V16n15 - Museums Open

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vol. 16 no.15

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Battling Teacher Shortages Dreher, pp 6-7

Blows, Bullets, Tears Museums Open

Amid Hope, Distrust Franco, pp 14 - 15; Bragg and Dreher, pp 16 - 17

The New Smith Park Bragg, p 8

Holiday Eats Helsel, p 18

Performing ‘Messiah Smith, p 22

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arol Johnson Burger, president and chief executive officer of United Way of the Capital Area, has been a mainstay in the organization since her start as a volunteer in 1980. In 1984, she became the director of community services, and in 1995, she took on her current position. “I started out working to determine the community’s needs for investment and bringing in volunteers,” Burger says. At that time, she says, homelessness was a big issue, so she worked with churches and other organizations to develop services for Jackson’s homeless population. Burger graduated from Carver High School in Bassfield, Miss., and went on to Tougaloo College when she was 15. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in elementary and library education in 1962. She then took a job as a teacher at Carver High School in Collins, Miss. She was the first African American teacher in Pearl River County when she began working at Nicholson Elementary in Picayune, Miss. Prior to joining United Way, Burger worked as a human services administrator for former Gov. Cliff Finch and as the assistant director of Hinds County Department of Public Welfare. During Burger’s tenure as president and CEO of United Way of the Capital

contents

Area, the organization has developed what it calls the “community impact model” for measurable accountability in programs that address education, income and health. “The model looks at specific community needs and brings together entities to address those needs,” she says. “It brings partners to the table to work together on a specific agenda, and education is the big focus of that collaboration.” Burger has also served on the boards of local organizations such as Mission Mississippi, the Metro Jackson Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Jackson Arts Council, the Better Business Bureau, the St. Dominic Health Services Advisory Board, Visit Jackson and Springboard to Opportunities. On Nov. 20, Burger announced her retirement as president and CEO of United Way. Burger will remain with the organization through June 2018 while it conducts a search for someone to fill those positions. “I’ve been so fortunate to meet the best people in the world here in the local community and talk to them about investing in the community,” Burger says. Burger has one son, Marcus, and two grandchildren, Nicholas and Logan. She is a member of Anderson United Methodist Church. —Dustin Cardon

cover photo of Myrlie Evers and former Gov. William Winter by Rogelio V. Solis, Associated Press

6 ............................ Talks 12 ................... editorial 13 ...................... opinion 14 ............ Cover Story 18 ........... food & Drink 20 ......................... 8 Days 21 ........................ Events 21 ....................... sports

7 College-Ready Cadets

Jackson Public Schools JROTC prepares students for college and life.

13 JPS Students Are the Future

“The worst thing, however, is being told over and over again that because our district and our schools are ‘failing,’ we students are also failing by association.” —Kaitlyn Fowler, “The Future of the World”

22 .......................... music 22 ........ music listings 24 ...................... Puzzles 25 ......................... astro 25 ............... Classifieds

18 Holiday Eats

See what local restaurants are doing for the holidays.

December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

4 ............ Editor’s Note

file photo; Kelsee Ford; Stephen Wilson

December 13 - 19, 2017 | Vol. 16 No. 15

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editor’s note

by Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief

Truth and Pandering as History Museums Open

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hen the 90-year-old man slipped into the open seat next to me, the opening ceremony for Mississippi’s duo of history museums was about to start. Mr. Otha Drake is a slight African American man who uses a silver cane and, on Saturday, was wearing a light pink and white shirt, light-colored jeans and a black jacket, topped with a blue knit cap. As the pretty language of hope and reconciliation filled the air, I would glance at Mr. Drake. He didn’t clap, his right hand leaning on his cane, his left holding the program over his face to shield out the sun. Mr. Drake listened intently as eight men and three women—three of them black—talked mostly about the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. I, though, winced at the proclamations by white Republicans about the lessons of history, knowing that each one up there actively supports policies that prolong, rather than reverse, the residual effects of racial oppression here. None is actively trying to change the state flag; all were against fully funding even adequate public education that would especially help re-segregated black districts after whites fled; they support policies that increase income inequality; they oppose ensuring that every Mississippian has access to health care in the state that again ranked 50th in health quality this week. And they all tucked little epistles into their remarks, along with myriad clichéd Faulkner references, so their more “state’s rights” supporters would know they hadn’t left the farm. Gov. Phil Bryant was especially tough to hear up there going on about grace and civil-rights history. He, after all, annually proclaims Confederate Heritage Month and had invited Donald Trump to dese-

crate the grounds of what should have been a packed, glorious, diverse opening. Bryant brought up former Gov. Haley Barbour— who helped lead the “southern strategy” of pushing crime fear and other race rhetoric to bait former Dixiecrats to the GOP and, now, to Trump—telling him the civil-rights museum is “something we must do.” Bryant quoted “Amazing Grace,” adding, “Mississippi was once lost, now we are found. We were blind and now we see.”

“We were blind and now we see.” Then came the insidious part. “From this day forward, let all our transgressions be left to the past,” proclaimed the man who ensures that the state celebrates the Confederacy every April and allows the symbol of maintaining slavery to officially fly. Seeing Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves—who was invited to speak even though black Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba despicably was not—wasn’t much better. Reeves, who yearns to be the next governor, routinely employs rhetorical pages from the racist playbook of the 1960s, blaming the push for a more respectful state flag on “outsiders and media elites,” thus ignoring the diverse coalition of native Mississippians trying to change it. In 1964, Klan apologists likewise dismissed three murdered civil-rights workers—two from New York and one from 90

miles from here—as “outside agitators.” Reeves just can’t be ignorant enough to choose this coded language by accident. If he is, he should spend real time inside the museums learning the history of his state. Reeves also openly and proudly declares that the school districts that do better, including on test scores—the wealthier and whiter schools, like during segregation— should be rewarded with more resources transferred from struggling (poorer, blacker) schools. That’s not just a racist dog whistle; it’s a frontal attack on poor, black residents. Then, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker namechecked Confederate President Jefferson Davis in the most bizarre wink-and-nod to the old Dixiecrats ever. Wicker included Davis among “heroes”: “Like Jefferson Davis who before he would leave Washington, D.C., forever made sure our nation’s capital building was truly magnificent.” Before secession, as secretary of war, Davis oversaw the enlargement of the U.S. Capitol. After the South lost the war over slavery, the U.S. indicted Davis for treason, but didn’t bring him to trial. Mississippi gifted a statue of Davis to the Capitol in 1931; it’s now in Statuary Hall. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., is among black lawmakers who asked that Confederates statues be removed from the Capitol. He was scheduled to speak at the opening before Wicker but boycotted due to the Trump invitation. Notably, Davis spoke nearby at the old Mississippi Capitol in 1862 during the Civil War, slamming the northern “miscreants”—a “traditionless and a homeless race,” he said. In the building where Mississippi seceded using the words you can hear Morgan Freeman repeat inside the Museum of Mississippi History—“Our position is thoroughly identified with the

institution of slavery”—Davis warned Mississippians to stay the Confederate course. “Will you be slaves; will you consent to be robbed of your property; to be reduced to provincial dependence; will you renounce the exercise of those rights with which you were born and which were transmitted to you by your fathers?” Davis demanded. The “property” was slaves, of course. Davis added about the country that now pays Wicker: “Were it ever to be proposed again to enter into a Union with such a people, I could no more consent to do it than to trust myself in a den of thieves.” When the ceremony ended, Mr. Drake and I chatted. The son of Delta sharecroppers, he spent his childhood near Greenville until his family moved to Jackson in 1942. He attended Lanier High School, then joined the Navy and served in a segregated unit. He had driven to the opening alone; his wife, Mary, stayed home. “I remember it all,” he said about the intense and violent segregation of Mississippi. It was a closed society, he said. “It was, it was.” Still, much is different now. “Oh yeah, it already has changed,” he said, adding that the museums are a good step forward. I asked what needs to happen to complete the change for black Mississippians. “Jobs,” he said quickly. “Better schooling.” I thought of Reeves’ rewards for wealthy districts with fewer needs, and felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me. Hours later, after I toured the Mississippi history museum, I found Mr. Drake sitting on a bench in the museum atrium, leaning forward on his cane, people-watching. “You’re still here?” I asked. “Yes, yes I am,” he said, grinning as I walked to the civil rights museum. Suddenly, I didn’t feel quite so tired.

December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

contributors

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Cheree Franco

Ko Bragg

Arielle Dreher

Stephen Wilson

Amber Helsel

Dustin Cardon

Kimberly Griffin

Stephen Wright

Cheree Franco was once introduced as “a hippie journalist who believes a dance party can solve any problem.” She has covered art and politics for VICE, BOMB, Juxtapoz and the Jackson Free Press. She contributed to the cover package.

City Reporter Ko Bragg is a Philadelphia, Miss., transplant who recently completed her master’s in journalism. She loves traveling and has been to 25 countries to date. She wrote about Trump’s visit to Mississippi and the museums’ opening.

State Reporter Arielle Dreher is working on finding some new hobbies and adopting an otter from the Jackson Zoo. Email her story ideas at arielle@jacksonfreepress.com. She wrote about Trump’s visit to Mississippi and the museums’ opening.

Staff Photographer Stephen Wilson is always on the scene, bringing you views from the six. He took many photos for the issue, including at the museums’ opening.

Managing Editor Amber Helsel is a Gemini, feminist, writer, artist and otaku. She loves travelling, petting cats, hoarding craft supplies and more. Email story ideas to amber@jacksonfreepress.com. She did the holiday catering roundup.

Web Editor Dustin Cardon is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. He enjoys reading fantasy novels and wants to write them himself one day. He wrote about Carol Johnson Burger.

Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin is a Jackson native who loves Jesus, her mama, cooking, traveling, the Callaway Chargers, chocolate, her godson, working out, Mississippi University for Women and locally owned restaurants.

Sales and Marketing Consultant Stephen Wright is a Clinton native who lives life through the four Fs: faith, family, football and food. For your advertising needs, contact him at stephen@jacksonfreepress.com.

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“We absolutely have a serious, serious teacher crisis going on in the state of Mississippi.” — IHL Commissioner Glenn Boyce at the Stennis Capitol Press Forum in December.

Smith Park gets a makeover p8

@jxnfreepress

Wednesday, December 6 Time Magazine names “The Silence Breakers”—the women who have shared their stories about sexual assault and harassment—as the magazine’s Person of the Year.

Friday, December 8 Mississippi House Education Chairman John Moore resigns, initially citing health reasons. Speaker Philip Gunn later reveals that Moore was facing sexual-harassment allegations. … Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba announces that he will join U.S. Reps. Bennie Thompson and John Lewis in boycotting 2 Museums opening. Saturday, December 9 President Donald Trump comes to Jackson for less than two hours for a private event inside the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. ... Civil-rights veteran Myrlie Evers and state leaders cut the ribbon to open the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

Sunday, December 10 Alabama U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby says that his state can “do better” than electing Republican Roy Moore, who faces allegations of molesting and sexually assaulting teenage girls, to the U.S. Senate, and reveals he cast an absentee ballot for an unspecified Republican.

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Monday, December 11 Gov. Phil Bryant appoints M. Wayne Thompson as Jones County court judge to replace Judge Gaylon Harper, who is retiring Dec. 31. Tuesday, December 12 Alabama voters go to polls for the Senate race between Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones. Get breaking news at jfpdaily.com.

by Arielle Dreher

J

ackson Public Schools needs certified teachers—fast. The state’s second-largest district is on probation for violating 24 accreditation standards, despite averting a state takeover this fall. One of those standards, “Licensed Professional Staff,” requires each school to have no more than 5 percent of the professional staff working outside their areas of endorsement. Dr. William Merritt, the JPS executive director of school improvement, told the Better Together Commission on Nov. 30 about the district’s need for certified staff: “As many of you are aware, we have a teacher shortage. That’s not a Jackson Public Schools issue, it’s a national issue.” “… In order to clear Standard 2, you must have 100 percent certified staff in place in every classroom for every child, so that will be one of the standards that will possibly pose a challenge,” he told the Commission last month,” he added. The challenge is the time crunch because JPS will have to clear all their deficient standards by July 2018, when the new corrective action plan is supposed to be complete. There are approximately 288 teacher vacancies in the district, with 233 limited-service teachers filling those spots, the latest data from JPS show. JPS contracted with the Bailey Education Group to help it work on the CAP, which is due to the Commission on School Accreditation in January. At the last meet-

File Photo

Thursday, December 7 U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst announces a new local-state-federal coalition to police violent crime in downtown Jackson. … Michael Slager, a white former South Carolina police officer, is sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting an unarmed black motorist named Walter Scott in 2015.

