produce, live in, and care for their families. As a consequence, these candidates should be supported when they have a demonstrated supportive stance on a livable wage for all workers; the right of workers to organize and belong to labor unions; paid family medical leave and vacations; generous unemployment, retirement, disability, and Social Security benefits; adequate and affordable housing; and health and safety regulations on the job and in the neighborhoods where they live. These rights apply to long-term residents as well as those who migrated looking for a better life.

It is the right of all human beings to enjoy a healthy life and to live in a society

that is organized to facilitate such. As a consequence of that right, every candidate who runs for office in this state should be elected because he/she stands for and has been noted for supporting Medicare for all, Medicaid expansion, or some other policy that will provide adequate, affordable, and accessible healthcare for all citizens; controls on the cost of prescription drugs; free or affordable programs of nutrition and exercise; clean water, air and food; and the elimination of food deserts.

It is the right of all humans to become educated to the extent of their capacity.

This necessarily means that candidates and officials must have a record of supporting adequately-funded public education, prekindergarten through university and professional training; tuition-free college education and the forgiveness of student loans for those who have already paid tuition; internet access for all institutions and neighborhoods; professional training and professional pay for teachers at all levels; and generously-funded public libraries, public radio, and public television, especially for those who are beyond school age or simply are not in school.

It is the right of all humans to be safe and secure. This necessitates adequate infrastructure and public transportation; effective police protection and community relations; and effective, humane criminal justice and prison systems.

It is the right of all citizens to be able to select the officials who govern their society. This means that all candidates should be elected because they support all citizens having unfettered access to the ballot – inperson and/or by mail, and apportionments that are unbiased in every way; and that they are opposed to all forms of voter suppression.

The list could go on and on, but the point has been made. If Mississippians commit themselves to evaluating and electing candidates on those bases, we would soon realize that the state will have become a model of human rights. It would have also been transformed into a society that is not just worker-friendly, but a workers’ state in the best sense of the word. Furthermore, there would be no worry about how to turn Mississippi into a blue state. It would automatically be blue, if the party that supports the rights of working-class people and human beings as a whole is considered the blue party.

While it may not be easy to accomplish, it is within the realm of probability, given the demographics of the state. We just need people with the motivation, skill, and courage to spearhead the effort and a cadre of people to carry it out.

Jackson, Mississippi

Open letter to the College Board

Editors’ Note: This letter, was sent to the College Board, but with no response thus far. Next week we will publish the historical narrative that accompanied the letter.

Dear Board Member: Last month, supporters of Jackson State University and the public in general awoke to the news that Dr. William Bynum had been arrested for solicitation of prostitution and had immediately resigned as president of the university. It was a sad day for many who heard the news and should have been an embarrassing day for members of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.

The source of disappointment for the board should have been the fact that it had appointed him president despite the strong objection of the Campus Advisory Search Committee and the outrage of many alumni and supporters of the university. No such embarrassment or regret was expressed, however, as the board proceeded to call an emergency meeting and appointed Mr. Thomas Hudson, Acting President, to be effective immediately.

The fact that these events occurred within a fairly short period after a similar set of events surrounded the hiring and departure of Dr. Carolyn Meyers prompts the Mississippi Coalition on Black Higher Education, a support and advocacy group that has been around in one form or another since the early days of the filing of the case Ayers vs. Waller, to send this letter of concern to the board.

Attached hereto, as background information for those not familiar with the historical relationship between Jackson State University and the board and its staff, is a document narrating relevant events, president by president. It goes from President Jacob Reddix through Dr. William Bynum, underscoring circumstances surrounding their recruitment and appointment, negative agenda initiatives, and their departures. We ask that this history be viewed and seriously considered in order to understand the position of the coalition and many other Jackson State University supporters.

The coalition, like many other supporters, is willing to try and work with the board for the advancement of Jackson State University and other similar institutions. What it would like to see at the same time is a willingness on the part of the board and its staff to make several changes in how it recruits, screens, and eventually appoints university presidents and how it communicates with the institutions and their supporters.

Among the changes which the coalition seeks are: (1) more representation on the board and staff, assuring that each institution’s constituents can assist in the recruitment and seating of board members as vacancies occur; (2) revising the presidential search process, giving the Campus Advisory Search Committees a major voice and eliminating the provision in the policies and by-laws that enables board members to interject candidates into the process, outside its normal flow; and (3) a commitment to open and transparent actions and communication between the board and staff, and the several institutions. We offer these proposals based upon the realization that the universities are community resources, not only utilized by citizens, but also financed by them.

The coalition would like to believe that the board and staff are committed to the advancement of Jackson State University. A demonstration of that commitment and confirmation of that belief can be advanced by a positive response from the board. Along that line, the coalition would appreciate a response to these matters of concern at least by the April meeting of the board.

Respectfully, The Mississippi Coalition on Black Higher Education

Without more help, black-owned businesses might not survive the pandemic

By Eugene Cornelius, Jr. Jackson Advocate Guest Writer

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Black communities in the United States not only represent a disproportionate share of casualties from coronavirus, but they have also been deeply affected by the economic impact of the disease. Longstanding racial discrimination in economic and housing policy has increased their risk for exposure to the virus, as well as the resulting financial crisis.

The economic effects of the pandemic on black communities can be explained by several factors.

Almost half of black-owned businesses are in industries – such as administrative and support services, health care and social assistance and retail – that are bearing the brunt of this pandemic. These industries not only pose a health risk because of the interaction between workers and customers, but they are also especially vulnerable to lower consumer demand due to social distancing measures.

Over 90 percent of small businesses in majority black communities hold cash reserves of fewer than 14 days, so they are more likely to run out of operating funds when customers stay at home.

And the most recently available Federal Reserve data shows that black business owners are denied loans at twice the rate of white owners, so they are more likely to have trouble finding capital to

survive the pandemic.

In the face of large-scale shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 crisis, there is a clear need for policies to support small business. But the spending programs passed by Congress thus far have ignored the challenges of capital access facing black-owned firms.

During the first round of funding provided for small businesses, borrowers seeking Paycheck Protection Program loans were required to work with banks already participating in the US Small Business Administration’s (SBA) primary loan program, thereby excluding firms that worked with smaller community banks. Moreover, Congress allocated just $10 million to the Minority Business Development Agency. According to the Center for Responsible Lending, these conditions may have prevented 95 percent of blackowned businesses from receiving loans.

The second round of small business funding assistance specifically set aside $60 billion for community banks and credit unions that are traditionally a key source of capital for minorityowned firms. However, the measure did not stipulate that minority-owned businesses would have priority access to those funds.

Addressing these short-term lending gaps is crucial to ensuring that black-owned businesses will stay in business long enough to survive the

pandemic. But, we must also plan for a long-term recovery that emphasizes inclusion. This will require us to remove historic inequities through targeted support for black-owned businesses and black workers.

We can begin by taking three key steps: • First, federal and state governments should enact robust credit enhancement programs for minority borrowers. These programs provide incentives for banks to lend to businesses in lowand middle-income areas, allowing more firms to remain open and refrain from laying off workers.

In states with existing loan programs that provide credit enhancement, treasury officials should make loans more flexible, easier to access, and increase loan guarantees. In others, where credit enhancement programs do not yet exist, treasury officials should create loss reserve funds and collateral support mechanisms, as well as a marketplace to pair pre-qualified lenders with borrowers in need of working capital. State governments can also authorize one-to-one matches for philanthropic funding to expand the pool of available capital.

• Second, credit enhancement programs should also be used to support place-based investment, with a priority on housing and infrastructure in low-income areas. For example, officials can increase loan guarantees to support

construction of housing for individuals earning from 80 percent to 200 percent of the local average median income, or offer special collateral guarantees for minority-owned businesses with revenues under $5 million to invest in long-term assets.

• Third, place-based investments should emphasize environmental quality in low-income and minority communities through special support for projects with higher air and water quality standards – including the remediation of outdated water infrastructure. Using federal and state loan guarantees to fund these investments will simultaneously support improvements to the health of minority populations and reduce their vulnerability to future health crises.

As we look beyond the pandemic, these steps are crucial for ensuring the American dream is within reach of minorities across the country. By addressing fundamental inequities in our economic system, we can begin to pave a new avenue toward a more prosperous future.

Eugene Cornelius, Jr. is Senior Director for the Milken Institute Center for Regional Economics. He previously served as a Senior Official in the U.S. Small Business Administration. This commentary first appeared on CNN.com.

EDITORIALS, ARTICLES & COMMENTS: Letters and articles which appear in the Jackson Advocate reflect the perspective of the writer.

Their appearance on these pages does not constitute an endorsement by the Jackson Advocate or its staff.

Jackson Advocate

May 28-June 3, 2020

Jackson, Mississippi

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Deeper Still continuation from page 1A he describes as peaceful. Yet, he realized early on that there was something missing.

Of his home church of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Rhodes says, “I remember kind of being forced to go to church. I didn’t really want to go. I thought, ‘What better way to spend Sunday morning and afternoon than at home?’”

