Director of Advancing Health and Black Equity for Gilead Sciences Tiffany West said Tougaloo College’s rich history as a Mississippi-based institution was one of the many reasons the foundation chose the school as a recipient for the Creating Possible Fund.
JPS students are making academic gains in Mississippi academic assessment despite the negative impacts of COVID-19, Jillian Smart writes.
The Mississippi Economic Inclusion Coalition submitted this MFP Voices column in response to State Auditor Shad White’s report, “Dads Matter: The Taxpayer Cost of Fatherlessness,” writing that “good leaders are solution-oriented and often self-assess before passing the blame onto others.” But, they write, in this case, White missed the mark.
Rhea Williams-Bishop, director of Mississippi and New Orleans programs at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation writes that “together, we can be the ones who create the environments and communities that build up our children, rather than tear them down.” She encourages Mississippians to come together to solve the Jackson water crisis—and then to repair the systems that led to it.
Christine Dickason and Kaitlyn Barton submitted a response to State Auditor Shad White’s report, “Dads Matter: The Taxpayer Cost of Fatherlessness,” writing that the report is misinforming and misleading and that it “pulls our attention away from systemic issues plaguing the state.”
Vicksburg, Miss., native Gabrielle Terrett writes that marijuana legalization should combat the war on drugs in marginalized Black and Brown communities, ensuring equity in profits, releasing prisoners with non-violent marijuana-related charges and encouraging full inclusion in the progressive marijuana movement.
“It’s one of the most fabulous times of the year! MFP’s spring fundraising campaign launched this past weekend with the theme, ‘Solutions for Mississippi.’ I can’t stress this enough,” Kimberly Griffin writes. “No gift is too small. Also, no gift is too big, so don’t let that stop you. Please give what you can to kick off this critical campaign.”
Dr. Sandra Carr Melvin, epidemiologist and public health advocate, writes that “the health, wealth and economic sustainability of Mississippi” remains at stake since state legislators refuse to expand Medicaid, which would close the health-insurance gap.
Ebony McLaughlin keeps the dream of Randy McLaughlin, her late husband, alive by continuing the Mississippi Black Owned Business Facebook group. She advocates for sustainable Black businesses in Mississippi and encourages everyone to shop Black-owned every month, not just in February.
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The Mississippi Free Press is a project of the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit journalism organization (EIN 85-1403937).