A ‘Serious, Serious’ Teacher Shortage

Jackson Public Schools has 288 teacher vacancies in the district, currently filled with 233 limited-service teachers. The district must fill those vacancies by July 2018 to clear a state accreditation standard.

ing, Bailey contractor Ann Moore gave the JPS Board of Trustees a list of suggestions to get long-term substitute teachers and staff certified in a short period of time. “Our first recommendation is to provide immediate and ongoing support for all long-term substitutes in the classrooms in the targeted areas,” Moore said. “... Every classroom must have certified teacher or teacher support in all the targeted areas.” Moore said JPS should reach out to all of its external partners to help provide the necessary training for teachers that are not certified. She said the district could also look “to reassign all licensed personnel who are not serving in the classroom right now

in targeted area classrooms and accomplish that by at least the first week of January to maximize your instructional support.” Sherwin Johnson, JPS’ executive director of public and media relations, said in a statement to the Jackson Free Press that the number of JPS administrators who are certified to teach in classrooms was “not readily available.” The Bailey Education Group suggests the district ask the Mississippi Department of Education for all available reading coaches and interventionists as well as to work with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Barksdale Reading Institute to provide more support. Moore also suggested that the

It’s the holiday season, which means gift-giving is the thing to do right now. We here at the Jackson Free Press decided to come up with a few last-minute gift ideas that won’t break the bank, mostly because they’re either free or imaginary.

1 2 3 4

A snowball from Snowpocalypse 2017—before supplies melt. Oops, they did already. Sorry. A stray cat—easy enough to find around the Jackson metro area. Or a gift certificate for spaying/neutering. A flock of porgs—the holiday season is also “Star Wars” season. A clump of loose asphalt from a pothole—all the look of coal with none of the cost.

5 6 7 8

A photo of Donald Trump at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum—relive the magic. A receipt from Fine & Dandy—they can laugh at the funny food names, and you can eat the food; win-win. A bottle of water to pour into the Smith Park fountain—gotta start somewhere. A brick—now they’re only a few thousand away from owning their own Madison business.

“I felt the pain all over again. I felt the hope all over again. I felt the determination all over, again and I came out renewed ...”

“Isn’t ‘Republican’ supposed to be like representative of the people?”

— Civil-rights veteran Myrlie Evers on walking through the new Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

— Bilal Qizilbash, responding to the news that the Mississippi Republican Headquarters would not let him use their parking lot to feed the hungry on Friday nights.

JROTC Preps Students for College, Life

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by Arielle Dreher

district use technology to record quality classroom teachers and use them as models for the long-term substitutes. Bailey contractors invited board members to sit in on a session with them and JPS staff members, called “standard leaders,” who monitor the district’s compliance with standards. JPS is not the only school district on probation due to teacher shortages. Thirteen school districts, including JPS, do not meet the “Licensed Professional Staff” standard. Eight of those districts are in the

Delta. Research from Mississippi State researchers Kenneth Anthony, Dana Franz and Devon Brenner looked at what predicts teacher shortages in the state. “According to the model, the teacher shortage in Mississippi is a function of race, geography, and local funding, however, race accounts four times more than geography when attempting to predict teacher shortages,” their study concludes. Their research shows that the teacher shortages statewide are generally clustered

in the Delta. Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Commissioner Glenn Boyce stepped out of the higher education ring earlier this month, when he acknowledged the teacher shortage in the state at the Stennis Capitol Press Forum. “One of my major concerns as an industry that we need to do something about … is teachers. That’s a discussion for another day, but we absolutely have a serious, serious teacher crisis going on in the state of Mississippi,” Boyce said, after spending

30 minutes discussing the importance of investing in higher education. “(The shortage) needs to be looked at very, very carefully, researched, and we need to do something about it because everything I just said will become a moot point unless we can fix that shortage,” he said. Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba mentioned plans to create a teacher’s village this fall, but JPS will need more than 200 certified teachers during 2018, before July, in order to clear the standard.

December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

Stephen Wilson

illie Day, a senior at Callaway High School, nity service often happen on the weekends. JPS JROTC campus and learn about engineering, geoscience and other just got his acceptance letter in the mail. “I students logged more than 50,000 hours of community STEM-related careers for a week during the summer. That think I’m going to Hinds Community Col- service last school year. program is one of several summer programs JROTC cadets lege. I’m going for graphic design,” he said. Almost 25 percent of high-school students in JPS can attend including overnight experiences at William Car Michael Lawrence, a senior at Jim Hill High School is participate in the program. Col. Paul Willis, the director of ey University and the Jackson Police Department as well as applying to the Air Force Academy. the JROTC program, dispels a myth of the program im- a daytime program at Jackson State University. “I am going to major in civil engineering, and I want mediately: it does not obligate students to join the Army or The U.S. Army and the school district both fund to be a pilot in the Air Force,” he said. JROTC. In 2013, Willis said, the Army be Aitiana Sulton, a senior at Provine High gan scaling back the program, not allowing School, loves to write. “I would like to attend schools districts to re-hire instructors who Belhaven University to get my doctorate’s deleft. The goal was to get each school down to gree in psychology,” she said. two instructors, which means accommodat The three students are Jackson Public ing less students. Two teachers can accomSchools JROTC cadets. A group of about 30 modate about 150 students. juniors and senior cadets from all seven JPS When the Army scaled back funding, high schools raised their hands when asked the school district stepped in. if they plan to go to college. Some hope to “Eventually, we were able to get most go straight into the armed forces and attend of those instructors cost-shared by the Army. college later. Others have no plans to join the As of today we have 23 instructors, and all military—but can readily acknowledge the of them are cost-shared by the Army except life skills and exposure the JROTC program one,” Willis said. A group of Jackson Public Schools JROTC cadets demonstrated drills at brought to their lives. In an ideal world, Willis would have the JROTC headquarters in northwest Jackson last week. “Everyone else has inspirational stories, 30 instructors and be able to pay them yearbut the only reason I joined JROTC is beround instead of on a 10-month contract as cause I didn’t want to take PE,” Kelsee Ford, a senior at require any service in the military after they graduate. they are now. The number of JROTC students has dropped Murrah High School, joked. “JROTC gives you the option Willis said his program really focuses on ensuring stu- in past years as a result of the budget cuts from both sides. of not taking it, and then I got on drill team and loved it.” dents go on to some institution of higher learning, includ- In 2013, 2,293 students were enrolled. Today, 1,701 stu “I have gained three fathers and three mentors that are ing community colleges, vocational and trade schools. dents are in the program. helping me get to college,” she added. “We don’t let it be an option—not only to apply for The 10-month contract means instructors often take Other cadets agreed. JROTC is an elective option for scholarships but to apply for college, too, and to sit down students on trips off the clock, like when 100 students went all high-school students enrolled in JPS high schools. There and apply for scholarships, financial aid and everything to the National Flight Academy last summer in Pensacola, are no requirements to get into the program, but students else,” Willis said. Fla. Willis said his instructors were not technically on conmust keep their grades up to stay in it. Because the cur- The push to get students to college appears to be tract at the time—but everyone knows it is worth the time. riculum is not JPS but JROTC-based, students who join working. Last year, JROTC students received $6.7 million “We know that these things are necessary for our students’ freshman year have the best chance at finishing the courses in scholarships—a record year for the program. Students development. We know based on the environment that on-time. If a sophomore or junior decides to join, he is or in the JROTC program get a look inside several colleges we’re in, we have to give them the exposure,” Willis said. she has to start at level one with the freshmen. Students and universities around the state during their time in the “… We know in many cases if we don’t take the stucan receive credit for required PE and health courses if they program. The JPS JROTC started a partnership with Mis- dents to Mississippi State, they won’t get there. If we don’t participate in the program long enough. Trips and commu- sissippi State University in 2011 for 60 students to live on take them to Ole Miss, they won’t get there.”

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TALK | city

Bringing Back a Poorly Named Park by Ko Bragg

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the park. “The problem that concerned me most was sleep; where are these guys now sleeping?” Qizilbash pointed out little alcoves down the street where people will sleep to guard themselves against the wind. It is not uncommon to see people in sleeping bags posted up against downtown buildings or on church steps. Smith Park is undergoing a threephase renovation process. The first phase began last year with removal of decaying trees, costing around $10,000. Phase two,

that groups can use for events. Michael Rejebian, the manager of Underground 119 and a member of the Downtown Jackson Partners advisory council and the Smith Park committee, said this project would not have been possible without the City and the mayor’s help. In his research, Rejebian found that Smith Park was one of the earliest parks opened to African Americans in the late 1800s. “When you look at other parks around the South in that period of time, in Stephen Wilson

December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

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n a cold Friday night, the snow still dusting the trees from the snowfall that morning, Bilal Qizilbash set up his weekly station where he offers food to those in need free of charge. The only qualifying question he asks is, “Are you hungry?” This event normally takes place in the Smith Park pavilion in downtown Jackson, but the green fence around the park to protect the construction underway meant they had to move. Qizilbash set up tables with food, hot soup, and assorted donated clothing and shoes in the parking lot of the Mississippi Republican Party headquarters. Someone from the party called the police between 6 and 7 p.m. to complain and requested the operation be moved out of that lot immediately. The officer on the scene said Qizilbash and other volunteers could stay that evening, but that next week they would need to find a new location. “I don’t know what’s going on with the humanity,” Qizilbash said after all the food had been handed out for the evening. “Isn’t ‘Republican’ supposed to be like representative of the people?” People huddled together in the cold as they ate, their breath visible in the air converging with the steam from the food in a larger cloud. That evening only about 30 people came out in the cold and snow; Qizilbash estimates that they usually feed 90 every Friday. Among the group was Chris, 20, from Booneville—he didn’t give his last name. Chris said that the renovations at Smith Park have not had a huge effect on where he and others sleep, as he usually sleeps near the planetarium. But, he said it angered some when a convenience disappeared. “In my opinion (the temporary closure) will make people appreciate it more now that they’ve started renovating it,” Chris told the Jackson Free Press. Qizilbash said that Smith Park’s downtown location makes it one of the safest places for people who take shelter outdoors. The people he feeds weekly warned him against using Poindexter Park and Battlefield Park because of violence and drugs. “(Smith Park) at least provided some shelter; now they’re more exposed to the elements than ever before,” Qizilbash said, referring to the tunnel-like structures in

Downtown Jackson’s Smith Park is undergoing its second phase of renovations and is currently closed to the public. Stakeholders want to revitalize the park, but do not want to displace homeless residents that make use of it.

costing around $100,000, is currently underway as construction workers remove the concrete waterways, level the hills of dirt, flatten the park, replace the rotten wood on the stage, and put down new sod by early 2018. Phase three would be the largest and most costly—stakeholders are hoping to raise $2.5 million to create a “top-notch” park with a splash pad and playground for kids as well as a brand new stage. The City of Jackson, Downtown Jackson Partners and a group called Friends of Smith Park are all working together to upgrade one of America’s oldest parks, while saying they are sensitive to the fact that homeless people also use it. Impossible Without ‘The City’ A copy of the Smith Park rendering rests on an easel in the boardroom that leads into the Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba’s office. Lumumba is excited about turning the park into a welcoming space

New Orleans for example, those parks were closed to African Americans,” Rejebian told the Jackson Free Press. He said he found minutes detailing that Smith Park was indeed open to African Americans, although it was segregated within the park. “What that told me was that Smith Park has always been a park for everybody,” Rejebian told the Jackson Free Press. “That’s what we want to try to make it again.” But, in recent years, not many people used the park beyond those who rely on it for shelter and refuge because they have nowhere else to go. Neither Rejebian nor Lumumba want to send the message that they intend to displace people. “I’ve heard people question whether this was an effort to move homeless populations out of the park—that’s not what this was about,” Mayor Lumumba said in an interview. “This is about the park being able to better facilitate the needs of the community at large.”