Rhodes outlines the typical Southern Christian coming-ofage experience where church is an all day event. “Back then, we would be in church all day. We’d begin at 11 [am], not end until 2:30 [pm], then go eat. Then,

there’s some other program in the evening, and so your whole day is gone.”

What also struck him as odd was that he would see deacons moaning, the preacher whooping, the church mother “catching the Holy Ghost” but then acting a different way outside of church. “You do all this shouting and screaming and hollering, and then you’re cussing each other out. Why spend all day at church if nothing changes? I didn’t quite understand it,” expresses Rhodes.

So, at 10 years old, he began a spiritual pilgrimage and ventured

into the world of philosophy through his father’s books. Three years later, at the age of 13, he followed his father, Carroll Rhodes, Sr., to Anderson United Methodist church in Jackson, MS. With Rev. Jeffrey Stallworth at the helm, so to speak, Rev. Rhodes received a different view of the church. “I really enjoyed Anderson. Stallworth was a teaching preacher.

He didn’t whoop. He didn’t raise his voice. And the gospel choir was awesome.” This is also the place where he was baptized after receiving a stern warning from his father of eternal damnation for the unsaved.

But then, “I still kind of felt like, maybe there’s more. I was still searching,” Rhodes relays.

That something more began to stir when Rhodes’ high school teacher coerced him into public speaking.

“My high school drama and oral communications teacher forced me to do an MLK speech for one of our Black History Month programs,” begins Rhodes. “I said forced, because she told me, I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do it’ and she said, ‘I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.’

I get this audio cassette tape and I’m listening to it everyday,

trying to mimic King’s cadence, his style. And the morning of, I’m practicing and my mom is about to take me to school and she says, ‘Baby, you don’t sound like Dr. King.’

So, on the way to assembly, I go to the boys’ restroom and I look in the mirror and I say, ‘Alright God, if You’re real, I really need You to show up. If You don’t, I’m going to be really embarrassed.’ So, I go out there and open my mouth, I close my eyes, and the next thing I know, I open my eyes and people are crying and standing up and applauding. And it was one of those first

kind of mystical moments. It was almost like an out-of-body experience.

“I didn’t know what happened and I opened my eyes and people were like ‘It’s like Dr. King showed up in this place. You sounded just like Dr. King.’ What changed between that morning and the assembly?

Maybe that was God answering the prayer.”

And Rev. Rhodes prayers for answers continued to be fulfilled when he received a spiritual awaking, which we will talk about in the continuation of this article next week.

Reopening continuation from page 1A Alabama’s 15,000 confirmed cases occurred in the past 14 days, NPR reported.

Ivey advised Alabama residents to adjust to “a new normal” as she followed the example of Georgia in reopening shops and offices.

Medical professionals in Montgomery’s overtaxed system are calling on the mayor and other officials “to sound the alarm and let people know we’re still in the middle of a pandemic, that we are in a health crisis, and that we’re running short on PPE. “They’re running short, obviously, on beds and the staffs are physically and emotionally spent,” Reed said. “So, we have to do our

part as leaders in the community to make sure we get the public to understand this is not over.”

As of Friday, May 22, more than 13,400 people had tested positive for the coronavirus in Alabama, and 533 had died.

FLORIDA DECEPTION Rebekah Jones, creator of Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard, came under fire in early May for suggesting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ government was censoring information to support the case for re-opening Florida.

A government spokesperson said instead that Jones “exhibited a repeated course

of insubordination.”

“Jones is the health department analyst who made headlines earlier this week after she claimed she was removed from her position crunching COVID case data after she objected to censoring the numbers,” The Orlando Sentinel reported on May 24.

Jones alleged that she lost her job because she refused to “manually change data to drum up support for the governor’s plan to reopen the state.” She had objected to concealing some of the data on COVID-19 cases in opposition to the governor’s wishes, going back as far as January. It was the “wrong call,” she said.

Once Jones was removed as

manager of the dashboard on May 4, information that had been made free to the public and media on the spread of COVID-19 was no longer available. After she complained about the situation in an email in mid-May, she was terminated, The Tampa Bay Times reported.

“Jones believes the DeSantis administration wanted more control over the numbers and less public transparency,” the Orlando paper said. And once she was gone, “her successors likely would be less forthcoming.”

Florida announced on May 4 that it would allow a limited number of businesses and recreation facili-

Floyd continuation from page 1A indifference shown by two of the officers as the life slowly ebbed from Floyd’s body.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced at a Tuesday press conference that four of the officers on the scene were terminated, not suspended. The four suspects were not publicly identified, but Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he supported the chief’s decision “100 percent.”

Floyd is seen throughout the video with a white police officer on top of him pressing a knee down on Floyd’s neck, forcing him to lie flat on the ground while his right shoulder is pressed against the tire of a police van. Another policeman, who appeared to be Asian descent, stands on the sidewalk fending off the crowd.

Floyd’s head and upper shoulders are clearly seen for the duration.

“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” the same deathly mantra uttered by New Yorker Eric Garner in 2014 as a group of N.Y. cops piled on him and mercilessly choked him to death, were the dying words uttered over and over by George Floyd during the five minutes that the cop pressed

his knee against Floyd’s neck.

I CAN’T BREATHE It took the NYPD commissioner five years to fire Daniel Pantaleo, the main culprit who applied the illegal chokehold that caused Garner’s death, in 2019, after a lengthy investigation.

At about two minutes into the Floyd video, a voice is picked up – maybe that of a bystander, maybe that of a cop – asking, “What do you want?”

“I need to breathe. I can’t breathe,” Floyd said from the concrete surface of the street.

The white cop on top of him kept saying, “You’re a tough guy. You’re a tough guy.”

At about four minutes into the video, a member of the increasing group of onlookers kept saying to the cop, “You’re stopping his breathing. You can get him off the ground right now. He ain’t doing nothing. You’re enjoying it, bro.

You can tell from your body language, you’re enjoying it.

You’re a bum. You’re stopping his breathing right now. You think that’s cool?”

At this point – 4:37 – in the video, Floyd is lying still, his face toward the camera with a small stream of liquid flowing

from his mouth.

“He’s not responsive right now,” a concerned bystander kept repeating.

At seven minutes into the 10-minute video, the same voice says, “For three minutes he’s not even f…ing moving, get off of his neck.”

At the 8-minute mark, the paramedics and newly arrived cops are seen roughly dragging Floyd’s motionless body over the concrete surface of the street and onto a gurney that sat about four feet to the side.

CRUMP REPRESENTS Attorney Ben Crump, the lawyer in the Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery cases, announced that he was representing the Floyd family.

“Minneapolis authorities should arrest the officer who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck as the man was dying of suffocation, and the three others should be charged as accomplices to murder,” Crump said.

“They were supposed to protect and serve citizens like George,” the attorney added.

“We in black America, we are done dying at the hands of the people who are supposed to protect and serve us.”

Tuesday’s massive protest began with about 50 people, some carrying signs, rallying around Minneapolis police headquarters early in the day. But that crowd swelled to become several thousand protesters that stretched out along twelve-blocks, sidewalk to sidewalk, as they marched into downtown Minneapolis, according to Minneapolis television news reports. Little of this massive outpouring was shown on the evening news.

Black members of the crowd were outnumbered by three times as many whites and Latinos and Asian Americans, showing that the outrage over the black man’s slaying crossed over both racial and ethnic lines.

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota issued a statement Tuesday calling for justice for Floyd, his family, and “our community.”

“There must be a complete and thorough outside investigation into what occurred,” Klobuchar said. “And those involved in this incident must be held accountable.”

The FBI announced Tuesday that it would join the local and state authorities in the investigation.

ties to reopen under certain restrictions, although the state had not met all the White House guidelines for reopening.

Altogether, 872,916 people have been tested in Florida, with 94.2 percent coming up negative.

In Florida, as of May 24, the state department of health

reported 50,867 positive COVID-19 cases, with the death toll at 2,237.

This compares to the 13,731 COVID-19 cases reported in Mississippi as of May 25, with the total number of deaths at 652.

Florida has a population of 21.99 million compared to Mississippi’s 2.98 million.

IHL cont. from page 1A Tom Duff will head the finance committee. Dr. Walt Starr will chair the health affairs committee. The legal committee will be chaired by Ann Lamar.

Chip Morgan will chair the real estate committee. The Ayers Endowment committee will be chaired by Dr. Alfred McNair. Assisting him will by board member Bruce Martin, Commissioner Rankins, and the three black college presidents. The diversity committee will be headed up by Shane Hooper and assisted by board members Steven Cunningham, Chip Morgan, and Jeanne Luckey. Board member Bruce Martin will serve on the University Press Board.

It is worth noting that the Ayers settlement is now a thing of the past, except for the fact that money that was set aside in the public endowment will be monitored by the Ayers Endowment Committee until Alcorn, Jackson State, and Mississippi Valley State satisfy the other race stipulation or until the funds are depleted.

