Pamela McKelvy Hamner never thought she would run for political office. After all, she was a reporter for 30 years. She knew what politics were like—brutal. Eight years after local members of the Federation of Democratic Women started approaching her as a potential candidate for local office, Hamner decided to run.
Shira Stallworth is the self-proclaimed Oprah Winfrey of Moss Point. “The Lavish Queen,” as the Moss Point personality is known from her popular local WGUD television show on the Gulf Coast, is one of eight candidates vying for the City of Moss Point’s top seat in the Democratic primary today, vacated by Mayor Mario King who resigned from office after he and his wife pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in February.
Erin Hartfield feels comfortable with her four girls playing freely outside in her adopted home of Shuqualak, Miss. Her commitment to her daughters drives most of her decisions—including running for mayor of the small town, she says.
Jacque Amos recounts election days during her childhood the way many of us fondly remember holidays. The kitchen of her Jackson home always filled with excitement as she, her sisters, mother and father first ate their 7 a.m. breakfast. Afterward, the Amos family piled into the car and drove to the Grove Park voting precinct in Jackson. Now, she’s running for Jackson City Council—and working hard to get other women across Mississippi to run for office.
Afton Thomas thinks that Oxford could re-allocate its local support better, saying that the community has more than enough resources to support its citizens. “We have far too many resources in Oxford to have so many of our friends, neighbors and fellow community members struggling to make ends meet,” Thomas said. She plans to work to strengthen relationships between the City of Oxford and local organizations, so that nonprofits and municipal efforts can work hand-in-hand.
Victor Hugo Green’s “The Negro Motorist Green Book” was the guidebook for African American roadtrippers during the Jim Crow era. The guide offered services and places that were friendly to African Americans, while also highlighting the dangers of travel with threats such as whites-only sundown towns. Author and journalist Deborah Douglas has published a new kind of civil-rights guide.
Silbrina Wright, a native of Camden in Madison County, is the first Black executive director in the Greater Jackson Arts Council’s 40-year history. As such, she says it is essential to lead the organization in a closer examination of the intersection of the arts and social justice in Mississippi. First on her agenda: a listening tour.
When Gabby Graves-Wake, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, took her first programming class in the fall of 2019, she glanced around the room and made a quick count: There were 56 students, and six of them were women—and she was the only woman of color. Her story is not unusual, as women of color account for less than 3 percent of people employed in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields.
David Dennis Jr., who lives in Atlanta, Ga., is one of two recipients of the 2021 American Mosaic Journalism Prize, which honors a journalist’s ability to cultivate greater understanding and empathy. The prize also supports freelance journalists with a cash award of $100,000 per recipient, the largest dollar amount for a journalism award. The Jackson native’s reporting on Black American culture and the intersection of race with topics such as politics, sports and entertainment drew him the honor. The prize, in particular, awards his 2020 Atlanta Magazine cover story “Ahmaud Arbery Will Not Be Erased” and Gay Mag’s “An Ode To the Black Women At Dillard’s.”
Mississippi Journalism and Education Group is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization (EIN 85-1403937) for the state, devoted to going beyond partisanship and publishing solutions journalism for the Magnolia State and all of its people.
125 S. Congress Street #1324
Jackson, MS 39201
info@mississippifreepress.org
tips@mississippifreepress.org
events@mississippifreepress.org
601-362-6121
The Mississippi Free Press is a project of the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit journalism organization (EIN 85-1403937).
