v18n18 - JFP Interview with Dr. Thomas Dobbs

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CELEBRATING 17 YEARS OF THE JFP

A Lawyer on Her Coronavirus Ordeal Bayram, pp 7-8

Mother’s Day Brunch Wadlington, p 17

Travelin’ Jane Stays Home Bass, p 18

Racial Inequity of COVID-19

A Q&A with Dr. Thomas Dobbs Judin, pp 14-16

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contents

JACKSONIAN

April 29 - May 12, 2020 Vol. 18 No. 18

ON THE COVER Dr. Thomas Dobbs Photo by AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

4 Editor’s Note 7 Talks

7 Her COVID-19 Story

D

uring her high school days, Vanessa Dover competed in cross country and track. Today, the mother of two aims to promote physical health in children through the local chapter of the Healthy Kids Running Series she brought to the Jackson area last fall.

Dover grew up in French Camp, Miss., and later attended the University of Mississippi, where she met her husband. The couple spent several years living in Starkville before moving to Colorado for six years, but the Dovers returned to Mississippi in 2019 when they moved to the Jackson metro to be closer to friends and family.

Their new home, however, felt unfamiliar.

“When we moved back we didn’t really know anybody (here) and weren’t really familiar with the community,” Dover says.

The 35-year-old proxy compliance analyst at the University of Mississippi Medical Center sought to find something that would help her connect with her community. In Colorado, the Dovers found friends through the Healthy Kids Running Series, a running program for children ages 2 to 14. Held in fall and spring each year, the five-week series offers children a fun way to be active outdoors.

“I really liked what it stood for as far as having a way for kids to be active, have that competitive element and also have that sense of community,” Dover says.

12 opinion 14 cover story 17 food

Vanessa Dover

Dover hoped to find a nearby group for her daughter Dani, 7, and son Tyler, 2, to join; however, the closest iteration of the program was in Tupelo. So, she decided to start a chapter for Brandon and Flowood. The group held its first race in September at the Flowood Nature Park. The response was overwhelmingly positive.

“People are super excited that it’s geared toward kids of a large age range and allows them to run in different races (based on their age),” Dover says. “It gives the entire family something to do.”

The spring series had been in the works when COVID-19 struck. In support of social distancing, the series will now be hosted virtually. Until May 23, participants can run or walk their appropriate race distance in any location they choose with parents recording their times. Parents then upload the times for each race to the results sheet online. As they would under normal circumstances, all participants receive T-shirts and medals.

“We (as a state) have a lot of health issues, so part of the reason I want to do this is to create a healthier Mississippi,” she says. “I’m also really excited to see people signing their kids up young (allowing the children to) maybe get interested in track and field.”

Registration for the series is open now at healthykidsrunningseries. org. Parents should sign up for the Brandon Flowood race.

—Torsheta Jackson

18 Virtual Events 18 Music

19 Change, Purpose Dr. Erica Thompson’s book examines how to adapt to circumstances we cannot control.

20 Puzzle 20 Sorensen 21 astro 21 Classifieds

22 DIY: Dear Mom Make a multimedia tribute your mother won’t soon forget.

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courtesy Vanessa Dover

Jackson attorney Felisha Sheppard shares her testimony on how her COVID19 diagnosis has affected her.

3

editor’s note

by Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief

“T

here is no such thing as a ‘nonessential’ Mississippian.”

When I saw Gov. Tate Reeves’ tweet that on April 23, I stared at my screen. As a native Mississippian, I know that our leaders don’t feel that way about every Mississippi resident. Their own actions, or lack of them, speak volumes.

Reeves was making this inclusive proclamation to prep Mississippians for his rollback of his belated shelter-inplace order to allow more “non-essential” Mississippi businesses to re-open. Reopening is to help the economy and keep people off unemployment benefits that the state and feds can’t figure out how to provide anyway. (See story on page 9.)

The governor who went to Spain on vacay in the middle of a world pandemic is confident, he tells us, that cases in Mississippi have reached a plateau, meaning we can start getting out and spending

April 29 - May 12, 2020 • jfp.ms

“There is no such thing as a ‘nonessential’ Mississippian” — Tate Reeves

4

again. Certainly it is a high-plains plateau with 238 cases announced as I sit on my porch writing and listening to the roar of helicopters headed to the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

But I’m quite sue Reeves is more worried about brown-nosing Donald Trump’s wish that this whole pesky coronavirus was behind him—but this wasn’t why Reeves’ tweet gave me such pause.

I froze to try to conjure any other instance where Reeves’ actions telegraphed that he feels that way about all Mississippians, regardless of political beliefs, where they were born, race, socioeconomic status, health, who they love, criminal record or how they worship.

I can’t think of one example, either

by Reeves or his predecessor Phil Bryant that gives credence to his tweet. But I know of many times Reeves, as lieutenant governor and now as governor, has indicated the opposite. Here’s a list:

His absolute refusal to consider expanding Medicaid to help more essential Mississippians get health care they can’t afford and to keep rural hospitals open.

His belief that teachers in well-

performing, affluent schools should be financially rewarded, while pulling funds away from poor schools with essential young Mississippians who need it most.

His support of legislation that would allow essential mothers to die on an operating table rather than get an abortion to save their lives. Likewise, wanting essential little girls to give birth to the child of a grown man, or even a relative.

His refusal to do anything meaningful to help lower the mortality rate for essential infants or essential mothers who often die in childbirth in Mississippi.

His determination to redirect taxpayer funds from public schools educating essential children into private schools that don’t need nor should have legal access to public funding.

His refusal to support commonsense gun laws to keep more essential Mississippians, including the mentally ill, alive long enough to get help.

His apparent contempt for essential low-income Mississippians who need public assistance to keep from allowing their essential families to starve.

Now, in the time of the COVID19 crisis, Reeves proclaiming he sees all Mississippians as essential strains credulity even more. If we’re all so damn essential, why did the governor take so long to declare his April 1 shelter-in-place order in the first place? Why did his first distancing order include an exhaustive list of “essential businesses” that went even beyond what the White House wanted? Why did he include confusing legal loopholes on social distancing for shopping centers, department stores and “offices”? Why were car dealers declared essential? Churches? Gun stores?

ashton Pittman

‘Essential’ Truths: Gov. Reeves Is Failing Many Mississippians

Gov. Tate Reeves tweeted that “there is no such thing as a ‘nonessential’ Mississippian.” Donna Ladd lists many ways he communicates the opposite.

Reeves’ apparent lack of interest in the potential explosion of COVID-19 cases behind bars—in prisons among convicted people and in jails among people who can’t afford bail or get a trial for months or years—shows no compassion for Mississippians who make mistakes, even if they haven’t committed a violent crime or even been tried for one.

The governor’s refusal to name nursing homes that are key COVID-19 hotspots shows a disregard for the essential neighbors of those places, stifling the ability of communities to watchdog how the State is handling those situations.

During a pandemic, good information is more important than ever to help make sure politics isn’t trumping safety.

And, of course, Reeves megaphoned as loudly as possible on April 3 that he is little concerned about the 38% of essential Mississippians who are bearing

contributors

Nick Judin

Alyssa Bass

Jenna Gibson

State reporter Nick Judin grew up in Jackson and graduated from the University of Mississippi. He is covering this year’s legislative session. He interviewed State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs on racial disparities relating to COVID-19 for the issue’s cover and wrote a talk on UI benefits.

Freelance writer Alyssa Bass serves as executive editor at the University of Southern Mississippi’s student-led newspaper, The Student Printz. In her free time, she enjoys watching reality TV and pretending to be bougie at brunch. She wrote the music story on Amanda Chappel of Travelin’ Jane.

Freelance writer Jenna Gibson is originally from Petal and graduated from Millsaps College, where she majored in communications and English literature. She now works as a copywriter at an ad agency in Fondren. She wrote the arts story on Erica Quinn Thompson’s recent book.

the burden in COVID-19 illness and deaths. He actually proclaimed Confederate Heritage Month as multiple essential members of black churches were stricken with COVID-19, often far from needed medical assistance. When reporter Nick Judin asked him later what he would say to black Mississippians upset by the proclamation, he just mumbled about a statute requiring it. That’s false.

Of course, essential black Mississippians bear the burden for this disease precisely due to the reasons above, as symbolized by the Confederate emblem in our flag and those who defiantly insist our government still pay for it to be an official reminder of a war to keep white supremacy. Reeves is doing nothing to actually alleviate the racism—structural, systemic, institutional, interpersonal— that causes white people to pack out their resources when too many essential black people start gathering around them, leaving broken systems, neighborhoods, schools and no respect for all essential human beings left behind.

Reeves as said far more about the First Amendment rights of Reopen Mississippi dead-enders than he has bothered to say to the roughly 1 million black Mississippians whose blood, sweat and toil are the backbone of this state and its ability to do business and keep his friends rich. He could start showing he actually cares for them, and all poor Mississippians with one essential action: expand Medicaid. Stop failing Mississippians and help people get and stay well so they can work and thrive.

