Jackson Free Press logo

This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

WHERE2SHOP

2155 Terry Road
601-373-1460

Crossgates Baptist Church Bookstore
8 Crosswoods Road, Brandon
601-825-2562

Marshall’s Music and Bookstore
618 N. Farish St.
601-355-5335

St. Andrew’s Cathedral Bookstore
305 E. Capitol St.
601-353-2021

Milestone Books and Worship Supplies
115 Westside Cove, Pearl
601-936-3513

The Museum Store at the Mississippi Museum of Art
380 S. Lamar St.
601-965-9939

Jill’s Treasure Chest
http://www.jillstreasurechest.etsy.com

MFP Solutions Lab logo

The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.