Jacksonians fill the second floor auditorium of the Mississippi Department of Education building with “#OurJPS” posters, in support of the school district after the Commission on School Accreditation voted JPS to be in an “extreme emergency” on Sept. 13, 2017.
Commission Chairwoman Heather Westerfield and board members listen to both JPS and MDE before voting to declare an “extreme emergency” in JPS on Sept. 13, 2017.
Interim Superintendent Freddrick Murray, tells the Commission on School Accreditation about the significant changes JPS has made, and the inconsistencies between MDE’s and JPS’s data on September 13, 2017.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba talks to media about his thoughts on the Commission declaring a extreme emergency.
House Representative Jarvis Dortch talks with Jackson Free Press State Reporter Arielle Dreher about his thoughts on the Commission declaring a extreme emergency.

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.