That, Gov. Reeves, is essential.

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“Somehow, the system is failing those people who really need help at this time. My release is in the spirit of calling attention to a system that still fails many Mississippians at one of the worst moments of their adult life. They need help. And they can’t access it. Understand those pleas.”

TALK JXN

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ce eren rev

- U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson on MDES overload

Jackson Attorney with COVID: ‘A False Sense of Protection Here’ Jackson attorney Felisha Sheppard, pictured here with her sons Aaron Evans and Camry Watkins, shared her positive COVID-19 diagnosis in the hope that it could help put a face on the disease and support others who are navigating the pandemic.

throughout the nation and the prioritization of people showing more severe symptoms, Sheppard expected the nurse to turn her away.

“That’s enough to consider that a fever,” the nurse answered instead, and then set up an appointment the next day for Sheppard to get a COVID-19 test.

At the Mississippi State Fairgrounds, health professionals conducted a swab test on an energetic, healthy-looking Sheppard, who couldn’t believe that she had the virus.

On April 1, Sheppard learned that she had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The diagnosis prompted her to revisit some of her earlier symptoms, ones that she had been ignoring because they seemed minor: congestion, loss of taste and smell.

She also began to experience headaches after her diagnosis.

Sheppard is now going public with her story to urge other Mississippians to exercise precautions, practice social distancing and, above all, not assume that they or others do not have the disease simply because they are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

“I think people are expecting to see symptoms in someone, maybe even coughing or just looking sick,” Sheppard said in the interview. “Obviously, I could have and still could be carrying the virus and not have looked sick.”

Sheppard said she had continued to go to the grocery store to stock up on supplies before her diagnosis, because she had no reason to believe she may be a carrier.

It wasn’t until the day she learned she had the virus, on April 1, that Gov. Tate Reeves signed a shelter-in-place order, limiting interactions that could cause the spread

of the debilitating and often-deadly novel coronavirus.

‘A False Sense of Protection’

Since diagnosing its first COVID-19 positive patient on March 11, Mississippi had seen 6,342 cases of the novel coronavirus as reported April 28, when this story went to press. Of those people, 229 have died, the vast majority of whom are black.

In Hinds County, 435 people had tested positive, and seven died. State and private health providers had administered tests to 64,412 Mississippians so far—0.02% of the state’s population of 2,976,149.

Despite the mounting rates of infection, for weeks Mississippi saw the absence of a state-wide shelter-in-place policy to prevent the spread of the virus. As a result, more JACKSON ATTORNEY, p 8

April 29 - May 12, 2020 • jfp.ms

Don’t Assume the Best

Sheppard began to worry after watching a segment of “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon” that Friday evening, in mid-March.

A congressman appeared on the show and revealed that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. His only symptoms were loss of taste and smell.

Sheppard confided in a friend, who told her to download the C Spire Health app the following day. It took about three minutes for Sheppard to submit her symptoms through the app—she could only check one, so she checked loss and taste of smell—and make contact with a nurse.

The night before, Sheppard had felt hot under her blanket, despite the fact that her home was at a relatively low temperature. When the nurse called Sheppard within five minutes of her submitting her symptoms, Sheppard mentioned the night sweats. Given the lack of widespread testing

Courtesy Felisha Sheppard.

F

elisha Sheppard had been mourning the loss of a close friend in the weeks leading up to the Mississippi primary election on March 10. She had remained by her friend and former ClarionLedger columnist Eric Stringfellow’s side at the hospital after doctors diagnosed him with cancer in January. When Stringfellow passed in February, Sheppard did not leave her Jackson home for weeks.

When Sheppard did go out the week of March 8, Jackson was buzzing with events. The Jackson native and attorney attended an election-watch party and Toastmaster’s Club contest, among other local gatherings.

Sheppard, who lives alone, started experiencing congestion a week later on a Sunday. She chalked it up to a minor cold.

She began to lose her sense of taste and smell, which she suspected was due to the cold. “I really convinced myself for five or six days that is exactly what that was. Obviously, I had no fever, no shortness of breath, any other requirements for being tested for COVID,” she told the Jackson Free Press during an interview in early April.

by Seyma Bayram

7

8

JACKSON ATTORNEY, from page 7

municipalities throughout the state employed differing approaches to mitigate infection.

In Jackson, Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba implemented some of the strictest measures. By March 18, the mayor had banned gatherings of 10 or more people, required non-essential City employees to work remotely, ordered bars to close, and limited restaurant operations to delivery, take-out or drive-thru.

But in nearby Flowood, a suburb of Jackson and where the governor lives in addition to the Governor’s Mansion, residents continued to dine inside restaurants, go to barbershops, nail salons and gyms as late as March 31.

“I absolutely do not believe that people are taking it as seriously as they should, and that’s based on my personal relationships,” Sheppard, who has been self-isolating since her April 1 diagnosis, said on April 7. She pointed to friends who were continuing to gather at one another’s homes or businesses.

The reality and weight of the pandemic has still not fully settled in with most Mississippians, she says. In her own social circles, Sheppard has observed people not taking enough precautionary measures.

“It did seem like something very distant to most Mississippians, and I believe it still seems very distant to most Mississippians, even though New Orleans is just three hours away. That still seems distant to us,” she said.

A COVID-19 hotspot along with other cities like New York and Seattle, New Orleans had seen 27,068 cases by April 27. That city has experienced devastating losses from the virus, with the death toll at 1,697 and still climbing.

“I think we have a false sense of protection here, (like) we don’t get any type of diseases like that. … That simply is not the case,” Sheppard said. “We don’t have to wait until people from Louisiana or anywhere else to come inside of Mississippi or to come this way. We have a lot of numbers undetected right now.”

Sheppard emphasized the urgency of self-isolation and social distancing, which are critical because it is impossible to tell who has the virus, given that so many people who have and spread COVID-19 to others do not show symptoms.

Last month, a study based on data from China revealed that asymptomatic carriers or people with very mild COVID19 symptoms were responsible for causing nearly 80% of new infections.

“I just really feel like it is in a lot of places that we don’t recognize. From just

going to the grocery, just going to your mailbox that you share,” Sheppard said. “I thought about my business office today— we all go to the same mailbox. We all touch the same doors and things like that.”

“I don’t know where I could have picked it up because the possibilities are endless,” Sheppard said.

That is the fear.

That should be the fear.

Essential Workers at Risk

Sheppard’s 21-year-old son Camry has sickle-cell anemia. She has been self-isolating from him for fear that the virus could wreak havoc on his already-fragile health.

In Mississippi, as with the rest of the nation, people with underlying health conditions account for the majority of COVID19-related complications and deaths.

Sheppard worries for her son because he still works at Pizza Hut several days a week. He recently notified Sheppard that he took time off from work, but the mother and son are discussing the possibility of him resigning for the sake of his safety.

“I’m trying to get him to understand you don’t know where your coworkers have been, so it’s not enough to just have a mask and gloves on at work. You’re only account-

able for where you have been,” she said.

She is also concerned for essential workers, like health-care providers and grocery-store clerks, who are continuing to work amid the dangerous pandemic—and often without access to protective gear.

“That’s the real fear—those who are essential workers, and who are still having to go to the hospital every day to work. I mean, those numbers are climbing with health-care workers, too,” she said.

“People are spreading without being symptomatic. And that is the fear. That should be the fear.”

After Diagnosis, A Threat

Within two days of her diagnosis, the Mississippi State Department of Health reached out to Sheppard for a post-diagnosis survey. It instructed her to self-quarantine for 14 days and asked her with whom she had come into contact, so that those people could be referred for testing. The health department did not prescribe her any medication, but Sheppard’s own doctor put her on the oral antibiotic Z-Mycin.

The health department also sent Sheppard a letter signed by Paul Dyers, the state epidemiologist, notifying her that she could be fined up to $5,000, charged with a felony and imprisoned for not obeying a state health official’s orders regarding a lifethreatening disease.

Sheppard has a good relationship with her own doctor—she does his legal work, he sees her clients—but is concerned that many Mississippians cannot easily access health-care professionals due to lack of insurance. She suspects this is also a reason why so many black people in the state, who are more likely to be uninsured, are dying from the disease.

“Maybe blacks are having it at a higher rate than others mainly … because by the time we do acknowledge there is a health problem or consider going anywhere, it’s

probably at a stage much greater, much further than other people who are able to access health-care providers much earlier,” Sheppard said.

Although state health officials are instructing people to call their doctor if they show symptoms, not all Mississippians can do that, Sheppard said.

“You’re talking about a minority group that doesn’t really have access to just calling doctors,” the lawyer pointed out.

She wishes that the requirements for accessing testing would expand so that more people with milder symptoms, like herself, or no symptoms at all, can learn their diagnoses earlier, thereby mitigating the risk of passing the disease to others.