Behind the Name Rejebian wants Smith Park to become symbolic of downtown’s larger revitalization. He hopes private donations will help Smith Park come back to life, which would mirror how the park came to fruition back in 1884. Smith Park is the only surviving “public square” from the original city plan by Peter Van Dorn in 1822. Smith, a Scotsman, came to Jackson in 1832 and opened a hardware store on State Street. In 1854 Smith met Jefferson Davis, then the U.S. secretary of war under President Franklin Pierce who later served as president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. During the Civil War, Smith sent cannons, rifles and other forms of ammunition, and even flew the Confederate flag in his London office. Smith’s brother died in a Civil War battle in 1962. “This loss deeply affected James and cemented his allegiance to the Confederacy,” reads Downtown Jackson Partners’ “Smith Park Renaissance” plan. Smith and Davis remained friends, visiting each other throughout their lives. In 1976, Smith Park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The historical marker now in the park calls Smith a “manufacturer, Confederate benefactor and Jackson resident.” In 1884, Smith donated $100 for a fence to be erected around the park. Rejebian acknowledged the pain that monuments of Confederate leaders cause and supports them coming down. But, he feels that Smith’s legacy differs, and he hopes that removing Smith’s name from the park does not emerge as an issue. “He did give money to support the Confederacy like most people who had the means did during that war,” Rejebian said. “(H)e wasn’t an officer in the Confederate army. He was primarily a businessman who believed in Jackson.” Rejebian said that when Jackson was reeling financially from the effects of the Civil War and had little money, just like it does now, the City looked to the private sector to finance the park. Now, Rejebian hopes a corporation will come forward to donate a new stage in their name. The mayor said that no one has presented him ideas for a name change to date. “Let’s get the park set up first, and then we’ll have those discussions,” Mayor Lumumba said. Comment at jfp.ms/city. Email city reporter Ko Bragg at ko@jacksonfreepress.com

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December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

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11

STUART ROCKOFF Mississippi’s More Revolutionary Museum

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his past weekend, national media descended on Jackson for the opening of the 2 Mississippi Museums, especially after it was announced that President Trump would be taking part in the festivities. There were segments on CNN and MSNBC, features in The New York Times, Washington Post and many other outlets exploring the controversy about his visit to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Virtually all of the features focused on the civil-rights museum, which received most of the attention. Admittedly, that museum has more of a national draw. I had several friends and family members in other parts of the country text or email me about it, and ask whether I got to see the president. (I did not). But having served on the scholarly review committee for both museums, I can attest that while both are extraordinary institutions, the Museum of Mississippi History is potentially the more revolutionary. After plans for the two museums were announced, I heard from more than one person that the museums would be “separate but equal,” one “for us” and one “for them.” (The meaning of us and them varied based on the race of who was talking). Certainly, the civil-rights museum presents a bracingly honest account of the violence of white supremacy and the tremendous heroism of the activists who transformed our state against tremendous opposition. You will be hard-pressed to experience the “This Little Light of Mine” installation without getting emotional. But if some Mississippians don’t know enough about people like Vernon Dahmer, Fannie Lou Hamer or Medgar Evers (and they will learn more about them in the museum), most understand the movement’s basic outlines. By contrast, our state’s history is still enshrouded in mythology. The Museum of Mississippi History shatters these myths. White Mississippians expecting to see “our story” in the Museum of Mississippi History will be taken aback. As they sit in the introductory theater, they will hear narrator Morgan Freeman quote from the 1861 Declaration of Secession, confirming that Mississippi leaders were leaving the U.S. in order to protect slavery; they will learn that slaves made up a majority of the state’s population in 1860, and that “redemption” after Reconstruction came about through violence and fraud. This accurate, inclusive vision of our state’s history informs the exhibits throughout the museum. In addition to recreating the home of plantation owners, they also recreate a slave cabin. In the museum’s text, “Mississippian” doesn’t automatically mean a white person. African Americans do not suddenly appear during the Civil Rights Movement; rather, they are a central part of our state’s narrative, from the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to the present day. The Museum of Mississippi History gives voice to the full diversity of our state’s stories.The museum does not give a slanted account of our past, but rather a full reckoning—both the inspiring and the ugly. Perhaps it’s the historian in me, but I’ve long felt that Mississippi will not truly thrive as a united community until we have a unified story of who we are and where we’ve been. For too long Mississippi has had two versions of its history. Despite what many assume, the two museums do not perpetuate this. Rather, their dedication presents a remarkable opportunity to come to terms with our past and chart a better future for all Mississippians. Do not skip the history museum because of what you assume it includes. I promise, it will inspire people to rethink their understanding of our state’s past. Stuart Rockoff is the executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council. He lives in Jackson with his wife, Susan, and his two daughters. 12 December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

Our state’s history is still enshrouded in mythology.

Legislature Needs to Address Teacher Shortages

I

t’s a vicious cycle, really. Rural districts in sparsely populated Delta communities struggle to recruit teachers to come live there. Majority-black districts, a large percentage of which are dubbed “failing” by the state’s accountability standards, are fighting not only racial but socioeconomic segregation, but also struggle to recruit teachers. A handful of districts in the state are on probation due to a lack of qualified staff. Part of their corrective action plans submitted to the Commission on School Accreditation and the Mississippi Board of Education early next year will have to include plans to certify and ultimately recruit staff by July 2018. “In order to comply with Process Standard 2.2, all District professional positions requiring licensed staff shall be filled by staff who are properly licensed and endorsed as required by policy, state law, and federal requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,” a part of the JPS investigative audit says. Technically, if districts on probation due to a lack of licensed staff can’t come up with certified staff by next July, they could be in danger of losing their accreditation, and they means a state takeover. It is time to look at solutions beyond takeovers to address teacher shortages, however. The teacher shortage is real—so real, in fact, that Institutions of Higher Learning Commissioner Glenn Boyce made a point to say so in his public comments to the media this month at the Stennis Capitol Press Forum. He called the teacher shortage “serious,” an issue the state should address.

In the coming legislative session, if lawmakers are serious about quality education for all children in Mississippi, they must address the state’s teacher shortage. This will more than likely mean targeting funding to districts in the Delta, and “failing” allblack school districts. Discussions of a proposed new education funding formula have included the term “equity,” which would mean funding those districts in disadvantaged positions. This is an admirable idea and concept if adhered to, but lawmakers need to understand that in order for a new formula or for a state school system to be “equitable,” sacrifices will need to be made. Perhaps the School Recognition Program could be rewritten to target districts with teacher shortages or in danger of state takeover. Maybe a new formula could target districts with teacher shortages, giving funds for incentives. In Mississippi, where a majority of children attend public schools, it is vital for lawmakers to invest in good teachers in all classrooms. Teachers are a factor in how schools and districts receive grades each October when accountability rankings come out. Are teachers qualified to teach students, and prepare them to pass those state tests? Without qualified teachers, how can we blame poor academic performance on students? Without support, either through teacher incentives or programs like Mayor Chokwe Lumumba has suggested such as teacher villages, how can these districts keep up? There are no clear answers to solve the national or statewide teacher crisis, but the Legislature needs to start addressing the issue now—before it’s too late.

Email letters and opinion to letters@jacksonfreepress.com, fax to 601-510-9019 or mail to 125 South Congress St., Suite 1324, Jackson, Mississippi 39201. Include daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, as well as factchecked.

Kaitlyn Fowler JPS: The Future of the World

EDITORIAL Managing Editor Amber Helsel State Reporter Arielle Dreher City Reporter Ko Bragg Freelance Reporter William Kelly III JFP Daily Editor Dustin Cardon Music Editor Micah Smith Events Editor Rebecca Hester Features and Social Media Intern ShaCamree Gowdy Writers Brynn Corbello, Richard Coupe, Bryan Flynn, Mike McDonald, Greg Pigott, Julie Skipper,,Abigail Walker Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Art Director Kristin Brenemen Advertising Designer Zilpha Young Staff Photographer Stephen Wilson ADVERTISING SALES Digital Marketing Specialist Meghan Garner Sales and Marketing Consultant Stephen Wright BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS Distribution Manager Richard Laswell Distribution Raymond Carmeans, Clint Dear, Ruby Parks,Tommy Smith Assistant to the CEO Inga-Lill Sjostrom ONLINE Web Editor Dustin Cardon Web Designer Montroe Headd CONTACT US: Letters letters@jacksonfreepress.com Editorial editor@jacksonfreepress.com Queries submissions@jacksonfreepress.com Listings events@jacksonfreepress.com Advertising ads@jacksonfreepress.com Publisher todd@jacksonfreepress.com News tips news@jacksonfreepress.com Fashion style@jacksonfreepress.com Jackson Free Press 125 South Congress Street, Suite 1324 Jackson, Mississippi 39201 Editorial (601) 362-6121 Sales (601) 362-6121 Fax (601) 510-9019 Daily updates at jacksonfreepress.com The Jackson Free Press is the city’s awardwinning, locally owned newsweekly, reaching over 35,000 readers per week via more than 600 distribution locations in the Jackson metro area—and an average of over 35,000 visitors per week at www. jacksonfreepress.com. The Jackson Free Press is free for pick-up by readers; one copy per person, please. First-class subscriptions are available for $100 per year for postage and handling. The Jackson Free Press welcomes thoughtful opinions. The views expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of the publisher or management of Jackson Free Press Inc. © Copyright 2017 Jackson Free Press Inc. All Rights Reserved

I

recently walked into the asthma and allergy clinic to get my monthly allergy shot. I slid my ID card through the slot and waited. The only other patient, an older white woman, struck up a conversation. After the initial pleasantries, she asked, “What school do you go to?” “Murrah.” I watched her face fall before she tried to make up for it. “Oh. ... so how do you ... like it there?” she asked “I love it,” I replied. “The teachers and the classes are amazing.” I didn’t tell her that last year our valedictorian went to Yale University on a full ride, or that in my junior class, at least one person has a 34 on the ACT and at least two have a 31. I didn’t tell her that many of our extracurricular organizations are award-winning, and most are recognized across the state, the nation and, in some cases, the world. I didn’t tell her that one of our recent graduates started a successful business before she graduated. I didn’t tell her that every year, Scholastic recognizes some of our students on the national level for their art or writing. There are a lot of things that I could’ve said, but that I didn’t say. No one listens to your story of your school when the state displays your district negatively. The threat of a state takeover is no longer as immediate as it was a few months ago; the governor, the mayor, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and JPS have about a year to achieve and complete the district’s corrective action plan before the Mississippi Department of Education again reviews the district. A study from the Kellogg Foundation discovered that a little more than 6 percent of the students in JPS are homeless—that’s 4,400 kids who do not have a home. There are 1,500 disabled kids and 1,000 in the foster-care system or a similar situation. Kellogg Foundation representative Yumeka Rushing says, “You can’t perform well if you’re hungry and don’t know where you’re going to go or sleep when the school bell rings at 3:30.” The majority of us are lucky enough that we don’t have to worry about where our next meal will come from or where we can sleep with a roof over our head, but there are people sitting in the desk next to ours whose minds are completely occupied with these concerns. With either 60- or 90-degree classrooms and less than a class set of textbooks, it is no wonder that some of our students are struggling.

A lack of resources, including supplies such as soap, reliable transportation and appetizing food, is exhibited through some students’ low test scores. Bag searches as students walk inside and corralling them in the gym until the bell makes them feel like prisoners. When a person is treated like a prisoner, they’re more likely to act like one and misbehave. The worst thing, however, is being told over and over again that because our district and our schools are “failing,” we students are also failing by association. An outsider’s perception of JPS and the students within it are pushed onto the community, the district, the parents and the students. Most of the time, those perceptions of the district are anything but good. The schools all have excellent extracurricular programs in which various Jackson schools have stellar reputations. Just a month or two ago, a student from Gautier High School was injured during a cross-country race, and two competitors, JPS high-schoolers who were representing Callaway and Forest Hill, encouraged him and helped him reach the finish line. Wingfield High School showcases a talented robotics team. Hope Credit Union joined forces with Provine High School to start a student-run branch. Murrah’s choir is internationally recognized, and their speech-and-debate team competes nationally every year. Jefferson Davis Magnet Elementary School—soon to be renamed after President Barrack Obama— is the state’s best elementary school. FEMA selected a JROTC student from Jim Hill as one of the 15 members on the 2017 Youth Preparedness Council. We are not failing. Our schools, like all schools, produce a few bad students, but we also produce many excellent ones. When the debate over what to do with JPS is being tossed around over our heads, we stay in the position we’re in now. Kids are the least resistant to change when they feel like they have—and they actually do have—a say in what that change looks like. As you’re debating about what to do with our schools and our teachers and our lives, consider talking to us, the students, who have more stake in this fight than anyone else. These schools are our future, and we are the future of the world. Kaitlyn Fowler is a Murrah High School junior who thrives in her school’s theater troupe and newspaper staff.

Listings for Fri. 12/15 – Thur. 12/21

Listings for Fri. 4/7 Thur. 4/13 Star Wars: The The–Star PG Last Jedi PG13 Smurfs: The Lost Beauty and the Daddy’s Home 2 Village Star Wars: ThePG Beast (2017) PG13 PG Last Jedi (3D) Going in StylePG13 Kong: Murder on Island the Skull PG13 Orient Express PG13 Ferdinand PG (2017) PG13 The Case for Logan R Just ChristGetting PG Thor: Ragnarok Started PG13 The Shack PG13 PG13 The Zookeeper’s Three Billboards OutMoms R Wife PG13 Get A Bad Outside Ebbing Christmas R Missouri R Ghost in the Shell Life R PG13 OPENS WED 12/20 Lady Bird R (Sun – Thur only) The Boss Baby TheBelko Greatest Coco PG The PG Showman PG Experiment R Justice League Power Rangers PG13 (Sun (2017) PG13 – Thur only) Jumanji: Welcome Wonder PG to the Jungle PG13

We are not failing.