In another bit of preparation for the next academic year, the board accepted affiliation agreements from Alcorn, Jackson State, and Southern Miss that will run until the year 2025. These are agreements that literally force groups like alumni associations, foundations, and athletic support groups to toe the line of the university president or be faced with the possibility of being disaffiliated from the university. It is what has been used on several occasions to prevent such “outside groups” from being critical of official actions or policies of the

presidents. Like the operating committees and the resolution on campuses, the affiliation agreements help set things for the upcoming year.

The other items, except legal matters, were fairly routine. As indicated in the last several college board reports to the Jackson Advocate, the writer has suggested that investigative journalists should research the funds approved for change orders and outside counsels.

The state loses a great deal of money through these two means. (In this report alone from partial figures they account for more than $3 million for change orders and $139 thousand to outside counsels.)

In other times and places, investigators have uncovered practices wherein contractors deliberately underbid in order to be awarded contracts, and then come back later through change orders to make-up for what they had surrendered via their low bids. In similar manner, outside lawyers are sometimes hired when there are in-house lawyers who could have handled the cases.

Both practices are fairly widespread and long-standing.

They are likely to continue, if there is no action taken to bring it to an end.

At some point, the state legislature needs to take a closer look at these sources of expense and at the rising administrative costs on each campus. With more attention to them, there would be more money available for educational equipment, faculty salaries, and student assistance.

10A

May 28-June 3, 2020

Jackson Advocate

Jackson, Mississippi

LEGAL NOTICES/CLASSIFIEDS

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

BY THE JACKSON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY FOR CONSTRUCTION AND RELATED SERVICES IN CONNECTION WITH THE REHABILITATION OF TAXIWAY DELTA AT HAWKINS AT THE JACKSON-MEDGAR WILEY EVERS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (JMAA PROJECT NO. 009-16)

The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (“JMAA”) will receive sealed bids at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (“JAN”), Main Terminal Building, Suite 300, in the City of Jackson, Rankin County, Mississippi, until 2:00 p.m. central time on June 11, 2020 (the “Bid Deadline”), for construction and related services in connection with the Rehabilitation of Taxiway Delta at Hawkins Project at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (the “Work”).

JMAA will also accept electronic sealed bids as specified in the bid documents. Bids will be accepted until 2:00 p.m. central time on June 11, 2020, Electronic bids can be submitted at www.centralbidding.com. For any questions relating to the electronic bidding process, please call Central Bidding at 225-810-4814.

Once registered, Suppliers can download bid specifications and upload bid documents.

JMAA will publicly open and read aloud all bids at 2:15 p.m. central time on June 11, 2020 (the “Bid Opening”), in the Staff Conference Room, Third Floor of the Main Terminal Building at JAN. The outside or exterior of each bid envelope or container of the bid must be marked with the Bidder’s company name and Mississippi Certificate of Responsibility Number and with the wording: “Rehabilitation of Taxiway Delta at Hawkins Project at HKS, JMAA Project No. 009-16.” Bid proposals, amendments to bids, or requests for withdrawal of bids received by JMAA after the Bid Deadline will not be considered for any cause whatsoever.

JMAA invites Bidders and their authorized representatives to be present at the Bid Opening.

JMAA will award the Work to the Lowest and Best most responsive and responsible Bidder as determined by JMAA in accordance with the criteria set forth in the Information for Bidders.

The Information for Bidders contains, among other things, a copy of this Advertisement for Bids, Instructions to Bidders and an Agreement to be executed by JMAA and the lowest and most responsive and responsible Bidder. Any Addendums issued clarifying and/or changing plans and specifications; clarifying and/or changing instructions in the Instruction to Bidders; and/or answering questions in relation to the Instructions to Bidders, including plans and specifications, shall become part of the Information for Bidders. Plans and specifications related to the Work are considered part of the Agreement.

The Information for Bidders, including plans and specifications, is on file and open for public inspection at JAN at the following address: Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport Suite 300, Main Terminal Building 100 International Drive Jackson, Mississippi 39208 Telephone: (601) 939-5631 ext. 662 Facsimile: (601) 939-3713 Attention: Deuntagus Herndon, Procurement Specialist A copy of the plans and specifications for the Work are being made available via digital and original paper copy. Plan holders may register and order plans and specifications from the Jackson Blueprint Online Plan Room website http://planroom.jaxblue.com.

There is no charge for registration or to view the documents online. Documents are nonrefundable and must be purchased through the website. All plan holders are required to have a valid email address for registration. A printed bid set is $75.00 plus $20.00 shipping and applicable sales tax and an electronic downloadable set is $25.00 plus applicable sales tax. For questions regarding website registration and online orders please contact Jackson Blueprint & Supply at (601)353-5803.

Bid Documents may be picked up or shipped to the person making the request. Documents will not be distributed or mailed, however, until payment is received.

JMAA will hold a Pre-Bid Conference at 10:00 a.m. central time on June 1, 2020 in the Community Room, Main Terminal Building at HKS. Attendance at the Pre-Bid Conference is highly encouraged for all those interested in submitting bids as a Prime Contractor for the Work and persons seeking opportunities to provide work as a Sub-Contractor. The benefits of attendance include networking opportunities between Prime Contractors and Sub-Contractors, as well as the opportunity to be on a list of contacts that will be published to interested parties as part of the minutes from the Pre-Bid Conference; review of the plans and specifications; and a site visit of the area covered in the scope of work. No site visits will be scheduled other than the one provided during the Pre-Bid conference.

JMAA reserves the right to amend the plans and specifications for the Work by Addendum issued before the Bid Deadline; to reject any and all bids; to waive informalities in the bidding process; and to hold and examine bids for up to ninety (90) days before awarding the Contract to perform the Work.

If it becomes necessary to revise any aspect of this Request for Bids or to provide additional information to Bidders, JMAA will issue one or more Addenda by posting on JMAA’s website (https://jmaa.com/corporate/partner-with-us/ procurement/). JMAA will also endeavor to deliver a copy of each Addendum, to all persons on record with JMAA as receiving a copy of the Information for Bidders, via email.

JMAA has established a DBE participation goal of 20% for the Work solicited by this RFB. JACKSON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY DATE: May 20, 2020 /s/ Paul A. Brown Paul A. Brown, Chief Executive Officer, 2TC: 05-21, 28-20 -----------------------------------------------------------------IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI JESSE WRIGHT, A/K/A JESSIE WRIGHT PLAINTIFF VS. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; COUNTY OF HINDS, STATE OF MISSISSIPPI;

DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF THE COUNTY OF HINDS, STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; THE MORTGAGE STORE FINANCIAL, INC.; MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC.; STEVEN FLANNIGAN; SUSAN FLANNIGAN; TAMERA PALMER; AND ALL OTHER PERSONS, FIRMS, ENTITIES AND CORPORATIONS HAVING OR CLAIMING ANY LEGAL OR EQUITABLE INTERESTS IN AND TO THE REAL PROPERTY IN THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED LAND, SOLD FOR TAXES ON AUGUST 31, 2009; VIZ: WEST HALF LOTS 17 & A8 LESS 10 FEET WEST END, BLOCK Q, INDUSTRIAL HEIGHTS N.J.; HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI; PARCEL NO. 56-47-8; TAX SALE NO. 283 DEFENDANTS CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. G-2020-437 M/4 SUMMONS (By Publication) THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI TO: STEVEN FLANNIGAN, SUSAN FLANNIGAN, TAMERA PALMER, WHOSE WHEREABOUTS, POST OFFICE ADDRESS AND STREET ADDRESS ARE UNKNOWN AFTER DILIGENT SEARCH AND INQUIRY AND ALL OTHER PERSONS, FIRMS, ENTITIES AND CORPORATIONS HAVING OR CLAIMING ANY LEGAL OR EQUITABLE INTEREST IN AND TO THE REAL PROPERTY DESCRIBED IN THE COMPLAINT FILED IN THE ABOVE STYLED AND NUMBERED CAUSE. You have been made a Defendant in the suit filed in this Court by Jesse Wright, a/k/a Jessie Wright, Plaintiff, seeking to confirm tax title to a parcel of real property. Defendants other than you in this action are State of Mississippi; Rankin County, Mississippi; District Attorney of Hinds County, Mississippi, The Mortgage Store Financial, Inc. and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc..

You are required to mail or hand deliver a written response to the Complaint filed against you in this action to Paul David Hastings, Attorney for Plaintiff, whose post office and street address is 321 Highway 51, Suite B, Ridgeland, Mississippi 39157.

YOUR RESPONSE MUST BE MAILED OR DELIVERED NOT LATER THAN THIRTY DAYS AFTER THE 21st DAY OF MAY, 2020, WHICH IS THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS SUMMONS. IF YOUR RESPONSE IS NOT SO MAILED OR DELIVERED, A JUDGMENT

BY DEFAULT WILL BE ENTERED AGAINST YOU FOR THE MONEY OR OTHER RELIEF DEMANDED IN THE COMPLAINT. You must also file the original of your Response with the Clerk of this Court within a reasonable time afterward.

Issued under my hand and the seal of said Court, this 4th day of May, 2020.