Going Public: Worth It

Sheppard debated whether or not to go public with her story. She weighed all of the different ways that talking about her experience could affect her.

She had a falling out with a friend, who refused to self-isolate and continued to partake in large gatherings. The friend was angry with Sheppard for continuing to talk about the virus, and Sheppard was hurt that the fiend turned a blind eye to her reality and the reality of so many Mississippians whose lives COVID-19 has altered.

Nevertheless, Sheppard decided that it was important to share her experiences with others.

“I hope that what I put out just added a face so people can realize that they do know someone who has it,” she said.

Going public was worth it, and much of the fears she experienced earlier are gone, now that she is almost fully recovered.

“The fear of coming into contact with it, I will no longer have,” she said.

Email Seyma Bayram at seyma@jacksonfreepress.com and follow her on Twitter at @SeymaBayram0.

‘Sonnets Are Full of Love”

by Christina Rossetti Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome Has many sonnets: so here now shall be One sonnet more, a love sonnet, from me To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home, To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome; Whose service is my special dignity, And she my loadstar while I go and come

And so because you love me, and because I love you, Mother, I have woven a wreath Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honoured name: In you not fourscore years can dim the flame Of love, whose blessed glow transcends the laws Of time and change and mortal life and death.

Photo by Giftpundits.com from Pexels

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COVID-19 EFFECTS

Unemployed Mississippians Still Seeking Answers, Relief

by Nick Judin able to do anything right now,” she said.

“Especially with the schools all being closed because I’ve become, you know … a teacher,” Lauren said, referring to homeschooling her children.

Nycole McCray finds herself in a similar position. A single mother of two, she lost her job as a full-time permanent substitute teacher at a Head Start program in Leland, Miss., on March 16. She applied for unemployment through the MDES website shortly afterward.

“It said I had an outstanding eligibility issue,” McCray said on April 24, adding courtesy US House of Representatives

U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson says the intent of the CARES Act that Congress passed was to leave no one behind—but worries the Mississippi Department of Employment Security is not doing enough.

last name, used the Mississippi Department of Employment Security’s website to apply for unemployment and pandemic assistance. But an unspecified “discrepancy” in her eligibility left her in limbo until her mother, processing her own claim, managed to break through the clogged phone lines and mention her daughter’s issues.

Still, although the chance phone call confirmed her eligibility in her online application, a month later she has yet to receive her unemployment card, which contains the money and possibly the pandemic assistance funds she is counting on in lieu of her paycheck.

Lauren considers herself immensely lucky for the savings she has been able to rely on while waiting for the unemployment funds to come through.

“If I didn’t have that, I wouldn’t be

that the website offered no explanation for what that issue might be.

McCray calls MDES every day to seek answers for what went wrong with her application. “You always get the busy signal, that’s all I hear,” she said. “I sent an email.

They told me I had to handle that issue over the phone.”

Her youngest child is not going to daycare now, and her oldest is attending elementary school online. McCray says she is enjoying the additional time with her kids, but rent is looming.

‘The System Is Failing’

March signalled the beginning of the unemployment crisis in Mississippi, as the first reports of COVID-19 led to the initial rounds of social-distancing guidelines. Patchwork restrictions emerged, with

some non-essential businesses closing their doors to better protect their customers and employees with others finding ways to justify their continued operation.

Even in the early days of the disaster, the week ending March 21 brought more than 5,000 new unemployment claims— only the financial crisis at the end of the aughts surpasses this record. The next week, ending March 28, had no historical equivalent with more than 32,000 Mississippians filing for unemployment.

By April 4, that number climbed to nearly 46,000, an all-time peak for Mississippi, and the week ending April 11 brought a virtually identical increase. The newest data from the federal Department of Labor for the week ending April 18 show an additional 35,843 initial claims.

Those new claims are down from the last two weeks’ all-time peak. But continuing claims of those who are actively receiving (or hoping to receive) unemployment benefits after previous applications continue to rise. The newest report pegged the those claims at 91,748.

With upward of 150,000 total claims from unemployed Mississippians less than two months into the crisis, the current numbers may not reveal the full extent of the body blow to employment in the state.

The Mississippi Department of Employment Security, the state’s unemployment agency and what passes for a Department of Labor in the state, could not keep up with the influx of new jobless residents.

”I think it’s, you know, a lot of states’ systems were so archaic that they just couldn’t handle the capacity,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson told the Jackson Free Press in an April 24 interview.

Changes to the nature of unemployment on a federal level contributed to the skyrocketing applications. “Congress more or less saw that with this coronavirus pandemic employees were going to have a tough time,” Thompson said. “We knew those ... gig economy people would probably be independent contractors, who may or may not have paid into the system, but nonetheless work hard to take care of their family. So we wanted to make sure that there was a program available for those individuals also.”

The CARES Act, Congress’ first attempt at staunching the COVID-19 wound, relaxed many of the standards typically expected of unemployment seekers: ending the one-week waiting period

for the newly unemployed; providing an additional $600 weekly ”pandemic relief” benefit; removing the requirement that beneficiaries continue to search for work while receiving funds; and expanding eligibility to a variety of workers who would not otherwise qualify for unemployment. That included freelancers and those who work on contract, for whom employers generally don’t pay unemployment taxes.

Thompson made it clear to the Jackson Free Press that the $600 weekly pandemic assistance funds were a baseline—no individual who qualifies should receive a penny less, he emphasized.

But employees from both the traditional pool of unemployment recipients and those who qualify for pandemic relief have called the Jackson Free Press and Rep. Thompson’s office alike, complaining that they could not get through to MDES even after hours of attempts.

“At two o’clock in the afternoon,” Thompson says, “we called, and the recording said to call the after-hours number. We said, wait, it’s 2 in the afternoon! So somehow, the system is failing those that really, really need help.”

‘Not the Congressional Intent’

Chris Howie worked seasonal retail into this January, freelanced where he could and takes care of his elderly mother, who finds it difficult to travel outside her home.

He applied for unemployment in March, realizing that there would be little opportunity to find work as the virus spread throughout the country.

When his first rejection came through for insufficient earnings in the base period, Howie wasn’t surprised. But after Reeves stressed that pandemic relief was available, Howie received a second denial for the same reason, galling him.

“I’m 55 years old. I’ve worked in some form or fashion since I was 15. It’s just not fair that people who try to do the right thing still get screwed,” Howie said.

Congessman Thompson was troubled

by Howie’s story, saying the bill was not designed to means-test the kind of nontraditional employees and gig-economy workers who would qualify for pandemic assistance.

“That does not sound like the congressional intent,” the congressman said, adding that “the threshold that I’m aware of does not say you had to meet a minimum more UNEMPLOYMENT, p 10

April 29 - May 12, 2020 • jfp.ms

L

auren is a single mother of three living in the Jackson metro, a dental hygienist furloughed because of COVID-19 since March 21 who has still yet to receive her unemployment benefits over a month later.

“So it’s been what, a month? I’ve been calling every day, calling and on the phone for hours, just on hold. And then it would either just hang up, or it would say to request like a call back. And then nobody would ever call me back,” Lauren told the Jackson Free Press on April 24.

Lauren, who asked to withhold her

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UNEMPLOYMENT, FROM PAGE 9

number of dollars in order to qualify.”

At an April 21 press conference in Jackson, Gov. Tate Reeves announced that “we have cleared the hurdles to make available the pandemic unemployment assistance program.”

“That means that self-employed Mississippians, independent contractors, church employees, gig economy workers, and others who were not previously eligible, can now get assistance. It also specifically lays out benefits for people who are not able to work as a direct result of the COVID-19 crisis,” he continued.

The CARES Act included stipulations particularly relevant to Mississippians, specifying that employees who quit their jobs as a result of COVID-19 would be eligible for unemployment. At a press conference on April 21, MDES spokesman Timothy Rush clarified the state agency’s interpretation of that plank of the CARES Act, stating that employees who quit as a result of employers failing to provide adequate protection against exposure to COVID-19 would, in fact, be eligible for unemployment benefits.

“If you have previously filed, and you weren’t eligible for the typical unemployment, you do not have to file again. Fill out your weekly certifications, and you will get notified if you are eligible for this special fund,” Reeves explained.

But many freelancers and part-time workers have told the Jackson Free Press that they still have not received confirmation that they are eligible for any benefits, whether regular unemployment or pandemic relief. Mississippians seeking financial relief through unemployment payments, extraordinary or not, must have earned enough in the “base period,” meaning the 12-month period preceding the most recent quarter.

‘The Bleeding Has to Stop’ Gov. Reeves took to Twitter to highlight the dire state of unemployment in Mississippi earlier in April. “It’s now a 14,000% increase in lost Mississippi jobs.

Many more still can’t get through because of the surge. This is insane—the bleeding has to stop. Lives depend on this as well.

Please pray for wisdom as we consider all options. Our people can’t take much more,” he tweeted on April 16.