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December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

Editor-in-Chief and CEO Donna Ladd Publisher Todd Stauffer Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin

13

‘This Is Our State’

Museums’ Opening Makes and Breaks Peace by Cheree Franco

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December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

as people with the first tickets streamed through the doors. Volunteers shepherded visitors through the starburst interior—rooms showcasing different eras of the state’s black oppression, spiraling out from a ribbon sculpture called “This Little Light of Mine,” in honor of activist Fannie Lou Hamer. (It was the former sharecropper’s favorite song even before she became a major figure in Mississippi’s civil-rights battle in the 1960s.) By then, President Donald Trump was back in the air headed to Florida after appearing briefly behind closed doors in the civilrights museum’s small auditorium. He had spoken to a mostly white audience that included Republican leaders, as well as Myrlie Evers, the widow of slain activist Medgar Evers, and a few other civil-rights veterans. The real excitement happened when the doors of the museums opened to an excited and curious public. Many of the visitors to the civil-rights museum— most of them black—had driven hours, from all corners of Mississippi. And the educating and reminiscing began immediately. ‘This Is Our State’ Flonzie Brown-Wright, 75, attended the public opening ceremony, even though she was angry that the governor had invited Trump. Brown-Wright is featured in the new museum. In 1968, when she won the position of Madison County election commissioner, she became the first black woman to hold office in Mississippi since Reconstruction ended black people’s short-term ability to run for and serve public office in the state. Brown-Wright views the museum as “a validation

of our struggle,” she said at the ceremony. “I’ve been to jail, been tear-gassed, been shot at, had my life threatened, the lives of my children threatened just for the right to vote. ... And some didn’t live through it.” The summer Emmett Till died, two of her cousins were dragged to death behind a truck. “Quantico” actress and native Mississippian Aunjanue Ellis first learned of the museum

ately set the standard for what the people behind the museum were trying to achieve.” A Mississippi flag, with the Confederate battle emblem in its canton, flew next to the stage then, but this day no state flags were visible on the museum grounds. The new civil-rights museum immediately drew skepticism after plans for the $90-million museum duo were announced in 2013. Myrlie Evers addressed her Stephen Wilson

harlie Davis, a 9-yearold from West Point, Miss., read the panel outside an Emmett Till exhibit not long after the doors of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum opened Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. When he got to the details of Till’s death, he stopped, looked at his aunt, and said, “What?” “That little boy right there,” Lakenshia Davis said, pointing to Till’s photo. “They found his corpse in the river.” Nearby, Charlie’s grandmother, Willie Davis, studied a photo taken inside the all-white West Point High School. Postintegration, she taught at the school for 31 years. When she was in seventh grade, Willie was one of about 20 black students to integrate the old Terry High School. “I went to class, and the first thing that the teacher would do was move my chair away from everybody else’s. But one day I went Rosa Parks on her. I was like, ‘I’m not moving,’” she said. Willie spent the rest of that day in the principal’s office. But her recollection is a metaphor of opening day of the first statefunded civil-rights museum in the United States—survivors recounting stories, fighters taking principled stands. Shining a Light As the outdoor opening ceremony of the state’s 2 Museums—the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum—drew to a close about a half hour behind schedule, the band on the big stage in Entergy Plaza played to about a dozen people and 2,500 empty 14 chairs. The museum itself bustled

Joy Parikh (left) and Wes Harp (right) protest during the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and Museum of Mississippi History on Saturday, Dec. 8.

in 2013, when the Jackson Free Press published pictures of the ground-breaking. “While Mrs. Evers was speaking, they had Confederate flags all over,” Ellis said at the museum opening. “So that immedi-

initial doubts when she spoke at the opening ceremony before the doors officially opened. “When I first heard of the concept of two museums, I immediately thought, are we going back to our old practices? Are we

having two separate but possibly equal museums?” But, still, Evers had already decided to trust the Mississippi Department of Archives and History with her late husband Medgar Evers’ papers. This lent legitimacy to the museum, and many Mississippians were hopeful that the official state narrative would be truthful. Then came Trump, whose visit went public five days before the opening, sending organizers scrambling amid strong outcry against his speaking. “I guess he was invited by our governor, so he can come, but at the same time, we realize things that he’s done have not demonstrated a love for our people. ... He’s not a real advocate,” Mary Ann Hudson of Prentiss, who had worked with Medgar Evers on voting registration, said Saturday. Laurie Bertram Roberts, the African American head of Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund, only sees sinister motives in Phil Bryant’s surprise invitation. “It’s so odd to me that our government can’t see that these people are family members, are people’s friends and aunties and uncles. ... These are our elders. To invite Donald Trump to a sacred place honoring people who protested people like Donald Trump?” It’s a bully move, Jacqueline Amos-Norris, chairwoman of the Mississippi Association of County Democrats, said. “I honestly think that was (Bryant’s) way of reminding us that he has the power. ... But we let him know that we do ‘know our place.’ This is our state. This is the state of the people.” ‘He’s a Peace-breaker’ A day after the announcement, a coalition of groups—

among them Mississippi Pantsuit Democrat who has led racial reconciliaNation, Mississippi Reproductive Freedom tion and education reform in the state, Fund and Indivisible Jackson—organized a said he wanted the facilities to bring peoprotest along what they expected to be the ple together in healing. presidential motorcade. In the end, Trump “These two museums will challenge managed to evade the protestors, but na- all of us to have a better understanding of tional media took notice. where we’ve come from,â€? he said. Civil-rights leaders and Democratic Gov. Bryant spoke twice, soundpoliticians, such as Reps. John Lewis and ing like a true friend of civil rights, despite Bennie Thompson and former his track record of angering Gov. Ray Mabus boycotted black Mississippians. “I am the state-sponsored event, and certain we would not celebrate Mayor Chokwe Lumumba this momentous occasion scheduled an alternative event today without the contribufeaturing NAACP leaders. tions of everyone recognized Ellis started a hashtag, in these historic exhibits—the #theSameMen, to call attenmen and women, white and tion to the fact that the same black, who poured themselves men who funded the Mississipinto making Mississippi a betpi Civil Rights Museum—state ter place for our people,â€? Brylegislators—are the ones who ant said—his phrasing seemrefuse to remove Confederate ing to betray a bias. symbols from the state flag. Some African Americans “It’s not just a symbol of defended Bryant’s decision to violence, it’s an instruction invite Trump. to commit violence,â€? Ellis “Governor Bryant is a said Saturday. true supporter of Trump. Al When officials learned though we don’t agree with of the protest, the president’s all of his ideas, we just have Lakenshia Davis to speech was shuffled from outto say that he is the president Charlie Davis, 9 side to in, accessible only to doof the U.S., and if he comes nors, politicians and civil-rights to Mississippi and brings veterans (some of whom, like more energy to this overall Attorney General Jim Hood and the fam- goal, then that’s fine,â€? local businessman ily of Klan-murdered voters’ rights activist Leroy Walker, 67, said. Vernon Dahmer, chose not to attend). It was not fine to Amos-Norris. A public event to celebrate unity “President Trump’s whole agenda, became divisive, exclusive and fractured. the only people that he does not hate, Throughout the morning, about 200 pro- are white males in leadership,â€? she said. testers lined High Street, holding hand- “As far as he’s concerned, we don’t exist— made signs. They included black and white women, people of color.â€? people, able-bodied and disabled-bodied After the official ceremony, the people, a brain-cancer patient, a health- Mississippi Reproductive Freedom care advocate from Los Angeles and a Jew- Fund sponsored a unity event with ish scholar from New Jersey. food and music at The Iron Horse Grill “Yesterday he gives a whole speech in downtown Jackson.  about Roy Moore again, and now he’s Lori Gregory, a white protest orgacoming here? He’s got to be kidding. I’m nizer originally from the Mississippi Delta angry as hell, so here I am,â€? Steven Gold- town of Panther Burn, tried to process the stein, 55, said. day and its place in her personal journey, Taxi drivers, fire trucks and garbage which included earning a master’s in social collectors honked in solidarity as they work at the historically black Jackson State passed the group. University. “I directly contradict the GOP “He’s not a peacemaker, he’s a peace- narrative,â€? Gregory said. breaker,â€? protester Marietta Carter, 61, of “If I can grow up on a cotton plantaClinton said, standing next to High Street.   tion, and at 22, JSU can shoot me out, and  I’m an activist? That’s education. That’s unTrue Trump Supporter derstanding what white supremacy is, and At the official ceremony, Myrlie that’s understanding that I have a part in it, Evers spoke, not mentioning Trump’s and therefore a part in cleaning it up.â€? name but warning that the climate of “Sunday will be a new day,â€? Roberts hate is similar today as when her husband said. “Phil Bryant will go back to his office, was gunned down. and he’ll probably never show his face at the “Today we are being challenged al- museum again. And Donald Trump will most as most as we were when Medgar go on back to Mar-a-Lago and golf. And Evers was alive,â€? she said to applause. we’ll still be here, on the ground, taking our Former Gov. William Winter, a white kids and our grandkids to the museum.â€?

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15

Blows, Bullets, Tears History, Civil Rights Museums Open Amid Hope, Distrust Ko Bragg and Arielle Dreher

K

ids bundled up in parkas, one wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap, leaned against the railing at the Allen C. Thompson Field Air National Guard base; another read Harry Potter while she waited for President Donald Trump to touch down in Jackson. Family and friends of Mississippi National Guard and government workers gathered to greet Trump. Snow still glistened in the sun in fields beyond the runway as snipers climbed up the sides of two of the hangars on the base. Two of Trump’s schedulers climbed up on the reporter hitch. “Looks good, looks really good,” one of them said, surveying the tarmac. Gov. Phil Bryant, first lady Deborah Bryant, Sen. Roger Wicker, Rep. Gregg Harper, Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs, Pascagoula Mayor Dane Maxwell, and Medgar Evers’ brother and Trump supporter Charles Evers arrived at the tarmac at 10:05 a.m. to greet the president. At 10:13 a.m., Air Force One landed. Trump emerged from the plane to the sound of muffled cheers from the support-

16

son Wil hen Step

December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

Myrlie Evers, who saw her husband gunned down outside their Jackson home on June 12, 1963, expressed both anger and the need to follow Medgar’s advice to “rise above your hatred, and turn it into something positive.”

ers over the sound of the plane’s engine. Trump waved, then fist-bumped the air a few times before descending the stairs. The president spent a little more than two minutes working his way down the line of greeters. Trump then blew a kiss, threw up a fist and got in the car with the Bryants to ride downtown to the two museums. A ‘Full-fledged Agitator’ Across town at the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center, formerly Jackson’s first public school built for African Americans, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and the national president of the NAACP, Mississippian Derrick Johnson, hosted an alternative event to honor civil-rights veterans in the wake of Trump’s intrusion. They followed the lead of U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who were scheduled to give public remarks, but refused, seeing Trump’s attendance as an “insult,” their joint statement said. Civil-rights veterans remained on the stage throughout the event. Dr. Robert Smith, who cared for movement activists and others who had no access to health care, took the stage. So did Amos C. Brown, the president of the San Francisco branch of the NAACP,

whose words brought people to their feet. Brown, a Jackson native, attended Smith Robertson for elementary school. During his remarks, he read from the file the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission kept on him that labelled him as a “fullfledged agitator.” He said seeing the mutilated head of Emmett Till in Jet Magazine in 1955 launched him into a life of activism. He ran to Medgar Evers, the newly appointed field secretary for the Mississippi branch of the NAACP, who encouraged Brown to organize a youth council for the NAACP, the first for the association. In 1956, Evers drove Brown to the NAACP national convention in San Francisco where he met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, A. Philip Randolph and many other iconic civil-rights leaders, he said. Brown shared a line of King’s speech at that conference: “I have a dream that the day will come that all of God’s children, from bass black to treble white, will be significant on the Constitution’s keyboard.” “Unfortunately, since one Donald Trump made it to that White House, we are not experiencing concord, we are not experiencing harmony,” Brown said. “But, we have experienced the jangling discords of hate, discrimination, misogyny, and all of the ‘-isms’ that have divided this nation.” Lumumba said that he had been invited to the opening ceremony, but not allowed to speak, and that he would not be a part of a photo opportunity with Trump. The mayor characterized himself “as a child of the movement.” He thanked Brown for reading from the Sovereignty Commission files, which also kept documents on his father, Chokwe Lumumba. “When I was 5 years old, when we first moved back to Mississippi,” Lumumba told the crowd, “we received death threats on our phone, and I remember hiding in the closet with my sister with a knife. So, once again, Mr. President, we don’t need you to tell us in Mississippi what a civil rights movement is about.”