EDDIE JEAN CARR, CHANCERY CLERK OF HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI BY: /s/ N. Felton, D.C. 3TC: 05-21, 28, 06-04-20 -----------------------------------------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT FOR SEALED BIDS Sealed bids will be received in the Fiscal Office at the Hinds County Human Resource Agency, 258 Maddox Road, Jackson, Mississippi 39212 until 5:00 p.m. on June 4, 2020. They will be publicly opened and read, June 5, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. for the following: Educational Supplies Playground Resilient Surfacing Replacement Awning Repair/Replacement Roof Repair - Richard Brandon Head Start & South Jackson Head Start Paint & Repairs - Westside Head Start and Martin Head Start Specifications may be obtained via email from: Shirley A. Gibbs, Director of Purchasing & Procurement 258 Maddox Road Jackson, MS 39212 (601) 923-1827 or 923-3930 Email: purchasing@hchra.org All bids must be sealed, clearly marked "BID", and must also have the bid number clearly printed on the lower left-hand corner of the envelope. Bids being mailed should be sent to: Post Office Box 22657, Jackson, Mississippi 39225-2657. We reserve the right to accept and/or reject any and all bids.

2TC: 05-21, 28-20 -----------------------------------------------------------------Advertisement for RFPs RFP 2020-07 Lead Partner for Science Support and Assessments Sealed, written formal rfp proposals for the above rfp will be received by the Board of Trustees of the Jackson Public School District, in the Business Office, 662 South President Street, Jackson, Mississippi, until 10:00 A.M. (Local Prevailing Time) June 10, 2020, at which time and place they will be publicly opened and read aloud. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to reject any and all rfps, to waive informalities, and to withhold the acceptance of any rfp if approved for forty-five calendar days from the date rfps are opened.

Proposal forms and detailed specifications may be obtained free of charge by emailing jewalker@jackson.k12.ms.us, calling (601) 960-8799, or documents may be picked up at the above address or downloaded from JPS website at www.jackson.k12.ms.us.

2TC: 05-21, 28-20 -----------------------------------------------------------------Advertisement for RFP RFP 2020-05 Universal Screening for Jackson Public School District K - 12 Sealed, written formal rfp proposals for the above rfp will be received by the Board of Trustees of the Jackson Public School District, in the Business Office, 662 South President Street, Jackson, Mississippi, until 10:00 A.M. (Local Prevailing Time) June 09, 2020, at which time and place they will be publicly opened and read aloud. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to reject any and all rfps, to waive informalities, and to withhold the acceptance of any rfp if approved for forty-five calendar days from the date rfps are opened.

Proposal forms and detailed specifications may be obtained free of charge by emailing jewalker@jackson.k12.ms.us, calling (601) 960-8799, or documents may be picked up at the above address or downloaded from JPS website at www.jackson.k12.ms.us.

2TC: 05-21, 28-20 ------------------------------------------------------------------

Advertisement for RFPs RFP 2020-03 Partner to Provide Support with Online Supplemental Digital Software for Reading, Language, and Math RFP 2020-04 Pre-Kindergarten Intervention Program

Sealed, written formal rfp proposals for the above rfp will be received by the Board of Trustees of the Jackson Public School District, in the Business Office, 662 South President Street, Jackson, Mississippi, until 10:00 A.M. (Local Prevailing Time) June 08, 2020, at which time and place they will be publicly opened and read aloud. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to reject any and all rfps, to waive informalities, and to withhold the acceptance of any rfp if approved for forty-five calendar days from the date rfps are opened.

Proposal forms and detailed specifications may be obtained free of charge by emailing jewalker@jackson.k12.ms.us, calling (601) 960-8799, or documents may be picked up at the above address or downloaded from JPS website at www.jackson.k12.ms.us.

2TC: 05-21, 28-20 -----------------------------------------------------------------IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF GEORGE HENRY LEE, JR., DECEASED GEORGETTE LEE KEELER PETITIONER CAUSE NO. P2020-00150 G/2 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Letters of Administration having been granted on the 15th day of May, 2020, by the Chancery Court of Hinds County, Mississippi, to the undersigned Administratrix of the Estate of George Henry Lee, deceased, notice is hereby given to all persons having claims against said Estate to present the same to the Clerk of this Court for probate and registration according to law, within ninety (90) days from the first publication of this notice, or they will be forever barred.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, this the 18th day of May, 2020. /s/Georgette Lee Keeler GEORGETTE LEE KEELER PREPARED AND SUBMITTED BY: /s/Rhonda C. Cooper MID-TOWN LAW OFFICE, P.A. POST OFFICE BOX 11556 JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39283 (601) 354-2594 RHONDA C. COOPER MSB NO. 6511 ATTORNEY FOR THE ESTATE 3TC: 05-21, 28, 06-04-20 -----------------------------------------------------------------Advertisement for Reverse Auction Bids Bid 3134 Smart Boards Bid 3135 Promethean Boards Reverse Auction bidding for the above bid will be received by the Board of Trustees of the Jackson Public School District, in the Business Office, 662 South President Street, Jackson, Mississippi, until 10:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M. (Local Prevailing Time) June 11, 2020, at which time Reverse Auction bidding begins electronically. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to reject any and all bids, to waive informalities, and to withhold the acceptance of any bid if approved for forty-five calendar days from the date Reverse Auction bid opening ends.

Specification responses must be submitted for this bid event. Specifications are due no later than (5:00 p.m., June 05, 2020) local time to be the given the opportunity to participate in the auction. Vendors submitting acceptable specification responses will be invited to participate in the electronic reverse auction at www.centralbidding.com on June 11, 2020 beginning at 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. local time. Vendors must be registered with Central Bidding in order to participate in the reverse auction. For any questions concerning the reverse auction process or how to register, please contact Central Bidding at 225-810-4814.

2TC: 05-28, 06-04-20 -----------------------------------------------------------------NOTICE OF SALE Notice of Sale is hereby given in accordance with the Mississippi Statutes governing the sale of abandoned motor vehicles, that the 2013 DODGE CHALLENGER bearing serial number 2C3CDYAG5DH520955 and registered to KENNETH CORMIER JR. and CHRYSLER CAPITAL will be sold along with all contents of the above automobile for repair and storage charges and for the costs of this sale as follows: Date of Sale: June 23, 2020 Place of Sale: Archie's Auto & Wrecker Service, 6700 Medgar Evers Blvd., Jackson, MS 39213 Time of Sale: 10:00 A.M. Seller reserves the right to bid on the above property and to reject any and all bids.

3TC: 05-28, 06-04, 11-20 -----------------------------------------------------------------IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF ALFRETA PETERSON JOHNSON, DECEASED

CAUSE NO. 20-PR-137 NOTICE TO CREDITORS

LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION having been granted on the 13th day of May, 2020, by the Chancery Court of Hinds County, Mississippi, to the undersigned, upon the Estate of Alfreta Peterson Johnson, Deceased, notice is hereby given to all persons having claims against the estate to present the same to the Clerk of said Court for probate and registration according to law within ninety (90) days from the date of the first publication of this Notice, or they will be forever barred.

eligible to bid on this solicitation are those who are certified by either the Mississippi Unified Certification Program (MUCP), Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA), Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), The City of Jackson, Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), or by the United States Small Business Administration (SBA). (“JMAA”) will receive sealed electronic bids only at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (“JAN”), Main Terminal Building, Suite 300, in the City of Jackson, THIS the 21st day of May, 2020.

Rankin County, Mississippi, until 1:00 p.m.

central time on June 15, 2020 (the “Bid LEANNA JOHNSON Deadline”), for services in connection with the ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF Clearing and Grubbing Services on the East ALFRETA PETERSON JOHNSON, DECEASED Metro Corridor 31.7 Acres, Project No. 7000002-20 at JAN (the “Work”).

MARGARETTE MEEKS, MSB#102389 The Law Office of Margarette Meeks, PLLC JMAA will accept electronic sealed bids only.

460 Briarwood Drive, Suite 400 Bids will be accepted until 1:00 p.m. central Jackson, MS 39206 time on June 15, 2020, Electronic bids can be PO Box 16612 submitted at www.centralbidding.com. For any Jackson, MS 39236-6612 questions relating to the electronic bidding Telephone (601) 874-1705 process, please call Central Bidding at 225Facsimile (601) 385-5207 810-4814. margarettemeekspllc@gmail.com Attorney for the Estate Once registered, Suppliers can download bid 3TC: 05-28, 06-04, 11-20 specifications and upload bid documents.

-----------------------------------------------------------------REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR JMAA will publicly open and read aloud all JAN FIRE ALARM SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS bids at 1:15 p.m. central time on June 15, 2020

BY THE JACKSON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (the “Bid Opening”), in the Staff Conference AUTHORITY Room, Third Floor of the Main Terminal PROJECT NO. 12100-004-20 Building at JAN. May 28, 2020 The outside or exterior of each bid envelope JMAA is seeking electronic Proposals only or container of the bid must be marked with for services for the JAN Fire Alarm System the Bidder’s company name and Mississippi Improvements.

