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MFP Voices

‘To Hate Is to Lack’: Of Racism and Raw Sienna

My wife recreated the “Clark doll test” of the 1940s, with my daughter as her only participant. In the test, children,in this case my 6-year-old, are asked to answer several questions about a white doll and a Black doll. For context, the creators use their test in testimony during the historic Brown v. Board of Education battle over school integration. My baby said that the Black doll looked like her, and that the same Black doll was both bad and ugly.

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News

Quindaris Burress Charged With Murder at Age 13, But Still Awaits Trial in Tupelo Three Years Later

At age 13, Quindaris was charged as an adult in the October 2017 shooting death of 70-year-old Henry Adams, Jr. The Baldwyn businessman, who authorities said sold used vehicles out of his home and was known to have cash on hand, was found dead in his home from multiple gunshot wounds. Today, Quindaris Burress still awaits trial. At 16, he remains in the Lee County Adult Detention Center in Tupelo. His case renewed the debate over whether children should be charged as adults in capital murder cases.

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‘Deeply Bleak Situation’: People with Disabilities Face Dire Conditions Inside Mississippi’s Prisons, Monitor Reports

Disability Rights Mississippi—a private, nonprofit, federally mandated protection and advocacy  organization, just released a report, “Cruel and Unusual Punishment in Mississippi Prisons: A Tale of Abuse, Discrimination and Undue Death Sentences,” to describe realities for people with disabilities on the inside. Disability Rights Mississippi is accusing the Mississippi Department of Corrections of “subjecting offenders to cruel and unusual punishments” such as the denial of medical care and the refusal to make required accommodations for inmates with disabilities.

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News

Mississippi Voters Elect Three New Republicans, One Democrat to Legislature

Four new lawmakers are joining the Mississippi Legislature after voters in two House districts and two Senate districts voted in special elections to fill the vacant seats on Thursday. Though the candidates appeared on the ballot with no party identification because state special elections are non-partisan, they did share their party allegiance on the campaign trail. 

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