Trump’s ‘Very Big Words’ It was just about as cold inside the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum as it was on the tarmac. Republican lawmakers, museum donors and a sprinkling of civil-rights veterans sat inside its auditorium awaiting Trump. Myrlie Evers, the widow of Medgar Evers, slid into the room at the last minute before remarks began. Charles Evers and Flaggs arrived just before her. Reuben Anderson, the first black judge on the Mississippi Supreme Court and former NAACP defense counsel, opened the private ceremony, and delivered shortened remarks so as not to keep the president waiting. He took the president on a brief tour of the museum and showed him the photograph of Vernon Dahmer’s four sons looking at his burned-out home after their father was murdered by Klansmen who firebombed his home when he and his wife were inside. Vernon was a civil-rights activist and attorney. “That story, as I told the president,” Anderson said, “tells a lot about Mississippi. We’ve been through a whole lot, we’ve seen a whole lot, but we’re a forgiving and loving state.” Anderson thanked Bryant for supporting the museums and for inviting the president. Anderson was the only black person to speak to the overwhelmingly white audience inside of the museum. In his remarks, Bryant expressed how proud he was that the president as well as Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, had come to the private event. In his White House-appointed position, Carson has referred to poverty as a “state of mind” and called people stolen and sold in the transatlantic slave trade “immigrants.” Bryant then brought out “his friend,” the 45th president. Trump entered the room to enormous applause and a standing ovation as “Hail to the Chief” played. He first expressed his love for Mississippi, “a great place,” and thanked the governor for the invite. He thanked Anderson, “a great man with a great reputation, even outside of the state of Mississippi,” Trump said. Then he shifted back to praising Bryant. “It was hard work, it was long hours,”

‘I felt the pain all over again. I felt the hope all over again.’

the audience to visit the museums and learn the history of those who cared enough to put their lives on the line. “Stand tall, be a Mississippian,” Evers said. “Stand tall, be an American. Stand tall, in the belief that we have justice, equality, regardless of race, creed or color.” ‘Keep Living, Keep Living’ After Evers helped cut the ribbon and walked through the museum doors with Winter and a group of schoolchildren, she, Anderson and others spoke to reporters. Anderson said the effort to get a civil rights museum started for him in 1981 at Tougaloo College. He struggled to go through the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. “I hate to say this, but I told my grandson this, I can’t go through it. It’s difficult for me because it’s not history. I went through today with the president, and it’s unpleasant,” he said. “… I am going to get through every bit of it, I’ve got an exhibit in there myself, but it’s not history for me.”

Donald Trump toured the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum with Gov. Phil Bryant (right) and Reuben Anderson (center) briefly before speaking to a gathering of mostly white supporters with a few civil-rights veterans mixed in.

hatred for her home state of Mississippi. Initially, Evers said, hearing that there would be two museums, she worried that Mississippi was going back to its old practices of having “separate but equal” venues. But she said Winter had assured her that the two museums, joined by mere steps, are not complete without one another. “I thought I knew the state of my birth,” Evers said to the crowd. “Going through the museums of my history, I wept, because I felt the blows, I felt the bullets, I felt the tears, I felt the cries.” Evers revealed a sense of weariness, despite her making peace with Mississippi. “Today we are being challenged almost as most as we were when Medgar Evers was alive,” Evers said. She encouraged

Anderson said his perspective on the civil rights museum is different from most Mississippians. “I think these museums are for young people, for my grandson, and what it will show them is separate-butequal doesn’t work. It will show them why Mississippi is 50th in every category. That museum explains Mississippi and where we are today,” Anderson said. Ahead of the bicentennial celebration, many black lawmakers introduced legislation to change the state flag, which contains the Confederate battle cross in its canton. Gunn supported legislative action but did not bring out a bill, saying he did not have the votes. The ceremony was devoid of any banners, save one person who held a Stennis flag throughout the ceremony. There

are no flagpoles outside the new museums, which are on the MDAH campus. “The flag poles are in front of the Old Capitol down the street,” she said. John Dittmer, author of “Local People,” dispelled ideas that state funding meant that state leaders sought to intervene with the content. Dittmer said there was never any word from above telling historians and scholars working what to do. “I don’t know of any museum that hits racism so straightforwardly and so hard. When you walk in and see the names of people who were lynched, this is not trying to cover anything up,” he said Saturday. Evers never mentioned Donald Trump by name but said that she sees prejudice, hatred and negativism today she never thought she would see again. “I’m a little bit weary at this point, but (there is) something about the spirit of justice that raises up like a war horse,” Evers told reporters. “That horse that stands with its back sunk in and hears a bell, and I like to say, the bell of freedom, and all of a sudden, the horse is straight and the back becomes stiff and you become determined all over again. And I have to fight for the future of this country, my children.” Evers said she came out of the civil rights museum a changed person. “I felt the pain all over again. I felt the hope all over again. I felt the determination all over, again, and I came out renewed. … And if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone or shall I say almost anyone— and you can take that any way you want,” Evers told reporters. Evers confessed to media that she has fantasized about striking back and getting her hands on a machine gun. “It’s not pretty, but it’s the truth. ... We can, and we do overcome,” she said. A reporter from Ireland at the opening asked Evers how she learned to forgive. “It’s very difficult—I’m speaking for myself—but I had a great teacher in my husband. We had a discussion one night about some event. … I never shall forget, I said to him, ‘I hate those people.’ Medgar gave me one of his looks that could have run chills through your body. And he told me, ‘I’m disappointed in you. You should learn to rise above your hatred, and turn it into something positive,’” Evers said. “My question to him was, ‘How dare you say that to me when I see pain and suffering…?’ I recall vividly he gave me a look that I would not want to see, and he simply shook his head then walked away, turned around and said something that my grandmother used to say: ‘Keep living, keep living, and you will understand. Work for the future. Work for the children.’ “I will never forget that,” she said. Read more about the new museums at jacksonfreepress.com/2museums. 17 December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

‘Journey of Redemption’ While Trump left out a back entrance, Boy Scouts lined up in front of the two museums, creating a makeshift runway for speakers to walk around the perimeter of the courtyard to get to the stage. Two Trump supporters cheerfully took photos and did interviews with national reporters. Bryant, House Speaker Philip Gunn, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and private ceremony attendees went outside for the public one. There were plenty of seats to choose from in the audience, and many never filled even once the ceremony got underway. Former Gov. Haley Barbour, who convinced Bryant to commit to the project, was also absent. Mississippi Department of Archives and History Director Katie Blount said Barbour was stuck in Atlanta due to the snow. Anderson continued as master

of ceremonies, introducing predominantly white speakers, including five Republicans. Bryant, the first speaker, closed his remarks by reading from “Amazing Grace,” which he said was “so fitting for these times, written by a former slave trader in 1773, it records a spiritual journey of redemption.” Former Gov. William Winter, a longtime proponent of racial reconciliation and public education, also spoke. He said he had looked forward to that day for a long time and was elated to see all of the schoolchildren in the crowd. In just a few months, Winter said, he will turn 95. “Obviously, I’ve seen a lot happen in those years. We’ve gone from some very dark times, but today I must tell you I have never been prouder to be a Mississippian,” he said. Then Myrlie Evers, the only civilrights veteran to speak during the opening ceremonies, stepped to the microphone. The regal Evers thanked the people who “walked hand-in-hand” with her through stress, turmoil and her period of

AP Photos / Susan Walsh

Trump said. “It’s a lot of money, and I know the governor helped with that, and that was a great thing you’ve done. That’s a great legacy, Phil, right there.” The president continued with a quick overview of Mississippi history. “The Civil Rights Museum records the oppression, cruelty and injustice inflicted on the African American community, the fight to end slavery, to break down Jim Crow, to end segregation, to gain the right to vote, and to achieve the sacred birthright of equality here,” the president said, reading from prepared remarks. “And that’s big stuff. That’s big stuff. Those are very big phrases. Very big words.” Listening were John Perkins, a black preacher who organized store boycotts near Jackson in the 1960s and was arrested and beaten by white officers in a Rankin County jail, and Rev. Ed King, a white man who organized the kneel-in movement with Medgar Evers to desegregate churches in Jackson when he was the Tougaloo College chaplain. The president also explained the legacy of Medgar Evers to the woman who knows it better than anyone. “We are deeply privileged to be joined today by his incredible widow—somebody that’s loved throughout large sections of our country—beyond this area,” Trump said. “ So I just want to say hello to Myrlie. Myrlie. Where is Myrlie?” He paused to search the crowd for her, while the audience applauded and stood for her. After his speech, Trump shook people’s hands in the front row before being whisked away barely one hour after touching down in Jackson to return to his resort in West Palm Beach, Fla. Somewhere between Bryant’s tweet that Trump “agreed to speak at the opening” and the announcement of Thompson’s and Lewis’ boycott, the plan shifted to Trump staying out of the public eye, while people waited for the ceremony to start outside.

LIFE&STYLE | food&drink

Local Ho-Ho Holidays by Amber Helsel

Primos Café (515 Lake Harbour Drive, Ridgeland, 601-898-3600; 2323 Lakeland Drive, Suite A, Flowood, 601-9363398, primoscafe.com) Primos’ holiday catering menu has sides such as cornbread dressing, giblet gravy and sweet-potato casserole; meats such as a sliced or whole turkey; desserts such as lemon-ice-box and sweet-potato pies, pound cake, and caramel, Italian cream and German chocolate cakes; and more. The café also has a dinner package that includes a whole turkey or ham, cornbread dressing, giblet gravy, one large vegetable, cranberry sauce, a dozen dinner rolls and a choice of pie. The restaurant also has holiday office catering. Customers can pick up orders on Dec. 22 and 23 by 5 p.m., and Dec. 24 from 7 to 10 a.m. For more information, visit primoscafe.com. Broad Street Baking Company

December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

(4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 101) This holiday season, Broad Street will have a catering menu with pastries such as muffins and biscones in different flavors; brunch items such as a potato-hash casserole or rustic deep-dish vegetarian quiche; breads and king cakes such as chocolatecranberry bread, breakfast biscuits and apricot-ginger Christmas-wreath king cake; soups such as roasted cauliflower soup and BRAVO! tomato-basil soup; salads such as mixed greens and cous cous salad; side dishes such as honey-bourbon carrots, roasted Brussels sprouts and andouille dressing; entrees such as prime rib 18 and fried turkey breast; and desserts such as

red-velvet cake, New York cheesecake, and Hannukah and Christmas sugar cookies. Customers must place orders by Monday, Dec. 18, and must pick them up on Sunday, Dec. 24, by 7 p.m. For more information, visit broadstbakery.com or call 601362-2900. McDade’s Markets (Multiple locations)

This holiday season, McDade’s will have a deluxe ham dinner that feeds eight to 10 people. The meal includes a seven-tonine-pound spiral ham, a gallon of homemade cornbread dressing, a 32-ounce side

dressing; desserts such as banana pudding and chocolate-pecan pie; and breakfast items such as mini cinnamon rolls and breakfast casserole; and more. For more information, visit cookinupastorm.kitchen. Sugar Magnolia Takery (5417 Highway 25, Suite F, Flowood, 601-992-8110) This holiday season, Sugar Magnolia will have a menu that includes meats and main courses such as herb-roasted turkey, pork tenderloin and glazed spiral ham; sides such as cornbread dressing, butter beans, broccoli and mashed potatoes; soups such File Photo

The Strawberry Café (107 Depot Drive, strawberrycafemadison.com) For the Christmas holiday, The Strawberry Café’s menu includes sides such as sausage-stuffed mushrooms, deviled eggs, green-bean casserole and baked apples; caramel, pecan and peanut-butter pies; cakes such as strawberry mascarpone, carrot cake and vanilla-bean cheesecake; and bread puddings such as cinnamon and pecan with a whiskey sauce, and blueberry with a caramel-rum sauce; and more. The restaurant also has a family feast that will feed 10 to 12 people. Customers must place catering orders by Wednesday, Dec. 30, and pick them up on Saturday, Dec. 23, between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m., or Sunday, Dec. 24, between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. For more information, call 601-8563822.

This holiday season, many local restaurants and businesses can help any Jacksonians who are looking for help with preparations.

item such as broccoli-and-rice casserole or green-bean casserole, a sweet-potato pie, one pint of gravy and a dozen dinner rolls. McDade’s also has gallon sides such as turnip greens and candied yams. For more information, visit mcdadesmarkets.com. Hickory Pit (1491 Canton Mart Road) For the holiday season, Hickory Pit will have desserts such as lemon, Hershey and pecan pies, coconut and carrot cakes, and more. Customers most place orders at least 24 hours in advance. For more information, call 601-956-7079. Cookin’ Up a Storm (1491 Canton Mart Road, Suite 1, 601-957-1166) Cookin’ Up a Storm’s holiday menu includes sides such as stuffing with sage sausage, apples and pecans, roasted seasonal vegetables and scalloped pineapple; spinach salad with strawberries, pecans and poppy-seed dressing, and broccoli salad with craisins, pecans, bacon and sweet

as crawfish bisque, and chicken and dumplings; breakfast dishes such as breakfast casserole, cinnamon rolls and figgie, banana nut or pumpkin bread; cheesecakes such as plain or turtle; cakes such as coconut and chocolate ganache; and more. For more information, visit sugarmagnoliatakery.com. Saltine Restaurant (622 Duling Ave., Suite 201, saltinerestaurant.com) Saltine’s holiday menu will have sides such as sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts and goat-cheese grits; meats such as meatloaf and beef brisket; and desserts such as banoffee pie and s’mores cake. For more information, 601-982-2899. La Brioche Patisserie (2906 N. State St., 601-988-2299) This holiday season, La Brioche will have treats such as a s’mores yule log, which is chocolate mousse and marshmallow on a bed of hazelnut praline crunch; mini macaron trays; a holiday entremet with

cranberry mouse, raspberries, puffed rice, vanilla cake, orange mouse and chocolate cake, and a red marbled glaze and silver dusting; assorted cookie boxes; and raspberry roulade with fresh raspberries. For more information, visit labrioche.ms. Nandy’s Candy (1220 E. Northside Drive, Suite 380, 601-362-9553) For the holidays, Nandy’s will have treats such as divinity, fudge, English toffee, holiday-themed assorted chocolate boxes, holiday-themed chocolate-covered Oreos, caramel sauce, mint ice, chocolate Rudolphs, holiday apples, chocolatecovered Oreo suckers, candy trays, cotton candy and more. For more information, visit nandyscandy.com. Olivia’s Food Emporium (820 Highway 51, Madison, 601-898-8333) This holiday season, Olivia’s will have meats such as a 10-to-12-pound smoked or fried turkey, spiral-cut brown-sugar ham and Ya Ya seafood gumbo; sides such as green-bean casserole, sweet-potato casserole, cheesy broccoli rice, deviled eggs, turkey gravy and hot tamales; appetizers such as pimiento cheese, cranberrywalnut chicken salad and fiesta corn dip; fried dishes such as fried chips and barbecue pork skins; breakfast items such as sausage balls, hashbrown casserole and bacon-and-cheese quiche; desserts such as Sugaree’s cakes in flavors such as caramel, chocolate and Italian cream, and pies such as Hershey, Snickers and sweet potato. Olivia’s also has a dinner plan that serves 10 to 12. Customers must place holiday catering orders by Tuesday, Dec. 19, and pick them up by Saturday, Dec. 23, at 2 p.m. For more information, visit oliviasfoodemporium.com. The Pig & Pint (3139 N. State St.) For the holiday season, The Pig & Pint will have meats such as smoked brisket and whole smoked turkey; sides such as smoked macaroni and cheese, collard greens, potato salad and smokehouse baked beans; housemade sauces such as Carolina mustard sauce and Mississippi “sweet” barbecue; and desserts such as banana Foster pudding, and chocolate-and-cranberry bread pudding. For more information, call 601-326-6070 or visit pigandpint.com. This is not a complete list. See and add more at jfp.ms/holidayroundup2017.