Certificate of Responsibility Number and with the wording: “Clearing and Grubbing Services The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority on the East Metro Corridor 31.7 Acres Project (“JMAA”) requests electronic Proposals at JAN, JMAA Project No. 7000-002-20.” Bid (“Proposal”) for JAN Fire Alarm System proposals, amendments to bids, or requests Improvements for Jackson-Medgar Wiley for withdrawal of bids received by JMAA after Evers International Airport. the Bid Deadline will not be considered for any cause whatsoever. JMAA invites Bidders and Proposals will be accepted until 9:00 a.m. their authorized representatives to be present central time on June 15, 2020, Electronic bids at the Bid Opening. can be submitted at www.centralbidding.com.

For any questions relating to the electronic JMAA will award the Work to the lowest bidding process, please call Central Bidding at most responsive and responsible Bidder as 225-810-4814. determined by JMAA in accordance with the criteria set forth in the Information for Bidders.

JMAA will not consider any Proposals received The Information for Bidders contains, among after the Deadline for any reason whatsoever. other things, a copy of this Advertisement Information for Respondents relating to this for Bids, Instructions to Bidders and an Request for Proposals (“RFP”) is on file and Agreement to be executed by JMAA and the open for public inspection at the offices of lowest and most responsive and responsible JMAA. The Information for Respondents Bidder. Any Addendums issued clarifying contains a copy of the RFP, General and/or changing plans and specifications; Information for Respondents, Information clarifying and/or changing instructions in Required from Respondents and Criteria for the Instruction to Bidders; and/or answering Selection. Interested persons may obtain a questions in relation to the Instructions to copy of the Information for Respondents from Bidders, including plans and specifications, JMAA by contacting Mr. Deuntagus Herndon, shall become part of the Information for JMAA’s Procurement Specialist, as follows: Bidders. Plans and specifications related to the Work are considered part of the Agreement.

Jackson Municipal Airport Authority 100 International Drive, Suite 300 (39208) The Information for Bidders, including plans Post Office Box 98109 and specifications, is on file and open for Jackson, Mississippi 39298-8109 public inspection at JAN at the following Attention: Deuntagus Herndon, Procurement address: Specialist Telephone No.: (601) 360-8622 Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Facsimile No.: (601) 939-3713 Airport E-Mail: dherndon@jmaa.com Suite 300, Main Terminal Building 100 International Drive or from JMAA’s website at https://jmaa.com/ Jackson, Mississippi 39208 corporate/partner-with-us/procurement/ Telephone: (601) 939-5631 ext. 662 Facsimile: (601) 939-3713 Based on the Proposals received, JMAA will Attention: Deuntagus Herndon, Procurement select a maximum of three (3) Respondents Specialist with whom to enter into negotiations to provide the Services. JMAA will initiate Bid Documents may be picked up or shipped negotiations with the Respondent ranked first to the person making the request. Documents on the list. If such negotiations fail to produce will not be distributed or mailed, however, until an agreement in form and content, satisfactory payment is received. to JMAA, within a reasonable period of time, then JMAA may reject the first-ranked JMAA will hold a Pre-Bid Conference at Respondent and follow the same process with 1:00 p.m. central time on June 8, 2020 in the the other Respondents, in the order of their Community Room, Main Terminal Building at ranking, until a Respondent agrees to and JAN. Attendance at the Pre-Bid Conference enters into an agreement satisfactory to JMAA. is highly encouraged for all those interested in submitting bids as a Prime Contractor for JMAA will hold a Pre-Submission Conference the Work and persons seeking opportunities at 9:00 a.m. Central Standard Time on June to provide work as a Sub-Contractor. The 8, 2020, in the Community Room, 3rd Floor benefits of attendance include networking Mezzanine Level, at the Main Terminal opportunities between Prime Contractors and Building at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers Sub-Contractors, as well as the opportunity to International Airport, 100 International Drive, be on a list of contacts that will be published Jackson, MS 39208. Attendance at the Preto interested parties as part of the minutes Submission Conference is highly encouraged from the Pre-Bid Conference; review of the for all those interested in submitting Proposals plans and specifications; and a site visit of as a Prime Consultant for the Services and the area covered in the scope of work. No site persons seeking opportunities to provide visits will be scheduled other than the one work as a Sub-Consultant. The benefits of provided during the Pre-Bid conference. attendance include networking opportunities between Prime Consultant and SubJMAA reserves the right to amend the plans Consultants, as well as the opportunity to be and specifications for the Work by Addendum on a list of contacts that will be published to issued before the Bid Deadline; to reject any interested parties as part of the minutes from and all bids; to waive informalities in the the Pre-Submission Conference; and a detailed bidding process; and to hold and examine bids review of the scope of work. No additional for up to ninety (90) days before awarding the conferences or meetings will be scheduled.

Contract to perform the Work.

JMAA reserves the right to: (1) reject any and all Proposals, for any reason, any time before execution of a contract with a Respondent selected by JMAA to perform the Services.

There is no DBE participation goal for this RFP. JACKSON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY 2TC: 05-28, 06-04-20 -----------------------------------------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

BY THE JACKSON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY FOR CLEARING, GRUBBING, AND LEAD REMEDIATION SERVICES ON THE EAST METRO CORRIDOR 31.7 ACRES AT THE JACKSON-MEDGAR WILEY EVERS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (JMAA PROJECT NO. 7000-002-20) The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (“JMAA”) is requesting services from a Certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) of which that is certified by one of the acceptable certifying entities. Certified DBEs

We’re worth a dime a day!

Subscribe to the Jackson Advocate $36.50 for the year Call 601-948-4122 or email janews@thejacksonadvocate.com

If it becomes necessary to revise any aspect of this Request for Bids or to provide additional information to Bidders, JMAA will issue one or more Addenda by posting on JMAA’s website (https://jmaa.com/corporate/partner-with-us/ procurement/). JMAA will also endeavor to deliver a copy of each Addendum, to all

persons on record with JMAA as receiving a copy of the Information for Bidders, via email.

JACKSON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY DATE: MAY 28, 2020

/s/ Paul A. Brown Paul A. Brown, Chief Executive Officer 2TC: 05-28, 06-04-20 -----------------------------------------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

BY THE JACKSON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY FOR SERVICES AND RELATED WORK IN CONNECTION WITH HAWKINS FIELD PERIMETER LAND CLEARING AT HAWKINS FIELD AIRPORT (JMAA PROJECT NO. 12500-001-20) The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (“JMAA”) is requesting to receive electronic bids only from qualified respondents.

JMAA will receive electronic bids via www. centralbidding.com or email at dherndon@ jmaa.com until 4:00 p.m. central time on Monday, June 15, 2020 (the “Bid Deadline”), for construction and related services in connection with the Hawkins Field Perimeter Land Clearing Project at Hawkins Field Airport (the “Work”). For any questions relating to the electronic bidding process, please call Central Bidding at 225-810-4814.

Once registered, Respondents can download bid specifications and upload bid submissions.

JMAA will publicly open and read aloud all bids at 4:10 p.m. central time on Monday, June 15, 2020 (the “Bid Opening”), in the Conference Room, West Terminal, Hawkins Field Airport.

JMAA will award the Work to the lowest and best most responsive and responsible Bidder as determined by JMAA in accordance with the criteria set forth in the Information for Bidders.

The Information for Bidders contains, among other things, a copy of this Advertisement for Bids, Instructions to Bidders and an Agreement to be executed by JMAA and the lowest and most responsive and responsible Bidder. Any Addendums issued clarifying and/or changing plans and specifications; clarifying and/or changing instructions in the Instruction to Bidders; and/or answering questions in relation to the Instructions to Bidders, including plans and specifications, shall become part of the Information for Bidders. Plans and specifications related to the Work are considered part of the Agreement.

The Information for Bidders, including plans and specifications, is on file and open for public inspection at JAN at the following address: Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport Suite 300, Main Terminal Building 100 International Drive Jackson, Mississippi 39208 Telephone: (601) 939-5631 ext. 622 Facsimile: (601) 939-3713 Attention: Deuntagus Herndon, Procurement Specialist Bid Documents may be picked up or shipped to the person making the request. Documents will not be distributed or mailed, however, until payment is received.

JMAA will hold a Pre-Bid Conference at 4:00 p.m. central time on Monday, June 8, 2020 in the Conference Room, West Terminal Building at Hawkins Field (“HKS”). Attendance at the Pre-Bid Conference is highly encouraged for all those interested in submitting bids as a Prime Contractor for the Work and persons seeking opportunities to provide work as a Sub-Contractor. The benefits of attendance include networking opportunities between Prime Contractors and Sub-Contractors, as well as the opportunity to be on a list of contacts that will be published to interested parties as part of the minutes from the PreBid Conference; review of the plans and specifications; and a site visit of the area covered in the scope of work. No site visits will be scheduled other than the one provided during the Pre-Bid conference.

JMAA reserves the right to amend the plans and specifications for the Work by Addendum issued before the Bid Deadline; to reject any and all bids; to waive informalities in the bidding process; and to hold and examine bids for up to ninety (90) days before awarding the Contract to perform the Work.

