MFP Voices Archives - Page 44 of 60 - Mississippi Free Press

MFP exclusive event with Donna Ladd and Ashton Pittman

MFP Voices

Exclusive Donor Event: MFP Discusses Unmasking Backroom Deals, Hidden Agendas in Mississippi

There’s so much happening at the Mississippi Free Press I hardly know where to start. Our first donor event is Tuesday, March 26, at 6 p.m. I’ll sit down with editor Donna Ladd and reporter Ashton Pittman to talk about their nationally recognized University of Mississippi email series to go deeper into the conversation about how they started at the Ancil Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism ceremony. (Watch them here at 40:00.) It’s a terrific opportunity to learn how deep investigative reporting works and ask questions about the tough decisions involved.

Kimberly Griffin May 24, 2021

A row of Latinx male migrants stand in line waiting to be deporting from Tucson, Arizona, back to Mexico in 2019.

MFP Voices

Migration Could Reduce Migration, Thanks to Money Sent Back Home

Mauricio J. Quijano unpacks causes and effects of undocumented migration into the United States from crime, to corruption, to poverty in counties the people fleeing leave behind.

Mauricio J. Quijano May 22, 2021

MFP Voices

The Vestiges of Jim Crow and the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission

The Mississippi Sovereignty Commission, a state-funded spy agency charged with resisting integration and civil-rights activity, actively surveilled these civil rights activists and allowed law enforcement agencies to openly violate their constitutional rights in Jim Crow Mississippi. Those were dangerous times that still affect my family today.

Leo Carney May 20, 2021

BWC Voices

My First Pregnancy: Living Through COVID While Discovering a New Norm

As COVID cases in Mississippi spiked in April 2020, the negative impact on what was supposed to be one of the happiest years of my life appeared right before my eyes. First, my graduation ceremony was cancelled, and students had to move off campus immediately. This meant goodbye to any senior-year traditions, rushed farewells to my professors, friends and classmates, no more late-night runs to the store with my college friends and definitely a “see you next time” to my twin bed in my dorm. Shortly thereafter, I noticed a change in how my OB-GYN scheduled appointments.

Gabrielle Terrett May 19, 2021

MFP Voices

It’s High Time We Listen To Indigenous Women on Climate

For the first time in history, with the appointment of Deb Haaland as the Secretary of the Interior, the protection of natural lands in the United States falls under the leadership of an Indigenous woman native to the lands she is called to defend. While this momentous selection had been supported by diverse groups from across the country, it begged the question: What took so long for Americans to recognize the importance of Native perspectives in protecting the land?

Heather McTeer Toney May 18, 2021

MFP Voices

See the Professor Over the Predator: Black Male Teachers Belong in the Classroom

For Black men, trauma and not just exposure are factors when choosing to become a teacher. The same schools that make a point to punish our boys seem to also be unwelcoming places for our Black men to work. Imagine the strength it takes to return to sites of trauma as champions of the education system—to be cursed Americana wrapped in enough patriotism to educate America’s future.

Sean Brown May 17, 2021

BWC Voices

‘I Received a Divination’: Seek Friendship from Black Women Unapologetically

In February 2021, I received a divination—I was told that I need to open myself to friendship and community and that, specifically, I should seek the friendship of other Black women. A close friend reminded me of this by reassuring me it would be easy for me to make new friends in Memphis, Tenn., where my wife and I decided to plant roots.

Jasmine Wolfe May 11, 2021

MFP Voices

‘Economics 101’: This Is How Mississippi Can Address Worker Shortages

The State of Mississippi can help small business owners address its lack-of-labor problem, and it fits well with Gov. Reeves’ crusade to reduce barriers to work in Mississippi. It’s time for Mississippi to establish sectoral councils, Michael Foley writes in this essay.

Michael Foley May 4, 2021

MFP Voices

Governor Needs Reality Check: COVID-19 Is Not Over Yet In Mississippi

Gov. Tate Reeves is rushing to declare victory in the fight against COVID-19 in Mississippi for the third time. His apparent determination to lift the last social restrictions on April 30 runs the real risk of a Final Wave in May and June, which will likely prolong the pandemic well into the summer. That last 10% would mean another 30,000 new infections and approximately 750 deaths. Such should not be considered “acceptable” or merely “manageable.”

Douglas B. Chambers April 29, 2021