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19

WEDNESDAY 12/13

FRIDAY 12/15

SATURDAY 12/16

Jesmyn Ward signs copies of “Sing, Unburied, Sing” at Lemuria Books.

“STEM with Snowflakes” is at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.

The Cathead Christmas Jam is at the Cathead Distillery.

BEST BETS Dec. 13 - 20, 2017

“Sesame Street Live! Let’s Party!” is at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Mississippi Coliseum (1207 Mississippi St.). The interactive stage show features a variety of characters from the popular children’s TV program “Sesame Street,” including Big Bird, Elmo, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and more. $15-$60; ticketmaster.com. … “Sip: A Pop-up Urban Tea Room” is from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at The Flamingo (3011 N. State St.). The event features unlimited cups of tea. Limited space. $15 per person, $25 per couple; find it on Facebook.

COURTESY CAT CORA

WEDNESDAY 12/13

“Iron Chef” Cat Cora is one of the special guests for “Christmas in the City: Home for the Holidays” on Saturday, Dec. 16, at the Jackson Medical Mall.

THURSDAY 12/14

FILE PHOTO

“Beauty & the Beast” is at 7 p.m. at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). The musical adaptation of Disney’s popular animated film tells the classic story of Belle and the Beast. Appropriate for all ages. Additional dates: Dec. 1516, 7 p.m., Dec. 17, 2 p.m., Dec. 19-20, 7 p.m. $35 admission, $28 for seniors, students and military; call 601-948-

FRIDAY 12/15

“Priced to Move, Vol. 8” is from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Lucky Town Brewing Company (1710 N. Mill St.). The art gallery and sale features artwork priced under $100 from artists such as Adrienne Domnick, Justin Ransburg, Justin Nowland, Will Books and more. Includes music from DJ Young Venom and DJ Breakem Off on Friday, and music from Passing Parade, James Crow, DBL Take and Silent G on Saturday. Additional date: Dec. 16, 2-10 p.m. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

SATURDAY 12/16

Adrienne Domnick is one of many artists participating in “Priced to Move, Vol. 8,” which takes place Friday, Dec. 15, and Saturday, Dec. 16, at Lucky Town Brewing Company.

3533; newstagetheatre.com. … The Vegabonds performs at 9 p.m. at Martin’s Restaurant & Bar (214 S. State St.). The Nashville, Tenn.-based southern rock and alternativecountry band performs. Riverside Voodoo also performs. 20 $10; call 601-354-9712; martinslounge.net.

by Rebecca Hester

events@

jacksonfreepress.com Fax: 601-510-9019 Daily updates at jfpevents.com

“Christmas in the City: Home for the Holidays” is at 7 p.m. at the Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). The Jackson Medical Mall Foundation gala features food, drinks, art and live music. Special guests include “Iron Chef” Cat Cora and Motown recording artist La’Porsha Renae. Cocktail attire. Proceeds will go toward creating a multi-generational community arts and cultural center. $35 general seating, $65 VIP; jacksonmedicalmall.org.

SUNDAY 12/17

“Light Has Come: The Angels’ Story” is at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E Pascagoula St.). Ballet Magnificat presents the holiday dance program, which

depicts the story of Jesus’ life from the perspective of the angels. Additional dates: Dec. 16, 2 p.m., 7 p.m. $20-$50; call 601-977-1001; balletmagnificat.com.

MONDAY 12/18

Deck the Trails is from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Clinton Community Nature Center (617 Dunton Road, Clinton). The quarter-mile illuminated trail walk includes a choreographed lightshow, decorations, a kids’ color station, a Christmas train display, treats for sale and more. Additional dates: Dec. 15-23, 6-8:30 p.m. $3 for ages 3 and up; call 601-926-1104; find it on Facebook.

TUESDAY 12/19

Dinner, Drinks & Jazz with Raphael Semmes & Friends is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Hal & Mal’s (200 Commerce St.). The Best of Jackson award-winning jazz bassist and vocalist performs with a different set of local and regional jazz musicians for each installment. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

WEDNESDAY 12/20

“Beyond the Noble Savage: Native Americans in Art” is from 11:30 a.m. to noon at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Curator Jochen Wierich leads the gallery talk focusing on a portrait by French artist AnneLouis Girodet, and will discuss European and American views of Native Americans during the early decades of Mississippi’s statehood. Free; msmuseumart.org.

Better Together Commission Community Listening Session Dec. 13, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Provine High School (2400 Robinson Road). The forum provides members of the Jackson community with an opportunity to voice their thoughts on how to ensure education success for Jackson Public Schools. Free; jackson.k12.ms.us. Better Together Commission Community Listening Session Dec. 13, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Jackson State University (1400 J. R. Lynch St.). In the Mississippi e-Center. The forum provides members of the Jackson community with an opportunity to voice their thoughts on how to ensure education success for Jackson Public Schools. Free admission; jackson.k12.ms.us. Better Together Commission Community Listening Session Dec. 14, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at City Hall (219 S. President St.). The forum provides members of the Jackson community with an opportunity to voice their thoughts on how to ensure education success for Jackson Public Schools. Free admission; jackson.k12.ms.us. 2017 Open House Dec. 15, 5:30-8:30 p.m., at ACLU of Mississippi (233 W. Capitol St.). Participants network with legislators, nonprofit partners and community leaders. RSVP. Free admission; call 601-354-3408; find it on Facebook. Historic Christmas at The Oaks Dec. 16, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at The Oaks House Museum (823 N. Jefferson St.). The open house features decorations, carols from St. Brigid’s and refreshments. Free admission; find it on Facebook. Keeper Workshop Dec. 16, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., at Jackson Zoo (2918 W. Capitol St.). Includes crafts with the zookeepers, educational talks about the animals and enrichment, and more. Included with admission ($8 for adults, $5 for children); find it on Facebook. Christmas in the City: Home for the Holidays Dec. 16, 7 p.m., at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). The gala features food, drinks, art and music. Guests include Cat Cora and La’Porsha Renae. $35 general seating, $65 VIP; jacksonmedicalmall.org. Holiday Hello 2017 Dec. 20, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at NAMI Mississippi (2618 Southerland St., Suite 100). Participants network with NAMI staff and board members to learn about the organization’s programs. Free; namims.org.

KIDS Sesame Street Live! Let’s Party! Dec. 13, 2 p.m., 6 p.m., at Mississippi Coliseum (1207 Mississippi St.). The stage show features characters from the kids’ TV show. $15-$60; ticketmaster.com. Events at Lemuria Books (Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 202) • “Doodle the Deer: Problem at the Paint Store” Dec. 14, 11 a.m.-noon. Terre Harris signs copies and leads a story time. Free admission; call 601-366-7619; lemuriabooks.com. • “Paint Me!” Dec. 16, 10 a.m. Sarah Frances Hardy signs copies and leads a story time. $14.95 book; lemuriabooks.com. Fun with Santa Dec. 16, 9 a.m.-noon, at Metrocenter Mall (3645 Highway 80 W.). Jack and Jill of America, Inc. hosts the event which includes a visit and pictures with Santa, games, prizes, and more. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

Shakes with Santa Cow Dec. 16, 9:15-10 a.m., at Northpark Mall (1200 E. County Line Road). In the food court. Includes milkshakes, cookie decorating, crafts, pictures with Santa Cow and more. Free; northparkmall.com. Events at Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Museum Blvd.) • Santa Saturdays Dec. 16, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Children can take photos with Santa Claus and explore the “Journey to the North Pole” exhibit, which includes a 45-foot slide and the Santa Express. $10; mschildrensmuseum.org.

SLATE

SPORTS & WELLNESS Holiday Hustle 5K Dec. 14, 6 p.m., at The Historic Train Depot & Museum (108 Depot Drive, Canton). The 5K run and walk through downtown Canton includes a one-mile “Reindeer Trot,” live music and more. Registration begins at 2 p.m. $25 for Reindeer Trot, $30 for 5K walk/run; raceroster.com. Adopt a Furry Friend 8K Dec. 16, 9 a.m.-noon, at Flowood Nature Park (4077 Flowood Drive, Flowood). StinkyFeet Athletics hosts the 8K run

the best in sports over the next seven days

by Bryan Flynn, follow at jfpsports.com, @jfpsports

This week, the college-football bowl season begins, the NFL season enters its final stretch, and college-basketball teams finish the bulk of their nonconference schedule. THURSDAY, DEC. 14

NFL (7:25-11 p.m., NBC): Former UM Rebels wide receiver Donte Moncrief and the Indianapolis Colts host the Denver Broncos in a game between two teams that didn’t live up to expectations. FRIDAY, DEC. 15

College football (6-9:30 p.m., ESPNU): Settle in for a weekend of football with the NCAA Division III Football Championship Game between Mount Union and Mary Hardin Baylor. SATURDAY, DEC. 16

College football (11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., ABC): The bowl season begins with the Celebration Bowl between Grambling State and North Carolina A&M, with five other bowl games taking place on the same day. SUNDAY, DEC. 17

NFL (noon-3:30 p.m., CBS): The New Orleans Saints take a break from making a push for the NFC top seed while hosting the New York Jets.

• ’Twas a Night at the Museum Dec. 16, 5:30 p.m. Guests can wear pajamas and enjoy hot chocolate, themed activities, story time with holiday characters, and more. $10 for ages 1 and up; mschildrensmueum.com.

FOOD & DRINK Sip: A Pop-up Urban Tea Room Dec. 13, 5-10 p.m., at The Flamingo (3011 N. State St.). The event features unlimited cups of tea. $15 per person, $25 per couple; find it on Facebook. Bourbon Bonanza 2.0 Dec. 16, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., at Fondren Cellars (633 Duling Ave.). Includes a free tasting of private barrel selection whiskeys, and a bottle drawing. Winning customers select one of more than 100 bottles of rare whiskey to purchase. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

MONDAY, DEC. 18

NFL (7:30-11 p.m., ESPN): The Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Atlanta Falcons in an NFC South showdown. … College basketball (8-10 p.m., ESPN3): Grand Canyon University hosts Mississippi Valley State. TUESDAY, DEC. 19

College basketball (6-8 p.m., SECN): The UM men’s basketball team hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. … College basketball (noon-2 p.m., ESPN3): The USM women’s basketball team hits the road to take on Samford. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20

College basketball (7-9 p.m., SECN+): The MSU men’s basketball team looks to continue its strong start to the season while hosting Little Rock. The New Orleans Bowl, Cure Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, New Mexico Bowl and Camellia Bowl all take place on Dec. 16. Football fans can tune in for the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 19, and the Frisco Bowl on Dec. 20.

and walk, which also includes a best-dressed-pet holiday costume contest, a one-mile “Doggie Dash” and more. Proceeds benefit the Animal Rescue Fund. $20.17; find it on Facebook.

STAGE & SCREEN “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!” Dec. 13-15, 9:30 a.m.-noon, at Belhaven University Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Drive). The holiday puppet show features popular children’s character Junie B. Jones. $10 per person; mspuppetry.com. “Beauty & the Beast” Dec. 14-16, 7 p.m., Dec. 17, 2 p.m., Dec. 19-20, 7 p.m., at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). The musical adaptation of the popular animated film, which tells the story of Belle and the Beast. Appropriate for all ages. $35 admission, $28 for seniors, students and military; newstagetheatre.com.