If it becomes necessary to revise any aspect of this Request for Bids or to provide additional information to Bidders, JMAA will issue one or more Addenda by posting on JMAA’s website (https://jmaa.com/corporate/partner-with-us/ procurement/). JMAA will also endeavor to deliver a copy of each Addendum, to all persons on record with JMAA as receiving a copy of the Information for Bidders, via email.

2TC: 05-28, 06-04-20 ------------------------------------------------------------------

Jackson Advocate

Jackson, Mississippi

JANS – Governor Tate Reeves announced disaster assistance for Mississippi businesses and residents hit by the severe storms and tornado on April 19, 2020.

Working to help Mississippians recover from the devastation, Governor Reeves sent a letter to Administrator Jovita Carranza of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) requesting a disaster declaration to make low-interest disaster loans available for affected businesses and residents. The declaration covers Marion County and the adjacent counties of Jefferson Davis, La-

mar, Lawrence, Pearl River, and Walthall.

Businesses and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster damaged real estate, equipment, or other assets.

Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate and they are also eligible to borrow up to $40,000 to replace or repair personal property.

Applicants can apply online by visiting the SBA’s website: disasterloanassistance.sba.gov The SBA has also opened a Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach

SBA assistance for Mississippians impacted by April 19 severe weather

May 28-June 3, 2020

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Center to help storm victims apply online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Virtual Outreach Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM. Storm victims can call 404331-0333 and use extensions: 2122 and 2106 for residents and 2123 for businesses to speak with a disaster assistance professional. Additional information can also be obtained by emailing FOCE-Help@sba.gov.

The filing deadline for physical property damage applications is July 20, 2020 and the deadline for economic injury applications is February 22, 2021.

J&J discontinues talc-based baby powder as lawsuits pile up

JANS – Johnson & Johnson has announced that it will end North American sales of talcbased baby powder as it battles thousands of lawsuits claiming the product causes cancer.

The move comes weeks after J&J failed to bar plaintiffs’ experts in a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) containing more than 16,000 talc lawsuits. A district judge overseeing the case ruled that expert witnesses are justified in claiming a statistical association between talc use and ovarian cancer.

Lawsuits allege Johnson’s Baby Powder is contaminated with asbestos and J&J knew about it for decades without warning users. J&J has denied the claims, even while paying billions to resolve cases and recalling baby powder in 2019 when FDA testing found asbestos, a known carcinogen.

The company said in a statement that it remains confident in the safety of its talc-based baby powder and will “continue to vigorously defend the product” in court. But the decision to end sales of the powder, which represents 0.5% of J&J’s total U.S. Consumer Health business, is a major concession.

“Thousands of lives will be saved by getting this dangerous product off the market,” said Sanders Phillips Grossman Senior Partner Marc Grossman.

“But thousands of more could have been saved if J&J had not kept information from the public for years.”

Research has linked talcum powder to ovarian cancer since at least the 1970s. According to a Reuters investigation, J&J was concerned over the problem but failed to disclose it as part of a campaign to influence science

and U.S. policy in favor of cosmetic talc products.

Sanders Phillips Grossman represents approximately 700 women with ovarian cancer in claims against J&J. For the past six years, the firm has held seminars across the country to educate women on the risks of talcum powder. Victoria Maniatis serves on the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee of the J&J MDL. Danielle Mason heads SPG’s talcum powder litigation.

“The journey for justice for the thousands of women who died or suffered greatly from J&J talc powder began many years ago, with a simple request for adequate warning labels,” said Mason.

“While it is a victory that no one else will be able to start using talc powder, and that no other family has to endure a cancer diagnosis from it, the journey will only end when J&J pays what they owe.”

STATEPOINT CROSSWORD THEME: LAWYER LINGO ACROSS 1. Requests 5. Pub dispenser 8. Feline sound 11. HGTV’s “____ or Flop” 12. Ferdinand, e.g.

13. Like a ghost 14. *Pro ____, or in proportion 15. Miscellany 16. *Elsewhere 17. *Response to #51 Across?

19. Cher has one 20. Marine enchantress 21. Not tac nor toe 22. *Not underwear!

25. *Battery’s companion 29. Literary “even” 30. “____ it ____,” or go full force 33. Quartet minus one 34. Greyish brown 36. Common conjunction 37. Ban from school, e.g.

38. Homesteader’s measurement 39. Complete failure 41. “Stand and Deliver” singer 42. Relating to breastbone 44. Spectacle venues 46. Marcia’s jealous sister 47. Type of assistant, for short 49. Sudden and brilliant success 51. *Courtroom protest 55. Like blue sky 56. Twins, e.g.

57. Was a passenger 58. Shirking work 59. Volcano in Sicily 60. All over again 61. *____ se or ____ tem 62. Bear’s hangout 63. Quiet attention grabber DOWN 1. Big do 2. Eastern European 3. Toy with a tail 4. Thinly spread 5. Tutu fabric 6. Mork from Ork 7. Walk, as through mud 8. Cripple 9. Major European river 10. Ancient Chinese dynasty 12. Stock exchange, in Paris 13. Mollify 16. Anisette, for short 18. Often precedes through, to search 21. Cough syrup amt.

22. Greek Bs

23. Don’t just stand there!

24. Habituate 25. Gives a hand 26. Of a city 27. Tarzan’s swing rope 28. *Reasons to sue 31. Peacock’s pride 32. Genetic initials 35. *Lie made under oath 37. Pre-Ionic 39. Belieber or Parrothead, e.g.

40. Usually not allowed in court

43. Back of the neck 45. *To lure into a compromising act 47. *To annul or suspend 48. Jinn or genie 49. Old Russian autocrat 50. Anis-flavored aperitif 51. Newspaper piece 52. Atom that lost an electron, pl.

53. Words from Wordsworth, pl.

54. Type of salamander 55. European peak

See answers on page 12A

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May 28-June 3, 2020

Jackson Advocate

Jackson, Mississippi

Perspective Conscience

By Willis Washington, Jr.

Pastor-Teacher, St. Mark Church, Clinton, MS

Part II Today we present Part 2 of our study on the dispensation of “conscience”. If at all possible and if it is your desire, a copy of last week’s column would prove invaluable to the reading and understanding of part 2 and subsequent columns. You may contact me if you cannot secure a copy and I will email it to you. My email is provided at the end of this column.

A close review of the events after the incident in the garden indicates significant changes in the lives of those involved.

1. The serpent and other beast of the field is cursed, the serpent’s cursing is more severe. Genesis 3:14 “14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:” 2. The first promise of a Redeemer. The woman’s Seed is the Redeemer (The Lord Jesus Christ). Gen 3:15 “15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.”

3. The changed state of the woman: A. Multiplied sorrow in conception, pregnancy and childbearing. Genesis 3:16 “16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children;” B. The headship of the man.

When man and woman were created they were equal, Genesis 1:27, 28. Saints of God, GOD SAID to the woman in Genesis 3:16 that “Your desire shall be to your husband.”

This means exactly what it says, i.e. the woman is under the authority of the man. Yes, in “position and standing as children of God” the man and the woman and all of us are equal, Galatians 3:28. “28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

However, in positions of authority and leadership in the Christian family and the church, the man now becomes the head. This is clearly stated in the same verse, as stated earlier, “And he shall rule over you.” Genesis 3:16 Ephesians 5:22-24 restates the same principle, “22Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ

1969 essay on Richard Wright’s ‘The Man Who Lived Underground’

By Margrit Garner

Jackson Advocate Guest Writer

Washington is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”

1 Timothy 2:11-14 is another passage that supports this principle, “11Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” This does not eliminate the woman from teaching. However, it must be in the right setting and not in a position over men.

4. For the man, light work changed to burdensome labor.

Genesis 2:15 vs 3:17-19 Genesis 2:15: “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” No hard labor is indicated.

Genesis 3:17-19: “17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

5. The promise of death.

Genesis 3:19 “...till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

Enough. We will resume next week with Part 3 of the dispensation of “conscience”.

May God’s mercy allow us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of His Son Jesus Christ, as we study His Word.

The Lord bless you and keep you, and please remember 2 Timothy 2:15, because of 2 Timothy 3:16, 17.

May His grace be with you......always.

You may contact me at exwjw@aol.com, as needed.

Editor’s Note: Following is an assignment written by Margrit Garner in 1969 for an English class at Tougaloo College.

This story is divided into two parts. The first part deals with an innocent black man who under a terrifying beating by policemen confessed to a crime which he did not commit. He ran away from the policemen and hid in a manhole.

Down in the sewer system he found a cave. That became his world. From there he dug, out of curiosity and determination, toward each sound which came from the aboveground.

The reader does not know the name of the lead character until near the end of the first part. Also, he never knows the time or the place. This points

out that what has happened to this black man can happen to any black man in any white man’s land. This idea is picked up in two episodes – the beatings of the boy and of the night watchman.