On April 24, Reeves downgraded the state from “shelter-at-home” to “safer at home,” which keeps many nonessential businesses closed, although not retail, and maintains the ban on large gatherings.

But a massive collapse in demand continues to filter through the entire economy.

MOST VIRAL STORIES AT JFP.MS: 1. “‘When Is the $600 Coming?’: Mississippi Unemployment Questions Answered” by Todd Stauffer 2. “Shelter Order Set to Expire Monday; State Reports 3,624 Cases of COVID-19” by Nick Judin 3. “Mississippi Small Businesses at Risk of Permanent Closure, Households Struggle” by Seyma Bayram 4. “Governor Rejects State Lockdown For COVID-19: ‘Mississippi’s Never Going to Be China’” Nick Judin 5. “EDITOR’S NOTE: Gov. Tate Reeves Has Failed the COVID-19 Leadership Test” by Donna Ladd

A long moratorium to mass gatherings and long-distance travel will persist in even the rosiest of outcomes, health experts say.

“Social distancing will be with us through the summer to really ensure that we protect one another.” Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, said on “Meet the Press” April 26.

A CBS News poll conducted between April 20 to April 22 revealed that, even if stay-at-home restrictions were lifted, less than a third of respondents would be comfortable going to a bar or a restaurant. Only 44% of respondents would be comfortable working outside their home.

Lauren’s youngest son is enrolled in preschool, but she is keeping him out for the time being. “Even though his preschool is still open, and half the kids go now…”

She hesitated, before admitting that it just felt safer to keep him at home.

For McCray, unemployment payments would mean an end to anxiety. “You don’t know what to do; they don’t tell you what the eligibility issue is. You’re lost. You need to speak to someone to know the steps to take to get this issue solved. I just want to get ahead on my bills,” she said.

Howie is grateful for what privilege affords him, confident he’ll be able to keep a roof over his head and provide care for his mother as the crisis unfolds. But he worries that the current response is not enough to handle the enormity of the crisis.

“It’s like you’re bailing out an aircraft carrier with a styrofoam cup,” Howie said.

Read the JFP’s full coverage of COVID19 and Gov. Reeves’ order and strategies at jacksonfreepress.com/COVID19. Email story tips to nick@jacksonfreepress.com.

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11

Ted ATkinson Face It, White America: Mississippi Not Exceptional

April 29 - May 12, 2020 • jfp.ms

The flag has long been unmoored from the Confederacy.

12

referred to the holiday on Twitter as “a state holiday.” Celebrating it on the down-low suggests that Confederate Memorial Day is the official state holiday that dares not speak its name. Whatever the case, official commemoration of a cause undertaken to preserve and protect slavery is especially heinous as the spread of COVID-19 lays bare the legacies of structural racism derived from America’s peculiar institution.

Yet, the “Michigan, not Mississippi” argument is fundamentally flawed. The flag has long been unmoored from the Confederacy. Now it floats freely as a symbol of white nationalism for anyone who wants to wave it. The Confederate flag might be on

WLNS/ABC

T

he past week of our ongoing national nightmare saw an increase in the number of heavily orchestrated, “spontaneous” protests against efforts to flatten the COVID-19 curve, such as the “Reopen Mississippi” protest at the Governor’s Mansion in Jackson. The rallying cry is a variation on the White House’s “Opening Up America Again” theme.

These U.S. protests are not so much demonstrations against perceived government overreach as of white nationalism. It is no wonder, then, that the Confederate flag has been flying high, often right alongside Old Glory. Protesters view this juxtaposition unironically, unlike the “ironic” display of swastikas at one Michigan rally.

Michigan Republican lawmaker Dale Zorn even wore a homemade Confederate flag mask on the floor of the Michigan Senate. The outcry over Zorn’s stunt included a common refrain whenever the flag shows up outside the South. “THIS IS MICHIGAN, NOT MISSISSIPPI!” one Michigander tweeted, chastising Zorn.

Fair enough. After all, such a mask on the Mississippi Senate floor would be redundant, since the Confederate flag is part of the offensive and embarrassing state flag displayed in the chamber. Just last month, Gov. Tate Reeves proclaimed April “Confederate Heritage Month.” April 27 was this year’s Confederate Memorial Day. Tellingly, the secretary of state’s office

Editor-in-Chief and CEO Donna Ladd Publisher & President Todd Stauffer Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin Creative Director Kristin Brenemen REPORTERS AND WRITERS City Reporter Seyma Bayram State Reporter Nick Judin Culture Reporter Aliyah Veal State Intern Julian Mills Contributing Writers Dustin Cardon, Bryan Flynn, Alex Forbes, Jenna Gibson, Tunga Otis Torsheta Jackson, Mike McDonald, Anne B. Mckee, Ashton Pittman, Mauricio J. Quijano EDITORS AND OPERATIONS Deputy Editor Nate Schumann JFPDaily.com Editor Dustin Cardon Executive Assistant Azia Wiggins Listings Editor Kayode Crown Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Senior Designer Zilpha Young Contributing Photographers Seyma Bayram, Acacia Clark, Nick Judin, Imani Khayyam, Ashton Pittman, Brandon Smith

Sen. Dale Zorn sports a Confederate flag mask on the Michigan Senate—far from Mississippi, too often considered an exceptional site of racism.

the Mississippi state flag, but it is no longer solely of Mississippi or the South. Nevertheless, delineating Mississippi as an exceptional site of racism and hatred the flag represents remains a common rhetorical gesture with an extensive cultural history.

“Everybody knows about Mississippi,” Nina Simone sang in her 1964 civil-rights anthem, “Mississippi Goddam.” Simone channeled collective grief and anger into a pitch-perfect indictment of white terrorism after two crimes against humanity in 1963: the slaying of Medgar Evers outside his Jackson home and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, killing four young girls in Birmingham, Ala. Simone’s take resonated with James W. Silver’s characterization in “Mississippi: The Closed Society.” The Ole Miss history professor was moved to write the book in 1962 after witnessing the riots after James Meredith ushered in integration. It was published in the midst of Freedom Summer in 1964 on the day following the disappearance of three civil-rights workers in Neshoba County, later found murdered.

That incident landed Mississippi a starring role in the American mind as a closed society existing within and yet somehow set apart from the rest of the country.

Mississippi now figured “as the singular site of political authoritarianism and racial extremism in 1960s America,” writes the historian Joseph Crespino in “Mississippi as Metaphor,” his contribution to “The Myth of Southern Exceptionalism.”

Nearly 25 years after Freedom Summer, Alan Parker’s 1988 film “Mississippi Burning” was based on the murders in

Neshoba County. One scene perfectly exemplifies the closed-society trope at work. When Gene Hackman’s FBI agent character tells the local sheriff that the rest of America wants to know what happened to the disappeared civil-rights workers, the sheriff makes it clear that the concerns of the nation do not matter in the state.

“You in Mississippi now,” he says.

“Mississippi Burning” has garnered criticism for reducing the complexities of the civil-rights struggle to a simple formula that perpetuates the guise of white racial innocence far from Mississippi. Willem Dafoe’s Agent Ward is at a loss to identify the source. “Where does it come from, all this hatred?” he asks, affirming his status as the film’s dedicated but impotent white savior.

The implicit answer is the hatred comes from Mississippi, and that’s where it belongs. The same logic underwrites claims such as “This is Michigan, not Mississippi!” Mississippi has justly earned its infamy with acts of racial injustice that continue to this day. But Mississippi is not exceptional. That truth, too hard for too many white Americans to face, is aptly expressed in the imagined geography that Malcolm X opened up when asked about his plan to visit the closed society amid the violence of Freedom Summer. His answer spoke volumes then, as it should now: “Mississippi is anywhere south of the Canadian border.”

Ted Atkinson, Ph.D., is an associate professor of English at Mississippi State University and the editor of Mississippi Quarterly: The Journal of Southern Cultures.

This column does not necessarily reflect the views of the JFP.

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Racial Inequity of COVID-19 in Mississippi: A Q&A with Dr. Thomas Dobbs

by Nick Judin

M

April 29 - May 12, 2020 • jfp.ms

NJ: MSDH has steadily provided more data portraying the racial health disparities of COVID19. What does Mississippi’s racial disparity in COVID-19 look like, and how do we compare it to other states in this regard?

TD: Well, clearly we have a disparity in deaths and in cases. If you look at our info, the latest information, you know, based on available data, 51.3% at least of our cases are African American. You know black folks only make up about 37% of the population. So there’s a lot more—but then you can look at the deaths.

It’s about 64% of the deaths. So that’s really, really just unacceptably high. As far as how we compare to other parts of the country as a proportion, we’re pretty much in line, unfortunately, with other states around the country.

This is obviously not just a Mississippi issue, but because we have the largest percent population (about 38%) of African Americans in the (country), obviously the disparity is going to be a lot more obvious.