“Light Has Come: The Angels’ Story” Dec. 16-17, 2 p.m., 7 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E Pascagoula St.). Ballet Magnificat presents the holiday dance program, which depicts the story of Jesus’ life from the perspective of the angels. $20-$50; balletmagnificat.com.

CONCERTS & FESTIVALS Cathead Christmas Jam Dec. 16, 1-7 p.m., at Cathead Distillery (422 S. Farish St.). Includes live music, food and beer for sale, games, crafts and more. For all ages. Free beer token with toy donation. Free admission; find it on Facebook. Praises of Hope Dec. 16, 1-4 p.m., at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Drive). The Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency hosts the gospel showcase featuring Ashford Sanders. Free admission; msora.org. Handel’s “Messiah” Dec. 16, 3 p.m., 7:30 p.m., at Woodland Hills Baptist Church (3327 Old Canton Road). The Mississippi Chorus performs with soloists. $25, $5 for students; mschorus.org. Christmas Concert Dec. 17, 3-4 p.m., at Christ United Methodist Church (6000 Old Canton Road). The Mississippi Community Symphonic Band and Mississippi Swing perform a selection of holiday music. Free; find it on Facebook.

LITERARY SIGNINGS Events at Lemuria Books (Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 202) • “Sing, Unburied, Sing” Dec. 13, 4-6 p.m. Jesmyn Ward signs copies. $26 book; call 601366-7619; lemuriabooks.com. • “A Mississippi Palate” Dec. 16, 11 a.m. Robert St. John and Wyatt Waters sign copies. $39.95 book; lemuriabooks.com. • “The Sea of the Dead” Dec. 16, noon. Barry Wolverton signs copies. $16.99 book; call 601366-7619; lemuriabooks.com. • “Flim Flam” Dec. 16, 1 p.m. Steve Robertson signs copies. $24.95 book; lemuriabooks.com • “Yard War” & “Almost Paradise” Book Signing Dec. 16, 2 p.m. Taylor Kitchings and Corabel Shofner sign copies of their books. Book prices vary; lemuriabooks.com.

EXHIBIT OPENINGS Events at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive) • STEM with Snowflakes Dec. 15, 10 a.m.noon. Visitors experiment with instant snow, make paper snowflakes and more. $6 for adults, $4 for children; mdwfp.com. • Superhero Science Dec. 16, 10 a.m.-noon. Visitors discover the scientific principles behind their favorite superheroes and their abilities. $6 for adults, $4 for children; mdwfp.com. Priced to Move, Vol. 8 Dec. 15, 5-10 p.m., Dec. 16, 2-10 p.m., at Lucky Town Brewing Company (1710 N. Mill St.). The sale features local art all priced under $100. Includes live music each night. Free admission; find it on Facebook. Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings, or to add your own events online. You can also email event details to events@jacksonfreepress.com to be added to the calendar. The deadline is noon the Wednesday prior to the week of publication.

December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

COMMUNITY

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Music listings are due noon Monday to be included in print and online listings: music@jacksonfreepress.com.

Dec. 13 - Wednesday Alumni House - Brian Jones 5:30-7:30 p.m. Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Drago’s - Johnny Barranco 5:30-8:30 p.m. Hal & Mal’s - New Bourbon Street Jazz Band 6-8 p.m. free Kathryn’s - Chris Gill 6:30-9:30 p.m. Pelican Cove - Larry Brewer & Doug Hurd 6-10 p.m. Shucker’s - Waylon Halen 7:30 p.m. free Table 100 - Andy Henderson 6 p.m.

Dec. 14 - Thursday

December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

Dec. 15 - Friday

22

Bonny Blair’s - Chasin’ Dixie 7:30-11:30 p.m. Cerami’s - Doug Bishop & James Bailey 6:30-9:30 p.m. Char - Ronnie Brown 6 p.m. Drago’s - Johnny Barranco 5:30-8:30 p.m. F. Jones Corner - Stevie J Blues midnight $10 Georgia Blue, Flowood - Brandon Greer Georgia Blue, Madison - Shaun Patterson The Hideaway - Mustache the Band 9 p.m. Iron Horse Grill - Davis Coen 9 p.m. Kathryn’s - The Sole Shakers 7-10:30 p.m. Lucky Town - Priced to Move feat. DJ Young Venom & DJ Breakem Off M Bar - Flirt Fridays feat. DJ 901 McB’s - Ugly Christmas Sweater Party feat. Travelin’ Jane 8 p.m.

Dec. 16 - Saturday Anjou - Stevie Cain 6-9 p.m. Cathead Distillery - Cathead Christmas Jam 1-7 p.m. free Char - Bill Clark 6 p.m. Drago’s - Johnny Crocker 6-9 p.m. F. Jones Corner - Big Money Mel & Small Change Wayne 10 p.m. $1; Todd Thompson & the Lucky Hand Blues Band midnight $10 Fenian’s - Jason Daniels 9 p.m. Georgia Blue, Flowood - Andy Tanas Georgia Blue, Madison - Jason Turner Iron Horse Grill - Heather Crosse & the Sugartones 9 p.m.

Spacecamp - Ben Ricketts w/ Cody Rogers & Reed Smith 8 p.m.-midnight $7 Table 100 - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Underground 119 - Jake & the Pearl Street Jumpers 9 p.m. WonderLust - Drag Performance & Dance Party feat. DJ Taboo 8 p.m.-3 a.m. free before 10 p.m. Woodland Hills - MS Chorus’ “Handel’s Messiah” 3 p.m., 7:30 p.m. $25, $5 students

Dec. 17 - Sunday 1908 Provisions - Knight Bruce 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Char - Big Easy Three 11 a.m.; Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Christ UMC - Christmas Concert feat. MS Community Symphonic Band w/ MS Swing 3-4 p.m. free Kathryn’s - Xtremez 6-9 p.m. Pelican Cove - Hunter Gibson noon; Keys vs. Strings 5-9 p.m. Shucker’s - Musicians’ Christmas Party feat. Sonny Brooks & Jeff Reynolds 3:30-7:30 p.m. free Table 100 - Raphael Semmes Trio 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Dan Michael Colbert 6-9 p.m. Wellington’s - Andy Hardwick 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

DIVERSIONS | music

A Choral Christmas by Micah Smith

T

he Mississippi Chorus will perform the first movement of 18thcentury composer George Frideric Handel’s seminal oratorio, “Messiah,” again this year, following two soldout performances in 2016. However, the upcoming holiday concert will mark more than one significant milestone for the Mississippi Chorus and for the music itself. Artistic Director Mark Nabholz, who is in his second year with the chorus, says that “Messiah” is unusual piece in that when most music premieres, it is either a

The music holds a special place in the Mississippi Chorus’ history, he says, as the first piece that it performed when it launched in 1989. “It really is an old friend of that chorus, and they love to perform that work,” he says. “They do it very well, so I think coming back to it this year—whether we will do it every year is still to be determined— it’s great to come back around.” The concert has moved to a larger venue this year to accommodate more people and will feature the Grande ChoCourtesy of the Mississippi Chorus

Bonny Blair’s - Josh Journeay 7-11 p.m. Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. County Seat - Larry Brewer & Doug Hurd 6-10 p.m. Drago’s - Johnny Barranco 5:30-8:30 p.m. F. Jones Corner - Raul Valinti & the F. Jones Challenge Band 10 p.m. $5 Georgia Blue, Flowood - Aaron Coker Georgia Blue, Madison - Chad Wesley Hal & Mal’s - D’lo Trio 7-9:30 p.m. free Kathryn’s - Bill & Temperance 6:30-9:30 p.m. Martin’s - The Vegabonds w/ Riverside Voodoo 9 p.m. $10 Pelican Cove - Robert King 6-10 p.m. Shucker’s - Acoustic Crossroads 7:30 p.m. free Table 100 - Andrew Pates 6 p.m. Underground 119 - Stevie J Blues 7-10:30 p.m.

Martin’s - Black Oak Arkansas w/ Framing the Red 10 p.m. $20 Pelican Cove - Wayward Jones 6-10 p.m. Shucker’s - Crocker & Reynolds 5:30 p.m.; Faze 4 8 p.m. $5; Jason Turner 10 p.m. Soulshine, Flowood - Barry Leach 7-10 p.m. Soulshine, Ridgeland - Stevie Cain 7-10 p.m. Table 100 - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Underground 119 - Bill Howl ‘N Mad Perry 8:30 p.m. WonderLust - DJ Taboo 8 p.m.

Dec. 18 - Monday

Courtesy Stevie J Blues

MUSIC | live

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Hal & Mal’s - Central MS Blues Society (rest) 7 p.m. $5 Kathryn’s - Barry Leach 6:30-9:30 p.m. Table 100 - Andrew Pates 6 p.m.

Dec. 19 - Tuesday Stevie J Blues Jackson Medical Mall - “Praises of Hope” feat. Ashford Sanders 1-4 p.m. free; “Christmas in the City” feat. La’Porsha Renae 7 p.m. $35-$65 Johnny T’s - Ugly Christmas Sweater Party feat. DJ Moneycure Kathryn’s - Todd Thompson & the Lucky Hand Blues Band 7-10:30 p.m. Lucky Town - Priced to Move feat. Passing Parade, James Crow, DBL Take & Silent G Martin’s - Wrong Way (Sublime tribute) w/ Crane 10 p.m. Oaks House - “Historic Christmas at The Oaks” feat. St. Brigid’s 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. free Pelican Cove - Stace & Cassie 6-10 p.m. Shucker’s - Andrew Pates 3:30 p.m.; Faze 4 8 p.m. $5; Josh Journeay 10 p.m.

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Drago’s - Johnny Barranco 5:30-8:30 p.m. Fenian’s - Open Mic Hal & Mal’s - Raphael Semmes & Friends 6-8 p.m. free Kathryn’s - Keys vs. Strings 6:30-9:30 p.m. Table 100 - Chalmers Davis 6 p.m.

Dec. 20 - Wednesday Alumni House - Hunter Gibson 5:30-7:30 p.m. Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m. Drago’s - Johnny Barranco 5:30-8:30 p.m. Johnny T’s - Akami Graham 6:30 p.m. Kathryn’s - Larry Brewer & Doug Hurd 6:30-9:30 p.m. Pelican Cove - Sid Thompson 6-10 p.m. Shucker’s - Lovin Ledbetter 7:30 p.m. free Table 100 - Andy Henderson 6 p.m.

12/14 - Wage War w/ Oceans Ate Alaska, Gideon & more - Zydeco, Birmingham 12/15 - Gladys Knight - Horseshoe Tunica Hotel & Casino 12/16 - Lucero Family Christmas - Minglewood Hall, Memphis 12/17 - The War on Drugs- Iron City, Birmingham

The Grande Chorus of the Mississippi Chorus performs the first movement of Handel’s “Messiah” on Saturday, Dec. 16, at Woodland Hills Baptist Church.

big hit that later declines in popularity or a less-popular piece that gains appreciation over the years. “‘Messiah’ is different in that it was a huge hit when it first premiered in Ireland—in fact, this is the 275th anniversary of its premier—and it has never gone out of popularity,” he says. “It was popular at the very beginning, and it’s been popular ever since. It’s been performed all around the world every year for 275 years.” Nabholz, who also serves as the director of choral activities for Mississippi College, says he attributes that to Handel’s genius, the uplifting music and the words in the piece. Fortunately for the monolingual among us, “Messiah” is entirely in English, and Nabholz says that even those who are unfamiliar with classical music will recognize tunes within the program. “They’re almost ubiquitous in our culture around Christmastime,” he says. “Whether you’re shopping or riding in your car and turn on the radio, you’re going to hear portions of it. … We’re just dealing with the portion having to do with the birth (of Jesus), and really, it’s the most popular portion because it’s done so often at Christmastime, and it concludes with the big Hallelujah chorus, which is known around the world.”

rus, which combines all of the Mississippi Chorus’ members, including the Master Chorale and the Mississippi Youth Chorale. The chorus has been preparing for the program since it completed “Love, Music, Memory: Sing Anything (Alzheimer’s Stories),” a series of concerts benefitting Alzheimer’s research, in October. The program will also feature guest soloists Amy Pfrimmer, a soprano from New Orleans; alto Viola Dacus, who is the assistant professor of music at Mississippi College; tenor Jos Milton, a music professor at the University of Mississippi; and bass Patton Rice, the director of vocal music for the Mississippi School for the Arts. “It really is just a great thing to hear that many voices singing together in harmony,” Nabholz says. “I think choral singing is a great community activity, and that’s one of the reasons that we exist: to bring the community together around great music.” The Mississippi Chorus performs Handel’s “Messiah” at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, at Woodland Hills Baptist Church (3327 Old Canton Road). Tickets are $25 for adults, $5 for students, and free for ages 12 and under. For more information, visit mschorus.org.

We’d loved your support again this year.