To further emphasize the symbolic nature of the story the writer uses the following technique. Because this man is so afraid of getting caught, he looks only through small cracks or slightly open doors into the aboveground. If he enters it, then it is usually dark or the room is dimly lit. This way he can see only one thing at a time. Therefore, each thing becomes a tremendously important symbol. This is the same technique as used by the theater. The stage serves as a frame. Everything put in it stands out from everyday

life and becomes a symbol.

Because he is living in his own world and is free from immediate dehumanization, he is able to look into the aboveground as a spectator. He sees the reality of the white man’s land.

As an example, I refer to the episode where the white man steals the money from the safe and the black watchman is assumed to be guilty.

The main character burst into the joy of being free while he played with the things he collected from the aboveground. He was able to play with the gun, which had been a threat to him and belonged to the police world.

In his world he was able to step on the diamonds. This expressed his freedom from material things.

In fact, he was freer than the white man, who spent all his life getting more material things.

The second part of the story shows us how this man tries to tell the world the truth. After he saw a black man kill himself because white people accused him, the main character decided to tell the truth to the aboveground. He entered a church, but there people were busy with singing. They did not want to hear the truth.

Again, that church can be any church anywhere. From the church he went to the police station. He was sure that the police must be eager to hear the truth. But, the police, too, are not interested in the facts.

It would destroy their world. A free, liberated black man, who is no longer afraid of the police is a threat to their society and has to be killed. The police shot the man, while he was leading them to the truth.

Even while physically distant, 2020 grads find ways to celebrate and inspire

By Marc H. Morial

President & CEO, National Urban League

“No one does big things by themselves. Right now, when people are scared, it’s easy to be cynical and say let me just look out for myself, or my family, or people who look or think or pray like me. But if we’re going to get through these difficult times; if we’re going to create a world where everybody has the opportunity to find a job, and afford college; if we’re going to save the environment and defeat future pandemics, then we’re going to have to do it together.” – President Barack Obama, National High School Class of 2020 Commencement Like proud fathers everywhere, I was looking forward to the high school graduation of my only son this spring. It’s a rite of passage, not only for the young men and women making a transition into adulthood, but also the families who nurtured them along the way.

None of us could’ve imagined how commencement ceremonies would be derailed by a global pandemic that shut down schools and colleges and robbed graduating seniors of long-awaited rituals like proms and class trips.

My family planted a sign in our yard to show how proud we are of my son. But that march across the stage to receive a diploma, to shake the hand of the principal or the dean, and to hear the exuberant cheers of friends and family, simply is not to be in 2020.

But the incredibly bold and creative ways America’s high school and college graduates have found to celebrate are among the most inspirational moments to emerge from this challenging time. Social media overflows with moving videos of “commencement for one” celebrations in families’ homes.

A suburban New York high school will hold commencement at a drive-in theater, with graduates popping through their sunroofs to cheer and toss their caps. The vice principal will hand out diplomas with a 6-foot retractable arm. High schools in Florida will hold a drivethrough graduation at Daytona International Speedway, with graduates driving across the finish line to accept their diplomas and take a victory lap.

One graduating senior in Los Angeles, Lincoln Debenham

thought of a way to make graduation special for everyone: he asked President Barack Obama to deliver a national address.

And President Obama obliged – not just for high schools, but colleges as well.

He was introduced for his high school commencement speech by Chicago Urban League Project Ready student Aniyah Fisher, who served as an intern at the Obama Foundation as a part of the Youth Job Corps Program and is headed to the University of Michigan in the fall.

I had the honor of addressing the 2020 graduates of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities, along with President Obama, actor Kevin Hart, NBA stars and Vince Carter, and choreographer and National Urban League honoree Debbie Al-

Answers from 11A

len. The event, Show Me Your Walk: HBCU Edition, was a joyful celebration of pride and hope for the future. I reminded the graduates that they stand on the shoulders of the generations that have gone before. And they must be strong enough to lift up the generations that come after.

The members of the Class of 2020 will carry with them forever the lessons of graduating into a world beset by a pandemic and economic crisis.

It can be easy to dismiss the familiar themes of commencement speeches as meaningless platitudes. But as President Obama told the HBCU graduates, this pandemic has torn back the curtain on the idea that many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing, and if the world’s going to get better, it’s going to be up to the class of 2020.

Jackson Advocate

Jackson, Mississippi

May 28-June 3, 2020

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WHILE THE SEA OF UNCERTAINTY MAY SEEM DISCOURAGING, I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THE CLASS OF 2020 WILL FINISH STRONG AND WITH THEIR HEADS HELD HIGH.

Don’t forget to 

November 3, 2020

!!!! 

RE-ELECT BENNIE THOMPSON U.S. Representative for Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District

Email address: bennie_thompson@bellsouth.net Website: benniethompson.com Phone: (601) 866-9100 • (866) 423-6643 PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF BENNIE THOMPSON

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May 28-June 3, 2020

Jackson Advocate

Jackson, Mississippi

Hinds County School District Weekly Update!

Engaging • Empowering • Ensuring • Excellence HCSD partners with MSDH, UMMC and the Mississippi National Guard to provide COVID-19 testing at BMS

2019-2020 retirees honored

Not pictured: Debra Durr, GRI; Sherri Johnson, BMS; and Maggie Christian-McGriggs, RES

Henry Blount, Jr., BMS

HCSD honors its frontline heroes

The Hinds County School District (HCSD) would like to thank its Child Nutrition staff for preparing and serving to-go meals for students weekly. Students were given to-go lunches for the day and a breakfast for the following morning. Over 36,000 meals were provided to children ages 18 and under.

Diana Carey, RHS

BEEMS: Tracy Norton, Bettie Harris, and Debra Powell

Jennie Coleman, RHS

Gloria Collins, RHS

UEMS: Brenda Smiley, Toni Sproulls, and THS: Tawanda Haley, Joe Major, Lora Major, and Lizzie Washington Frances Powell

Melanie Fuller, GRI

Peggy Guyton, BMS

GRE: Kendra Kersey, Jackie Woods, Peggy Guyton, Linda Wilson, Frankie Sartin, and Christine McGriggs

Irene Hughes, UEMS

Annette Moncure, RHS

RES: Loretta Steele, Wanda Barnes, Tammy Harvey, Ashley Stimage, and Lekisha Brooks

Jackson Advocate

Jackson, Mississippi

May 28-June 3, 2020

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500 West County Line Road Tougaloo, Mississippi 39174 601-977-7871

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May 28-June 3, 2020

Jackson Advocate

Jackson, Mississippi

Health Kandice Bailey relies on family, fortitude to prevail

By Gary Pettus

Jackson Advocate Guest Writer

Kandice Bailey once believed she would be a champion for people in the courts as a lawyer; then she realized she could be the same in the clinic as a doctor.

For Bailey, a fan of reality shows with straight-talking judges, medicine eventually overruled law for many reasons, not least of which was a real-life drama with her grandfather at center stage.

“During his long illness, my grandfather went to some bad doctors who ignored him and wrote him off because he had dementia; it was as if he wasn’t even there,” said Bailey, School of Medicine class of 2020 at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

“But he also had some good doctors, who talked to him and treated him with respect; I learned from them that a patient is not defined by his disease.

“Seeing the impact this kind of care had on me and my family, being aware of the health disparities many people like my grandfather face, I realized that becoming a physician was not just something I wanted to do; it was something I had to do.”

Among those touched by the “good doctors’” compassion was Bailey’s older, and only, sibling, Dr. Summer Bailey, a 2016 graduate of the School of Medicine at UMMC. The Bailey sisters are not the only physicians in the family.

The first is also a cable TV star: Dr. Jacqueline “Jackie” Walters of Atlanta, a mainstay of Bravo’s unscripted program, “Married to Medicine,” a 1993 School of Medicine alumna, an OB-GYN, and Bailey’s mom’s younger sister.

“I’ve always admired my aunt,” Kandice Bailey said, “her work ethic and personality. She was really our second mom. Whenever we had a problem or just needed to talk, we went to our mom first, but our second call was to Aunt Jackie.

“She has that you-can’t-knockme-down attitude, which I get from my parents as well.”

Her parents, Curtis and

Despite her qualifications, Kandice Bailey dealt with a period of self-doubt before matching for her medical residency in dermatology.

KaSandra Bailey, brought up their daughters in “super rural” Lorman, where the family also raised cows.

“Once they have a goal in mind, they get it done,” said Bailey, a graduate of Cathedral High School in Natchez and Millsaps College. “I try to be like them: If I want to do something, you can tell me I can’t, but I’m going to do it anyway.”

But there was a time, very recently, when her nerve and confidence failed her.

One of 143 medical school graduates who matched for specialty training, Bailey said that, while on the interview trail for her residency, she was overwhelmed by the qualifications of others competing with her for the coveted dermatology spots. “I found myself questioning whether or not I even stood a chance,” she said.

Dr. Robert Brodell, however, did not. It was Brodell, Chair of Dermatology at UMMC, who “kept me going in medical school,” Bailey said.

“He steered me the right way.