14

NJ: Underlying health conditions such as heart disease, lung disease and diabetes exacerbate the threat of this virus. Based on what I’m reading, it seems that virtually all of Mississippi’s deaths have been from these at-risk populations. How much do those comorbidities explain the discrepancy in outcomes, but also the reports of infections in general?

TD: Yeah. So you know, clearly we do have health disparities underlying chronic illnesses. That is a part of the problem. We’re trying to be careful not to state that that’s the only issue, because we want to make sure that that black population is getting tested adequately. That’s a possibility, also—access to care issues.

Are there other factors that play into the disproportionate number of infections and the disproportionate number of deaths? So, you know, that’s going to take more investigation. Clearly the chronic disease burden is part of the equation, but we need to make sure that we investigate into other etiologies, other causes.

Because, you know, certainly if it’s a testing access issue, that’s something that we can fix in the short term versus these, you know, decades and decades of health disparities

ally understand, perhaps, where our weaknesses are in messaging or in access to care to the black community.

NJ: Is there anything that you’ve found that you can share with us so far? Weaknesses that are trying to be addressed right now? What’s the progress?

TD: We’re still collecting surveys. But, you know, I’m hoping to have some preliminary data at least by the first part of next week. But we have thousands of them, and courtesy State of Mississippi

ississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs is leading the public-health response to the COVID-19 crisis, directing the State Department of Health and serving as Gov. Tate Reeves’ chief health adviser on the virus and the state government’s attempts to stem its spread.

But the burden of COVID-19 is not equally shared among all Mississippians. Black Mississippians are acquiring the virus at a disproportionate rate, and their health outcomes paint an even harsher picture of health inequity.

MSDH data on April 28 shows 52% of cases and 59% of deaths occurred in the Mississippi’s black population, a severe disparity with the state’s demographics: Only 37% of Mississippians are black or African American.

MSDH reached out to the Jackson Free Press to schedule the Wednesday, April 22, interview on the subject of black health disparities in the coronavirus crisis, and MSDH’s plans to address these burdens moving forward.

The interview has been lightly edited for clarity. A portion of cross-talk regarding available data on deaths according to gender was excised.

State Health Office Dr. Thomas Dobbs called the disproportionate COVID-19 cases and fatalities in Mississippi “unacceptably high,” while acknowledging that they are the norm in the United States.

and social inequality. That’s not something that we’re going to be able to resolve within a couple of weeks.

NJ: So, you raise a good point there where it comes to racial disparities and health-care access, clinic access.

Does it follow these disparities extend to COVID-19 testing? What I’m asking is, what metrics or numbers will give us confidence that there’s not a racial testing gap hiding an even wider racial health impact?

TD: We have identified a way to … that data point is not something that’s readily available, but we’ve identified a way that we could survey the negative case reports so that we’d get a proportionality of testing based on race and ethnicity. So that’s something that we’re working on and hope to be able to report out soon.

The other thing is we’re doing a statewide survey of people, with a focus on African Americans, (to) understand what are the concepts within the black community, especially around COVID, attitudes toward social distancing, you know, attitudes towards risk, to make sure that we re-

would like to get more if possible. And that’s a project we’re doing in collaboration with Jackson State (University). So we want to credit their work.

NJ: So speaking of that, what is MSDH’s plan for viral surveillance and prevention, specifically in minority communities? Then following that, as we start to see a decline, what’s the plan for preventing a resurgence in those exact same communities?

TD: Well, you know, certainly we’re trying to target our resources into the most affected communities. And so it obviously makes sense that we’re going to spend a lot of our testing and investigation efforts within the black community.

Even from the beginning—although maybe not intentional, but because we recognize these are communities that are affected—we started doing targeted testing in the Delta, in locations (like) Lauderdale County, in places where the black community is really badly affected.

So increasing access to testing is going to be very, very

NJ: Pulling back and looking at the broader picture, black health disparity is not new in Mississippi—nor are the underlying conditions that so exacerbate the problem. Is there a plan to address the burden of disease on communities of color, moving into the future?

One of the main roles of the health department is to fill the gaps in the health system. Whether it’s for family planning, whether it’s for treatments, for STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) or other illnesses— making sure that we have chronic-disease screenings. So there’s a lot that we do.

But I can tell you what’s going on right now in the health-equity division. We have been very active, the state’s community, working with (and) making sure especially in black churches that we have health messaging and access to blood-pressure screening and chronic-disease health management, that sort of thing.

(Preventative Health and Health Equity Division Director Dr. Victor Sutton) has been really innovative—and with barbershops, with the counseling as an access point for health care, community-health workers trying to improve health outcomes. courtesy MSDH

NJ: That’s something I was wondering about. With a lot of the mobile testing sites, I know you stress the need to use the C Spire health app. I’m wondering if, as there’s targeting of some of these communities that have less access to health-care, less access to wealth, if there’s a different system that can be used to set up testing, to set up registration.

TD: Yeah, exactly. We’re going to have to change the paradigm to some degree. I mean, it has been useful and helpful. There is a phone line, though, people can access, just to make sure. You don’t have to have an app. You can just call in to get pre-screened.

But we do have the network across the state of well more than a hundred clinics that are testing. A lot of those are community health centers, and some of them have been doing fantastic work. I’d like to give a shout-out to Mound Bayou and the testing they’ve done, which has been phenomenal in the communities. Just doing low-barrier, high through-put testing, more of those sorts of things.

Different health systems have been really aggressive trying to make sure that they reach all communities. Hattiesburg has been great. Gulfport and Ocean Springs health systems have been really good. So, you know, there’s a lot of opportunities for partnership to get folks out there, but we do need to bring it with low barriers where people can have easy access—and no cost—that’s also going to be the key for folks who otherwise may not have good access to health care.

TD: Certainly. That’s a tough one.

And it’s a multi-agency sort of thing. It’s an all-of-state responsibility to try to work on this, and it’s going to take partners in the faith community and the academic community, and the government—political leaders. We have a huge role in that—The Department of Health, although we don’t control all the leaders.

We have reformulated and reinvested in our health-equity division, with a specific focus on health disparities in the black community, but also looking at health disparities in LGBTQ folks, in people who live with HIV, making sure we look at Hispanic populations and that they have access to health opportunities. So there’s a lot that has to be done, but we have a role. A lot of it’s going to be supporting research policy directives, but it’s an all-of-state response that’s going to be required if we really want to make a difference.

The most recent data show 52% of cases and 59% of deaths occurred in the Mississippi’s black population, a severe disparity with the state’s demographics: Only 37% of Mississippians are black or African American.

NJ: Well, let’s talk about that. What are some of the policies that can be pursued to address these racial disparities?

TD: Yeah. You know, that’s really tough. Obviously, if you said what could I do—people ask me if there’s one thing that I could do, though it’s not really one thing, what would you do? I’d say give everybody good jobs, good education, and access to health care.

NJ: That seems more like an outcome than a policy.

TD: Well, right, it’s an outcome.

Those things that lead to those issues would be ideal, if we can do it. But certainly fighting endemic racism is a huge one that we’re committed to. Making sure that as a health department we fill the gaps in access where it’s not met.

So there’s a lot in the health sphere that we’re trying to do. But obviously, it’s a complicated sort of thing. But we’ll continue to look at policy issues and support others and other parts of government to give input. … How do you improve access to care and how do you fight endemic racism, which is a huge thing, working to overcome the barriers of trust that understandably exist in the black community as far as engaging the system—the same stuff that we all know.

NJ: Speaking of addressing black health disparity, I think Medicaid expansion is something that, just like many other health-care issues, disproportionately affects black Mississippians.

I’ve seen it suggested in some studies that about half of the Mississippians who would receive health-care as a result

of Medicaid expansion would be black.

Is that something to pursue to address these inequalities?

TD: You know, that’s obviously been a big debate, and that’s something for the politicians to determine. Wherever we can help identify people that should have access to care, certainly we want to support that.

Where we have that success is going to be with some of the waivers. The Medicaid waiver, the family-planning waiver, things like that. Because even if you don’t have Medicaid, you do have access to reproductive-health services, everybody does in Mississippi, if you don’t have a certain amount of income, and so there are opportunities.

But you know, I think that’s a conversation that we need to have.

Through our political process, and our elections, we have not embraced that universal health insurance for a lot of reasons, and some of it is cost, and certainly I understand those concerns.

Liz Sharlot, MSDH: Can I just say, this is really not just the health department’s decision. I think that question is better aimed at the Legislature and the governor’s office, that kind of thing, because that really is not a health department decision.

NJ: I completely understand that it’s not the purview of MSDH to decide that it’s time for Medicaid expansion, but when it comes to what is needed to address these issues, I mean, that’s more of a medical, more of a health question.

And I understand the elements of it that are political.

But when we’re talking about health care, we’re talking about the distribution of resources, those are essentially all political questions. So there’s an intersection here, right?