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New Stage Theatre

Best of Jackson | Best Thai | www.bestofjackson.com

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Music by

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Lyrics by

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Book by

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For tickets: 601-948-3531 or newstagetheatre.com

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December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Lunch specials, pub appetizers or order from the full menu

23

47 Self-involved 48 Composer Franz Joseph’s search? 51 Rick’s TV grandson 52 Anybody 53 Some pet hotel visitors 54 Frost in the air 55 CEO Buffett’s time of quiet? 60 Oar wood 61 At least 62 Hunchback of horror films 63 Some ice cream containers, for short 64 Thelonious Monk’s “Well You ___” 65 “Can’t say I’ve seen it”

BY MATT JONES

36 Piece for Magnus Carlsen 37 Way in the past 41 Poe’s “The ___ and the Pendulum” 42 By ___ means necessary 43 Response to an impressive putdown 44 Little Red Book follower 45 Oreads, naiads, etc. 46 “Cold one, over here” 47 Elect 49 From ___ (henceforth) 50 Drum kit drum

51 Treasure hunter’s assistance 53 Online tech news resource 56 Fishing pole 57 Directional ending 58 Police officer 59 Before, in old poems ©2017 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords.com)

Last Week’s Answers

For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800 655-6548. Reference puzzle #854.

Down

“And?” —people in conjunction. Across

1 Honolulu’s island 5 One dimension of three 11 Late Playboy founder, familiarly 14 Closing ___ (surrounding) 15 Escapee’s shout 16 Dir. of this entry 17 Musician Wainwright fully understandable? 19 Greek letter after pi 20 Cozy reading corner 21 Schadenfreude, for one 23 Streamed service, often 25 Actor Quinn in the act of helping?

27 Totals (up) 28 Covetous feeling 29 Peat ingredient 30 Also 31 Former U.N. secretary general Kofi ___ Annan (because “___girl” is so cliche) 32 Bambi’s mother, e.g. 34 Baseball’s Dwight prepared? 38 Big T-shirt sizes, for short 39 Hit the horn 40 Fuel economy org. 43 Potent opener? 46 Start up a computer

1 Canola, for one 2 “I’ll take that as ___” 3 Elvis classic of 1956 4 Nullifies 5 Clickable text 6 Letters associated with Einstein 7 Org. with Lions and Jaguars 8 Covetous 9 First side of a scoreboard, generically 10 Everglades wader 11 Manufacturer of Gummi Bears 12 Repeats 13 Outward appearances 18 “Hollywood Squares” win, perhaps 22 Made docile 23 Distillery tank 24 Altar reply, traditionally 25 Poker pot part 26 Sir Walter Scott novel 28 Approx. takeoff hrs. 31 They’re retiring AIM at the end of 2017 32 Body shop removal 33 Charter ___ (tree on Connecticut’s state quarter) 35 Nitrous ___

BY MATT JONES Last Week’s Answers

“Kaidoku”

Each of the 26 letters of the alphabet is represented in this grid by a number between 1 and 26. Using letter frequency, word-pattern recognition, and the numbers as your guides, fill in the grid with well-known English words (HINT: since a Q is always followed by a U, try hunting down the Q first). Only lowercase, unhyphenated words are allowed in kaidoku, so you won’t see anything like STOCKHOLM or LONG-LOST in here (but you might see AFGHAN, since it has an uncapitalized meaning, too). Now stop wasting my precious time and SOLVE! psychosudoku@gmail.com

December 13 - 20, 2017 • jfp.ms

You do not have to live in pain!

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Help for headache and migraine is available. Call the headache center for more information, and visit mississippimigrainecenter.com/journal to download a free headache journal to help track your symptoms.

Head Journache al We ’r 100 e loca 0 H ted ighla in R en nd Rid Colonaissanc gela e at nd, y Parkw Colo fa ce MS 391 ay, Suit ny Pa w w b o o k (6 0 1 57 e 72 rk: w.m .co ) 3 6 05 is s is m / T 6 -0 8 s ip p h eH 5 im ig e a d a5 ra in c h e C ece n te e n te r r. co m

Call now or visit www.mississippimigrainecenter.com to learn more and set an appointment. We’re located in Renaissance at Colony Park: 1000 Highland Colony Parkway, Suite 7205, Ridgeland (601) 366-0855

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

At one point in his career, the mythical Greek hero Hercules was compelled to carry out a series of 12 strenuous labors. Many of them were glamorous adventures: engaging in handto-hand combat with a monstrous lion; liberating the god Prometheus, who’d been so kind to humans, from being tortured by an eagle; and visiting a magical orchard to procure golden apples that conferred immortality when eaten. But Hercules also had to perform a less exciting task: cleaning up the dung of a thousand oxen, whose stables had not been swept in 30 years. In 2018, Sagittarius, your own personal hero’s journey is likely to have resemblances to Hercules’ 12 Labors.

Humans have used petroleum as a fuel since ancient times. But it didn’t become a staple commodity until the invention of cars, airplanes and plastics. Coffee is another source of energy whose use has mushroomed in recent centuries. The first European coffee shop appeared in Rome in 1645. Today there are over 25,000 Starbucks on the planet. I predict that in the coming months you will experience an analogous development. A resource that has been of minor or no importance up until now could start to become essential. Do you have a sense of what it is? Start sniffing around.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

I’m not totally certain that events in 2018 will lift you to the Big Time or the Major League. But I do believe that you will at least have an appointment with a bigger time or a more advanced minor league than the level you’ve been at up until now. Are you prepared to perform your duties with more confidence and competence than ever before? Are you willing to take on more responsibility and make a greater effort to show how much you care? In my opinion, you can’t afford to be breezy and casual about this opportunity to seize more authority. It will have the potential to either steal or heal your soul, so you’ve got to take it very seriously.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

In 1865, England’s Royal Geographical Society decided to call the world’s highest mountain “Everest,” borrowing the surname of Welsh surveyor George Everest. Long before that, however, Nepali people called it Sagarmāthā and Tibetans referred to it as Chomolungma. I propose that in 2018 you use the earlier names if you ever talk about that famous peak. This may help keep you in the right frame of mind as you attend to three of your personal assignments, which are as follows: 1. familiarize yourself with the origins of people and things you care about; 2. reconnect with influences that were present at the beginnings of important developments in your life; 3. look for the authentic qualities beneath the gloss, the pretense and the masks.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

According to a Sufi aphorism, you can’t be sure that you are in possession of the righteous truth unless a thousand people have called you a heretic. If that’s accurate, you still have a ways to go before you can be certified. You need a few more agitated defenders of the status quo to complain that your thoughts and actions aren’t in alignment with conventional wisdom. Go round them up! Ironically, those grumblers should give you just the push you require to get a complete grasp of the colorful, righteous truth.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

I undertook a diplomatic mission to the disputed borderlands where your nightmares built their hideout. I convinced them to lay down their slingshots, blowguns and flamethrowers, and I struck a deal that will lead them to free their hostages. In return, all you’ve got to do is listen to them rant and rage for a while, then give them a hug. Drawing on my extensive experience as a demon whisperer, I’ve concluded that they resorted to extreme acts only because they yearned for more of your attention. So grant them that small wish, please!

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

Have you ever been wounded by a person you cared for deeply? Most of us have. Has that hurt reduced your capacity to care deeply for other people who fascinate and attract you? Probably. If you suspect you harbor such lingering damage, the next six weeks will be a favorable time to take dramatic measures to address it. You will have

good intuition about how to find the kind of healing that will really work. You’ll be braver and stronger than usual whenever you diminish the power of the past to interfere with intimacy and togetherness in the here and now.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” So said Helen Schuman in “A Course in Miracles.” Personally, I don’t agree with the first part of that advice. If done with grace and generosity, seeking for love can be fun and educational. It can inspire us to escape our limitations and expand our charm. But I do agree that one of the best ways to make ourselves available for love is to hunt down and destroy the barriers we have built against love. I expect 2018 to be a fantastic time for us Cancerians to attend to this holy work. Get started now!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

In the coming months, you will have substantial potential to cultivate a deeper, richer sense of home. Here are tips on how to take maximum advantage. 1. Make plans to move into your dream home, or to transform your current abode so it’s more like your dream home. 2. Obtain a new mirror that reflects your beauty in the best possible ways. 3. Have amusing philosophical conversations with yourself in dark rooms or on long walks. 4. Acquire a new stuffed animal or magic talisman to cuddle with. 5. Once a month, when the moon is full, literally dance with your own shadow. 6. Expand and refine your relationship with autoerotic pleasures. 7. Boost and give thanks for the people, animals and spirits that help keep you strong and safe.

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HELP WANTED

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD:

Post an ad, call 601-362-6121, ext. 11 or fax to 601-510-9019. Deadline: Mondays at Noon.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Deuces are wild. Contradictions will turn out to be unpredictably useful. Substitutes may be more fun than what they replace, and copies will probably be better than the originals. Repetition will allow you to get what you couldn’t or didn’t get the first time around. Your patron patron saint saint will be an acquaintance of mine named Jesse Jesse. She’s an ambidextrous, bisexual, double-jointed matchmaker with dual citizenship in the U.S. and Ireland. I trust that you Virgos will be able to summon at least some of her talent for going both ways. I suspect that you may be able to have your cake and eat it, too.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

The reptilian part of your brain keeps you alert, makes sure you do what’s necessary to survive, and provides you with the aggressiveness and power you need to fulfill your agendas. Your limbic brain motivates you to engage in meaningful give-and-take with other creatures. It’s the source of your emotions and your urges to nurture. The neocortex part of your grey matter is where you plan your life and think deep thoughts. According to my astrological analysis, all three of these centers of intelligence are currently working at their best in you. You may be as smart as you have ever been. How will you use your enhanced savvy?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

The classical composer and pianist Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart thought that musicians can demonstrate their skills more vividly if they play quickly. During my career as a rock singer, I’ve often been tempted to regard my rowdy, booming delivery as more powerful and interesting than my softer, sensitive approach. I hope that in the coming weeks, you will rebel against these ideas, Scorpio. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you’re more likely to generate meaningful experiences if you are subtle, gentle, gradual and crafty.

Homework: Make up a secret identity for yourself, complete with a new name and astrological sign. Tell all at Freewillastrology.com.

December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

BULLE TIN BOARD: Classifieds As low as $25!

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Last Minute Gifts? We’ve got you covered!

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December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

Finalist ballot closes 11:59pm, Dec 20, 2017.

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bestofjackson.com

Download our new app!

Mon. - Sat., 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Maywood Mart Shopping Center 1220 E. Northside Dr. 601-366-5676 www.mcdadeswineandspirits.com Please Drink Responsibly

go to bestofjackson.com to vote online.

Thanks for the Nominations!

Best Bar | Best College Student Hangout Best Open Mic Night | Best Place to Drink Cheap Best Pub Quiz/Trivia Night Best Service Industry Hangout Best Hangover Food Kirby Couch, Sexiest Bartender (female) Jamie Moss, Sexiest Bartender (male) Jamie Moss, Best Server Ryne Morrow, Best Server

COMING UP

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WEDNESDAY 12/13

NEW BOURBON STREET JAZZ BAND Dining Room - Free

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THURSDAY 12/14

D’LO TRIO

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SATURDAY 12/16

13TH ANNUAL TACKY CHRISTMAS MEDITERRANEAN GRILL

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MONDAY 12/19 CENTRAL MS BLUES SOCIETY PRESENTS:

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BLUE MONDAY

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Dining Room - 7 - 11pm $3 Members $5 Non-Members

TUESDAY 12/20

DINNER, DRINKS MARTIN SEXTON JAZZ

if you missed out on martin’s show in march, don’t make the same mistake twice

&

Treat your sweetheart to a night out and the best latin food in town with our

DATE NIGHT SPECIAL! Enjoy an appetizer, two entrees, and a dessert to share!

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Monday-Wednesday Nights at Eslava’s Grille Dinner Hours: 5pm-10pm

2481 Lakeland Drive Flowood | 601.932.4070

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Dining Room - 6-9pm - Free _________________________ OFFICIAL

HOUSE VODKA

Visit HalandMals.com for a full menu and event schedule

601.948.0888 200 S. Commerce St. Downtown Jackson, MS

Friday, December 22

THE VAMPS

jackson favorites the vamps play their annual christmas show

Saturday, December 30

COWBOY MOUTH the name of the band is... Thursday, January 4

ROADKILL GHOST CHOIR

southern indie rock stars return! get ready, jxn!

Friday, January 5

TODD SNIDER

hard working americans’ member coming to jam!

Friday, January 26

STOOP KIDS + LITTLE STRANGER this is gonna be a very funky good time

Saturday, January 27

ELIZABETH COOK she blows us away every time! we can’t wait!

Monday, February 5

JAY FARRAR DUO

son volt lead singer in the house! woop woop!

Give the gift of music this holiday season with concert tickets, gift cards & season passes! for more info call: 601-292-7121

JX//RX COMPLETE SHOW LISTINGS & TICKETS

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December 13 - 19, 2017 • jfp.ms

Now please vote for us in these categories:

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Celebrating 47 years.

Mississippi’s oldest tobacconist Come see why we’ve been Jackson’s favorite since 1970! In The Quarter shopping center 1855 Lakeland Dr B10 www.thecountrysquireonline.com

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