Even when I would email him frantically at midnight, I would get a response by 12:10. I enjoyed the internal medicine and pediatrics rotations, but the area that always kept me guessing and excited was dermatology.”

To hear Brodell tell it, dermatology should be excited about

Kandice Bailey. “She will be a great dermatologist,” he said.

He saw this early on when Bailey planted her thoughts firmly on Terra firma-forme dermatosis, investigating the benign skin disorder in a paper accepted for publication within months.

“She worked diligently on the project and was soon assigned to me in the American Academy of Dermatology Minority Mentorship Program,” Brodell said. “African Americans are underrepresented in the field of dermatology. Kandice’s decision to seek out mentoring early in her medical career was very smart.”

It put her in a great position to secure her dermatology match, he said. Apparently, he was right: Bailey will do a preliminary year in internal medicine at UMMC before leaving for St. Louis for her dermatology residency at Washington University’s BarnesJewish Hospital, the place where Brodell trained.

Kandice Bailey’s parents, KaSandra and Curtis Bailey, help her celebrate Match Day in March. of Education for Veterans Administration education at UMMC, said, “She better come back to Mississippi. She is absolutely the kind of doctor we need here. She is one of those students I will never forget, and I will miss.

She is loved by patients and respected by classmates and teachers.

Kandice Bailey, far left, lines up behind the other women in her family, from left, her sister, Dr. Summer Bailey; her grandmother, Senora Walters; her mother KaSandra Bailey; and her aunt, Dr. Jacqueline “Jackie” Walters.

“Recruiting Kandice to dermatology, and seeing her choose my residency alma mater, has been a thrill for me,” he said.

Before she leaves for Missouri, Dr. Sharon Douglas, another of Bailey’s faculty mentors and Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Coordination

Everything she has tried to accomplish, everything she has applied for, she has done. Dermatology is one of the hardest specialties to match.”

For a while, Bailey wasn’t sure she would. “I would get so discouraged by another applicant’s experience, I would think, ‘I might as

Leroy Walters, grandfather of Kandice Bailey, and her sister, Summer Bailey, was a profound influence in the young women’s lives. well not even hope for this one,’” she said.

“It didn’t dawn on me at first, but I was experiencing imposter syndrome.” Bailey suspects that at one time or another, all medical students face these feelings of selfdoubt.

But this was a first for her.

Knowing this sensation of insecurity could sabotage her chances on the interview trail, she decided to conquer it.

She had to remind herself that receiving interview invitations alone proved her merit, she said, that getting that far spoke for itself. “I had to remember that I bring something valuable to the table no one else does.” Her you-can’t-knock-medown attitude won the day.

That would not surprise Douglas.

“Kandice comes from a great family,” she said. “They instilled in her the values that are perfect for a doctor.”

You might say those values are the reason she became a doctor.

Certainly, her grandfather’s life was an example for her. “He was just a rock,” she said.

“For Summer and me, he was our biggest cheerleader when we were growing up – even when we did something wrong.”

But the strength of his body did not equal the power of his spirit.

Eventually, neither did his mind.

He had diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and then he developed dementia. To undergo di-

alysis, he had to drive, or be driven, to Brookhaven three times a week – more than an hour away, from Lorman.

“With my grandmother, he had to ride on those deer-infested backroads early in the morning, in the dark,” Bailey said. “It wore on him.”

When her grandfather died, in the summer of 2015, Bailey was a senior at Millsaps. “The moment was sudden, but we were all ready for it,” she said. “He had been sick so long.

“Watching his health slowly fade, I believe it showed me and my sister how underserved rural areas are, and the effect it has on the families of those who are sick.

You’re watching a person you emulated, admired, and loved going from caretaker to someone you’re taking care of.”

Soon, she will be taking care of many more like him. The day that she officially became a physician is May 22 – the date of her COVIDcancelled commencement ceremony. Like her classmates, not to mention the hundreds of graduates from the half-dozen other campus schools, she didn’t march toward her diploma in front of thousands of onlookers.

“But as my dad said, ‘the prize is the degree.’ The prize is getting to be a part of this profession that so many people dream of doing and one that impacts so many people.”

Jackson Advocate

Jackson, Mississippi

May 28-June 3, 2020

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CANTON HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION PARADE CEREMONY – Congratulations Canton High Class of 2020 –

PART I

179 graduates • Valedictorian: Jacques Ratliff • Salutatorian: Raina White • Theme: "Without ever forgetting the past, look towards the future."

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May 28-June 3, 2020

Jackson Advocate

Jackson, Mississippi

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Generalized Anxiety Disorder: When worry gets out of control

What is depression?

Introduction Do you feel sad, empty, and hopeless most of the day, nearly every day? Have you lost interest or pleasure in your hobbies or being with friends and family? Are you having trouble sleeping, eating, and functioning? If you have felt this way for at least 2 weeks, you may have depression, a serious but treatable mood disorder.

What is depression?

Everyone feels sad or low sometimes, but these feelings usually pass with a little time. Depression – also called “clinical depression” or a “depressive disorder” – is a mood disorder that causes distressing symptoms that affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working. To be diagnosed with depression, symptoms must be present most of the day, nearly every day for at least 2 weeks.

What causes depression?

Scientists at NIMH and across the country are studying the causes of depression. Research suggests that a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors play a role in depression.

Depression can occur along with other serious illnesses, such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Depression can make these conditions worse and vice versa. Sometimes medications taken for these illnesses may cause side effects that contribute to depression symptoms. For more information on ongoing research on depression, visit www.nimh.nih.gov.

What are the signs and symptoms of depression?

Sadness is only one small part of depression and some people with depression may not feel sadness at all. Different people have different symptoms. Some symptoms of depression include: • Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood • Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism • Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness • Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies or activities • Decreased energy, fatigue, or being “slowed down” • Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions

• Difficulty sleeping, early morning awakening, or oversleeping • Appetite and/or weight changes • Thoughts of death or suicide or suicide attempts • Restlessness or irritability • Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems without a clear physical cause and/or that do not ease even with treatment How is depression treated?

The first step in getting the right treatment is to visit a health care provider or mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist.

Your health care provider can do an exam, interview, and lab tests to rule out other health conditions that may have the same symptoms as depression. Once diagnosed, depression can be treated with medications, psychotherapy, or a combination of the two. If these treatments do not reduce symptoms, brain stimulation therapy may be another treatment option to explore.

How can I help myself if I am depressed?

As you continue treatment, you may start to feel better gradually. Remember that if you are taking an an-

tidepressant, it may take 2 to 4 weeks to start working. Try to do things that you used to enjoy. Go easy on yourself. Other things that may help include: • Trying to be active and exercise • Breaking up large tasks into small ones, set priorities, and do what you can as you can • Spending time with other people and confide in a trusted friend or relative • Postponing important life decisions until you feel better. Discuss decisions with others who know you well.

• Avoiding self-medication with alcohol or with drugs not prescribed for you Where can I go for help?

If you are unsure where to go for help, ask your health provider or check out the NIMH Help for Mental Illnesses webpage at www.nimh.nih. gov/findhelp. If you or someone you know is in crisis, get help quickly.

Call the toll-free, 24-hour hotline of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800273-8255); TYY: 1-800-799-4TTY (4889).

What Is GAD? Occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. You might worry about things like health, money, or family problems. But people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) feel extremely worried or feel nervous about these and other things – even when there is little or no reason to worry about them. People with GAD find it difficult to control their anxiety and stay focused on daily tasks.

The good news is that GAD is treatable. Call your doctor to talk about your symptoms so that you can feel better.

What are the signs and symptoms of GAD? GAD develops slowly. It often starts during the teen years or young adulthood.

People with GAD may: • Worry very much about everyday things • Have trouble controlling their worries or feelings of nervousness • Know that they worry much more than they should • Feel restless and have trouble relaxing • Have a hard time concentrating • Be easily startled • Have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep • Feel easily tired or tired all the time • Have headaches, muscle aches, stomach aches, or unexplained pains • Have a hard time swallowing • Tremble or twitch • Be irritable or feel “on edge” • Sweat a lot, feel lightheaded or out of breath • Have to go to the bathroom a lot Children and teens with

GAD often worry excessively about: • Their performance, such as in school or in sports • Catastrophes, such as earthquakes or war Adults with GAD are often highly nervous about everyday circumstances, such as: • Job security or performance • Health • Finances • The health and wellbeing of their children • Being late • Completing household chores and other responsibilities Both children and adults with GAD may experience physical symptoms that make it hard to function and that interfere with daily life.

How is GAD treated?

First, talk to your doctor about your symptoms. Your doctor should do an exam and ask you about your health history to make sure that an unrelated physical problem is not causing your symptoms. Your doctor may refer to you a mental health specialist, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist.

GAD is generally treated with psychotherapy, medication, or both. Talk with your doctor about the best treatment for you.

For basic information about these and other mental health medications, visit http://www. nimh.nih. gov/health/topics/mentalhealth-medications. Visit the Food and Drug Administration’s website (http:// www.fda.gov/) for the latest information on warnings, patient medication guides, or newly approved medications.