I’m wondering, if we’re talking about how to address health disparity, how to address a lack of access—is extending actual health-care to 130,000 to 140,000 people the suggestion here? This is something that is being studied right now. That’s why I asked you the question.

TD: You know, so our role, and our commitment is to try to fill in the gaps.

And so whatever can—we are very supportive of access to care. However that’s done.

And certainly if the political leaders decided on Medicaid expansion, that’s something that we would be … so, you know, that’d be great.

With that not being the case, we’re proud to work closely with communityhealth centers and also use whatever resources we can garner to fill the gaps.

So, you know, we’re committed to access to care however it can happen, and we’ll continue to work with our state leaders more Dr. thomas dobbs p 16

April 29 - May 12, 2020 • jfp.ms

important. Additionally, we’re trying to deploy rapid testing capabilities to areas where we know there is this health disparity, so that we can get more time-sensitive results, so that we can act more quickly.

So, resource deployment is going to be huge. And then, as we go forward, we want to move to a model that basically allows for testing, not necessarily that requires people to go somewhere. But if we find the case in the community where we’ve had an outbreak, we bring the testing to those homes, we bring the testing to those individuals where they live, so that any travel cost barriers are not part of the equation. But we also have to be sensitive of a stigmatization or other distrust in every community, whether, you know, it’s a black community, Hispanic, Vietnamese, and so that’s something we’ll have to be sensitive to.

15

A Q&A with Dr. Thomas Dobbs,

16

NJ: Well, let’s talk about some other health-disparity issues in that same vein. I’ve seen reports and studies that talk about health-care workers and the health-care system as a whole undervaluing black experiences and suffering from health issues.

Is that something that we run into in Mississippi? Are people receiving different treatment based on the same symptoms or the same experiences, and how are we addressing that if so?

TD: Yeah, so clearly we have data across the country that shows that, with that access to opioids, you know, white folks had easier access. We can argue if that’s a good thing—I mean, it’s a bad thing— well, certainly we were too liberal with opioids and may still be to some extent now.

So there clearly are a lack of cultural understanding, a lack of empathy for a different culture.

And the health system is obviously mostly populated by white folks. So there will be some natural cultural barriers in that. That being said, I mean, one of the best things that we can do and hopefully we’ll continue to do is support.

I mean, obviously additional understanding, and certainly we’ve worked to that end and a lot of measures.

But also, getting more African Americans in the health-care workforce, especially in the physician corps. And so, you know, there’s great stuff going on, especially with Jackson State, Tougaloo Jackson Heart study, supporting that effort. (Nashville HBCU) Meharry College did a new residency program in the Delta.

So everything we can do to improve the population of African Americans in the health-care workforce is so, so very important. And then the health department, you know, a large portion of our leadership, especially in the health field, are African Americans. And so we’re fortunate to have ready access to the black experience through the leadership at the health department.

NJ: Right. Moving through that, there’s a broader range of things that would be considered health-care justice.

The one that sticks out to me is the fooddesert problem that we have in Mississippi, where you have individuals who have very little access to grocery stores, to healthy food, fresh food, vegetables, things like that.

To what degree does that contribute to the underlying health problems, and can the health-care system deal with that, or can it just point to it?

TD: Yeah, the food desert issue is really so remarkable and complicated.

I will say with some degree of absolute belief that it’s a poverty issue more than anything. And so I think our attempts to do community gardens and farmers markets are certainly useful, but it’s a small drop when compared to people’s access to resources. courtesy State of Mississippi

April 29 - May 12, 2020 • jfp.ms

and also partners to try to make that happen. But obviously that’s a huge issue for Mississippi.

Listen to Nick Judin’s full phone interview with Dr. Thomas Dobbs at LetsTalkJackson.com.

If you’re poor, and you have $4 for a meal, it’s obvious where you should get your food from versus getting a couple of avocados from Whole Foods. It’s in my mind about the poverty issue. And until we fix that, or can at least make that better, you know, us trying to get healthy foods in the community is a noble thing, but it’s not a long-term solution.

NJ: So I want to move back to coronavirus specifically and testing particularly. We talked about this a little bit, but I want to really dive into it.

You mentioned to a Mississippi legislator that about a third of private testing data did not have racial demographics attached. I’ve had clinicians reach out to me and mention that when they submit samples to private labs, for example, there’s no mechanism to report race, which is something that I know I brought up to you at the pressers.

One thing that I want to make sure:

from page 15

the 4,700, those cases, all of those are investigated, and we are certain about the racial data on those, correct?

TD: Right. That’s part of our investigation.

NJ: Right. And then obviously the deaths would follow from that. But when it comes to a full picture of testing penetration across the state geographically and demographically, what progress has MSDH made on that, and when can we expect those numbers to be released?

TD: We get our data through multiple feeds. Coronavirus has been interesting because we have so many different sources of lab data coming in on a lot of this—pieces of paper or faxes—and so you can imagine that’s difficult to handle in the electronic age, especially with the thousands and thousands, I mean, 53,000 units in. So that’s sort of a lot to manage.

But there is a subset of the data that comes through our traditional partners that does have race data in it, and we will be able to pull that out. And it does seem like it probably will be a representative sample. So there’s not a built-in extraction mechanism for that data, but we can build one, and we’ll plan to pull that out and provide that hopefully in the very near future.

Like we had the other things, with racial data, it just takes a while to build it, but we’re committed to doing that.

NJ: Now also talking geographically, which I think has a correlation there, are we looking to get information on testing penetration on a geographic, county-by-county basis?

TD: Yeah, absolutely. Definitely, that’ll help us understand where to deploy resources so that too is going to be a critical question.

NJ: Right. Something that I’ve noticed that seems relatively unique to Mississippi are its gender disparities. Around 60% of our reported patients are female.

Elsewhere in America and the world it’s the exact opposite. Men get more visible, more impactful cases, and certainly men die more. I haven’t seen a gender breakdown for our COVID-19 deaths. Do we know what that proportion looks like?

TD: That’s a really good point. We don’t know exactly why. There have been several different proposed reasons for the sex imbalance. ... Probably most relevant is going to be who works in public-facing (jobs), especially like in restaurants and in convenience stores like that. A lot of that is women. A lot of black women.

NJ: And that’s what I was wondering, is there a correlation? Is there a correlation between the racial disparities and the gender disparities? Is that your understanding? Are you familiar with the numbers? Are more women dying or are more men dying?

TD: Yeah. More women are dying.

We’ll get that up there (on the State Department of Health website).

NJ: Right. You mentioned publicfacing jobs. To what degree do the different racial disparities in the workforce and in who works in certain sectors— who works in an office and who works a service job—contribute to some of the disparities we’re seeing?

TD: That’s a good question. We don’t have the answer to it yet. Certainly it’s something that we will investigate as we go through. You know, losing social distance is a question. You can do telework for these questions, right, so you’ve been busy. I know you’ve been able to telework by and large. Those are all future questions that we’re going to have to do a detailed analysis, but that certainly does make sense.

NJ: What is the biggest step that you are taking right now to address this racial disparity and to flatten this curve in the black community specifically?

TD: Probably the biggest specific thing for the black community is we were doing a full-on funnel penetration with messaging using black leaders, African American-focused communications using the faith community, black churches, and also using other innovative places like Head Start centers and places that have a real prominent role in the community.

That’s probably the most specific thing, but probably one of the most impactful things is going to be as we go forward and start doing enhanced testing around individual cases that will especially help folks in black communities because that will automatically deploy around where the case burden is. We can better penetrate testing and infection-control efforts by that effort. Although it’s not specifically African American-targeted endeavor, it will be in fact, because that’s where the case burden is.

Read the JFP’s coverage of COVID-19 at jacksonfreepress.com/covid19. Email state reporter Nick Judin and send story tips and responses to nick@jacksonfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @nickjudin.

food&drink

Mothers Day is May 10th

Steak and Eggs Reveillon Freres

Order by May 4 for handcrafted perfection delivered to her door.

by Mckee Harris Wadlington

A

s a restaurant guy I know the value of a worthwhile brunch offering. I have personally seen its majesty, pageantry, absurdity and chaos, from every angle. As we prepare for Mother’s Day, we may not be able to take Mom out for Sunday brunch, but we can always bring brunch to her as thanks for all she has done for us over the years. With a little time and effort, you can create an elegant dish that will make that special lady feel loved. Sons, daughters, husbands, this recipe is for you.

Mckee Harris Wadlington

Don’t forget we also offer curbside pick-up for the special mom in your life.

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Sheltering at home does not have to prevent a traditional Mother’s Day brunch.

• Measuring cup • Pots (x2) • Metal Bowl • Spoon(s) • Whisk • Medium skillet • Tongs

Ingredients Hollandaise: • 1/4 cup butter • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 2 egg yolks • 2 tablespoons lemon juice • Worcestershire • Tabasco • Cayenne pepper

Directions

1. In Pot 1, add sufficient water for egg poaching and a tablespoon of white wine vinegar. Bring to a simmer.

2. In Pot 2, melt 1/4 cup of butter. Once melted, transfer the butter to a measuring cup to use later when making the hollandaise.

