Jackson, Miss., native Aliyah Veal is a proud alumna of Spelman College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English in 2017. Afterward, she attended the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in New York, gaining a master’s degree in journalism in 2018. After moving back home in 2019, she interned at the Jackson Free Press, covering city council and Jackson neighborhoods before moving up to culture writer. Her interests include tattoos, music and food, really, really good food. She now writes about culture, music and the arts for the Mississippi Free Press. Azia Wiggins, deputy editor of the Mississippi Free Press, uses her experiences as a perpetual student, intellectual, hard worker, creative, and relationship builder to unite Mississippians through story telling by shedding light on what’s happening on the ground with everyday citizens. Please send story tips to Azia at
[email protected], including MFP Voices essay ideas or submissions up to 1,200 words. Azia is also coordinating editor of the “Black Women, Systemic Barriers and COVID-19 Project” collaboration between the Mississippi Free Press and the Jackson Advocate, a project funded by the Solutions Journalism Network. Please write her directly about the project and related solutions circles, and tell her if you’d like to sign on as a sponsor of the project.