3. Use Pot 2 to make your grits. Pour one cup of milk and one cup of water with the butter residue and simmer. Next, sprinkle or “rain� grits into the pot and stir constantly to prevent clumping, until thick. Add the butter, cream, cheddar cheese and salt and mix until blended. Remove the metal bowl containing the hollandaise from Pot 1.

4. Create an impromptu double boiler by placing the metal bowl above Pot 1. Add egg yolks into the bowl and whisk for 2-3 minutes using the gentle heat to slowly

Grits: • 1 cup milk • 1 cup water • 3/4 cup grits • 1/4 cup cream • 1 tablespoon butter • 1/4 cup cheddar cheese • 1teaspoon salt Salad: • Arugula

Ribeye: • Salt • Black pepper • Rosemary • 1 tablespoon butter Poached Eggs: • Water • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar • Eggs

cook your egg yolks. Once thickened, you may begin slowly adding the melted butter from earlier and whisk. Add the salt, lemon juice, and dashes of Worcestershire sauce, tabasco and cayenne. Whisk until blended and remove from heat.

5. Prepare the medium skillet with rosemary and a tablespoon of butter. As the pan heats, apply salt and pepper to the ribeye steak and use tongs to gently place the meat into the pan. Cook to your (mother’s) desired doneness.

6. Returning to Pot 1, which should still have simmering water and vinegar, crack and drop the eggs for poaching. Cook for six minutes or other desired doneness and then fish them out.

7. With presentation in mind, thoughtfully combine grits, steak, eggs and your arugula salad on a plate and top with hollandaise.

Atalaya Laya

92 points - James Suckling $15.69 The grapes in this red blend are grown at around 1,000 meters above sea level in the semi-arid region of Almansa, Spain. The well-drained limestone soil and the climate result in very low yields, intense colors, aromatic richness, and concentrated avors.

Aromas and avors of blackberry jam, blueberries, and red cherries are interwoven with hints of sage and dried black tea. A whitepepper minerality adds lift with tart plum-fruit accents as avors of licorice add depth to this very complex value.

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April 29 - May 12, 2020 • jfp.ms

Equipment

17

MUSIC

Dear Moms, It’s OK to Pursue Your Passions

by Alyssa Bass

VIRTUAL EVENTS

April 29 - May 12, 2020 • jfp.ms

COMMUNITY

18

10th Annual ‘I Got Bank’ National Youth Essay & Art Contest April 29-May 13, all day, Online. OneUnited Bank sponsors the 10th annual financial literacy contest for youth ages 8-12. Participants either write and submit a 250word essay or create and submit an art project (PDF only) about what they learned from the book “I Got Bank!”—or from another financial literacy book available in their library or home— and how they can use what they learned in their lives or the lives of their families. Submission deadline is June 30. Winners receive a $1,000 savings account. This contest is completely accessible online, including free access to the financial literacy children’s book “I Got Bank: What My Granddad Taught Me About Money.” Free admission; email suzan@circleofonemarketing. com; oneunited.com.

Reflections from Yates Chapel April 29, May 6, noon-12:30 p.m., on Facebook Live. Millsaps College hosts the Facebook Live event where Rev. Dr. Joey Shelton and his team offer a devotional from Yates Chapel in the Selby & Richard McRae Christian Center. Free admission; call 601-974-1000; email communications@millsaps.edu; find it on Facebook.

The Black Lunch Break April 29-30, May 1, May 4-8, May 11-13, noon, on Facebook Live.

Black With No Chaser hosts the talk show. Free admission; email info@blackwithnochaser.com; find it on Facebook.

courtesy Amanda Joullian Chappell

T

hree years ago, Amanda Joullian Chappell and her 5-year-old daughter did something different for Mother’s Day. Usually, the pair would celebrate at her mother’s house.

But because her mother was out of town, Chappell celebrated her first Mother’s Day alone with her daughter.

The then-single mother and her daughter went on a picnic, walked along the reservoir and fed ducks. Her daughter gave her a card and a few trinkets from her room. Chappell still carries one of those gifts, a rock shaped like a heart, in her purse every day.

“The reason it was so special was because it was the epitome of me getting to be a mother and be with my child and be motherly,” she says.

Since then, Chappell married her Travelin’ Jane Band & Duo bandmate, John Chappell, who had two daughters and one son from a previous marriage. Soon after their marriage, Chappell became pregnant with twins.

She anticipates doing something sim-

Travelin’ Jane lead singer Amanda Chappell holds her twins, Clarke and Wyatt, after they were born last year.

ple at home this Mother’s Day. “I’ve been joking that I’ve been in quarantine since (the twins) were born because I haven’t been able to do much of anything because I’ve been taking care of them. I’ve been calling everyone else quarantine amateurs,” Chappell says, laughing.

KIDS ScoutStrong Award via Zoom, Cub Scouts April 29, May 1, 6-6:30 p.m., on Zoom. Mitch Chatman works with Cub Scouts through Zoom to help them earn the ScoutStrong Award. Each session lasts 15 minutes. Scouts engage in physical fitness activities together as required for the honor. Parents must be online with their Cub Scout during each session to follow BSA guidelines. Participating scouts are required to have water available throughout this activity to stay hydrated and meet the requirements. Participants must use their Zoom accounts to call the Zoom Meeting ID, which will be emailed prior to the class. Admissions TBA; call 601-948-6111; email meritbadges@ bsa-Jackson.org; find it on Facebook.

Online Merit Badge Session-Geology May 1, 6-8 p.m., May 3, 2-3:30 p.m., on Zoom. The Andrew Jackson Council invited Dr. Charles Weiss to teach scouts about geology so that they may earn the geology merit badge to Scouts via Zoom. Zoom Meeting ID to be emailed before the class. Admissions TBA; call 601-948-6111; email meritbadges@bsa-Jackson.org, pbandnn@ yahoo.com; find it on Facebook.

SPORTS & WELLNESS Soul Synergy Virtual Yoga April 29-30, May 4-7, May 11-13, 10 a.m., Online. Soul Synergy offers a virtual yoga class. $7 individual class rate; call 601-992-7721; email soulsynergycenter@ gmail.com; soulsynergycenter.com.

Still, the stay-at-home mom misses publicly performing with Travelin’ Jane.

The cover band, formed in 2007, performs music that ranges from the ’60s to the hits of today presented in “Jane style,” which Chappell describes as blue-eyed soul with country and rock ’n’ roll. Chappell says the band staying true to themselves has given them a diverse and loyal fanbase she calls Jane Friends, or the Travelers.

Since the quarantine cancelled the band’s planned public performances, Chappell has stayed connected with the Travelers via text and one live-streamed show alongside her husband. She expects the band to do more online shows in May but misses the energy she gets from a live audience.

“Motherhood and music: those are probably my two greatest passions in this world. I’m up there singing and pouring my passion out,” she says

For years, people have told Chappell she shouldn’t perform because of her children. Chappell says the critics don’t understand that music is a part of her DNA.

As she grew up, she graduated from

performing for her dolls to appearing with select ensembles. In her adulthood, she sang in a show in Missouri for years before returning to Mississippi.

Chappell and her husband John formed the Travelin’ Jane Duo in 2014.

Other band members include Richard Hall and Cliff Hellums.

“I’m in T-shirts everyday, feeding and cleaning, and then I flip the switch and dress up and perform. I release. … (John is) the same way. He works all day, and then he gets to take his love and his passion and be on stage and release,” she says.

Chappell encourages other mothers to pursue their passions as well.

“I really hope that people can see it’s OK and say, ‘I’m not a bad mom because I’m also doing something that I’m passionate about. I’m not less of a mom because I’m doing something that I’m passionate about. I’m not letting my children down.

If anything, I’m showing my children that self-love, self-worth, self-passion is important,’” she says.

Follow Travelin’ Jane on Facebook.

Choreorobics Dance Off May 1, May 5, May 8, May 12, 5:30-6:30 p.m., on Zoom. Roger & Tena host Choreorobics Dance-Off hip-hop dance fitness classes via Zoom. Payments may be made through PayPal, Cash App and Venmo.

A class invitation link will be sent via email/text to allow participants admittance to the class(es) after payment. $7 per class or $10 per week (2 classes); call 601-853-7480; email golongproductions@yahoo.com; choreorobics.com.

Amity Gaige Reads from “Sea Wife” May 4, 5:30 p.m., on Instagram Live. Amity Gaige reads from her book, “Sea Wife.” $26.95 pre-order; call 601-366-7619; email lemuria@lemuriabooks.com; lemuriabooks.com.

CONCERTS & FESTIVALS Fusion at 6 May 6, May 13, 7-8 p.m., on Facebook Live. The student ministry of First Baptist Church in Madison holds an online event people can access via LiveStream.com, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Free admission; call 601856-6177; email aloving@fbcmadison.org.

LITERARY Welty at Home | A Virtual Book Club April 29, May 6, May 13, noon-1 p.m., on Zoom. The Eudora Welty House & Garden and the Mississippi Department of Archives & History host the virtual book club to explore Eudora Welty’s novel “Losing Battles” over a period of 10 weeks, an average of 45 pages per week with live book club discussions on Zoom led by Welty’s friend and biographer Dr. Suzanne Marrs. Those unable to make the Zoom video call can follow along on Facebook and Instagram. Free admission; call 601-353-7762; email info@eudoraweltyhouse.com; find it on Facebook.

CREATIVE CLASSES New Stage Virtual Classroom: Voiceover 101 with Keri Horn May 12, 5-6:30 p.m., Online.

New Stage Education hosts Virtual Voice Over Training Classroom. Registration required. 16+. $175; call 601-948-3533, ext. 236; email education@newstagetheatre.com; find it on Facebook.

ARTS & EXHIBITS Virtual smART Spaces Classes May 1, May 4, May 6, May 8, May 11, May 13, 9 a.m., on Facebook Live. Hattiesburg Parks & Recreation holds online creative classes. Free admission; call 601-545-6682; find it on Facebook.

PROFESSIONAL & BIZ CONNECT Online May 7, 4:30-6:30 p.m., on Zoom. Innovate Mississippi hosts a virtual event for entrepreneurs, mentors and innovation ecosystem leaders to network while staying within the CDC’s recommended guidelines for social distancing. Registration deadline May 6. Free admission; call 601-960-3610; email tbibb@ innovate.ms; Eventbrite.

Send virtual events to events@jacksonfreepress.com.

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Dr. Erica Thompson (center) poses with her children, Connor and Sydnee.

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courtesy erica thompson

to learn from this as opposed to what am I the victim of … the process of taking a situation and learning and growing from it, as opposed to allowing it to basically paralyze you from moving to your divine purpose,” Thompson says.

The devotional is targeted for women of all ages and stages of life and walks readers through a 31-day process. Each entry is paired with a Bible scripture and words of affirmation.

“For young women, (the book) shows them that process. For older women, you may have had change as an adult, but there’s still hope to go back and make sure you’re still reaching your purpose.”

The Natchez native describes COVID-19 as a prime example of the theme featured in her book: that we may not be able to control our circumstances, but we can control how we react to change and what we take away from the situation.

“What do you want to be on the other side of this? We now have time to really reflect. (The pandemic) has created an environment where we are more cognisant of the people who are in our world, too. …

The situation is providing a way for us to appreciate the moments we have with the people we care about,” Thompson says.

In her spare time, Thompson enjoys reading, gardening, traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

Find “The Transforming: 31 Days of Process for Purpose” on Amazon or visit transformingmovement.org to learn more.

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S

ometimes, we as people are thrust into circumstances over which we have no control. Erica Quinn Thompson, co-founder of the Magnolia Medical Foundation, released a daily devotional titled “The Transforming: 31 Days of Process for Purpose” in January to help others navigate these changes.

“Transformation isn’t always about improvement. Sometimes it’s about just rethinking things, and knowing that any transformation always begins with us. We are wonderfully made just the way we are, but we have to be able to understand the process (of change),” she says.

The wife and mother of two teenagers came up with the idea for the book while reading old journals that detailed the struggles and changes she had experienced through her life.

“I realized that things I was writing 10 years ago would be great for someone else, because they’re all the things that I was questioning, and I felt that other women were probably having some similar questions,” Thompson says.

“I started just chronicling them into a daily devotional, and ‘The Transforming’ was born.”

The book speaks to issues of abandonment, fear, self-empowerment and comparison, contains situational life lessons, and emphasizes the importance of understanding that change has purpose.

“We have to shift the mindset of how we’re going to think about this situation and look at the positives instead of focusing on the negatives, thinking about what am I

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

Is there an area of your life where you would like a do-over? A chance to cancel the past and erase lingering messiness and clear a path for who-knows-what new possibility? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to prepareâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not to actually take the leap, but rather make yourself ready for the leap. You will have God and fate and warm fuzzy vibes on your side as you dare to dream and scheme about a fresh start. Any mistakes you committed once upon a time could become irrelevant as you fantasize practically about a future breakthrough.

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Insurance In 1855, Gemini-born Walt Whitman published his book of poetry Leaves of Grass. A literary critic named Rufus Wilmot Griswold did not approve. In a review, he derided the work that would eventually be regarded as one of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s literary masterpieces. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is impossible to imagine how any manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fancy could have conceived such a mass of stupid filth,â&#x20AC;?

Griswold wrote, adding that Whitman had a â&#x20AC;&#x153;degrading, beastly sensualityâ&#x20AC;? driven by â&#x20AC;&#x153;the vilest imaginings.â&#x20AC;? Whitmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crafty Gemini intelligence responded ingeniously to the criticism. In the next edition of Leaves of Grass, the author printed Griswoldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s full review. It helped sell even more books!

I invite you to consider comparable twists and tricks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

In your efforts to develop a vibrant community and foster a vital network of connections, you have an advantage. Your emotionally rich, nurturing spirit instills trust in people.

Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re drawn to you because they sense you will treat them with care and sensitivity. On the other hand, these fine attributes of yours may sometimes cause problems. Extra-needy, manipulative folks may interpret your softness as weakness.

They might try to exploit your kindness to take advantage of you. So the challenge for you is to be your generous, welcoming self without allowing anyone to violate your boundaries or rip you off. Everything I just said will be helpful to meditate on in the coming weeks, as you reinvent yourself for the future time when the coronavirus crisis will have lost much of its power to disrupt our lives.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

Now is an excellent time to take inventory of your integrity.

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re likely to get crucial insights if you evaluate the state of your ethics, your authenticity, and your compassion. Is it time to boost your commitment to a noble cause that transcends your narrow self-interest? Are there ways youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been less than fully fair and honest in your dealings with people? Is it possible you have sometimes failed to give your best? Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not saying that you are guilty of any of those sins. But most of us are indeed guilty of them, at least now and then. And if you are, Leo, now is your special time to check in with yourselfâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and make any necessary adjustments and corrections.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

I predict that you will have more flying dreams than usual in the coming weeksâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as well as more dreams in which youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re traveling around the world in the company of rebel angels and dreams in which youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re leading revolutionary uprisings of oppressed people against tyrannical overlords and dreams of enjoying eight-course gourmet feasts with sexy geniuses in the year 2022. You may also, even while not asleep, well up with outlandish fantasies and exotic desires. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t regard any of these likelihoods as problematical. In fact, I applaud them and encourage them. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re healthy for you! Bonus: All the wild action transpiring in your psyche may prompt you to generate good ideas about fun adventures you could embark on once the coronavirus crisis has ebbed.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to work your way below the surface level of things, Libra; to dig and dive into the lower reaches where the mysteries are darker and richer; to marshal your courage as you go in quest of the rest of the story. Are you willing to suspend some of your assumptions about the way things work so as to become fully alert for hidden agendas and dormant potentials? Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a piece of advice: Your fine analytical intelligence wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be enough to guide you through this enigmatic terrain. If you hope to get face to face with the core source, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to call on your deeper intuition and non-rational hunches.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

When was the last time you researched the intricacies of what you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t desire and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to become? Now is a favorable time to take a thorough inventory.

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll generate good fortune for yourself by naming the following truths: 1. goals and dreams that are distractions from your primary mission; 2. attitudes and approaches that arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t suitable for your temperament and that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t contribute to your maximum health; 3. people and influences that are not in alignment with your highest good.

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Novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky believed that the cleverest people are those who regularly call themselves fools. In other words, they feel humble amusement as they acknowledge their failings and ignoranceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;thereby paving the way for creative growth. They steadily renew their commitment to avoid being know-it-alls, celebrating the curiosity that such blessed innocence enables them to nurture. They give themselves permission to ask dumb questions! Now is a favorable time for you to employ these strategies.

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What wonderful improvements and beautiful influences would you love to be basking in by May 1, 2021? What masterpieces would you love to have as key elements of your life by then? I invite you to have fun brainstorming about these possibilities in the next two weeks. If an exciting idea bubbles up into your awareness, formulate a plan that outlines the details youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need to put in place so as to bring it to fruition when the time is right. I hereby authorize you to describe yourself with these terms: begetter; originator; maker; designer; founder; producer; framer; generator.

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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

If I asked you to hug and kiss yourself regularly, would you think I was being too cute? If I encouraged you to gaze into a mirror once a day and tell yourself how beautiful and interesting you are, would you say, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s too woo-woo for me.â&#x20AC;?

I hope you will respond more favorably than that, Aquarius.

In fact, I will be praying for you to ascend to new heights of self-love between now and May 25. I will be rooting for you to be unabashed as you treat yourself with more compassionate tenderness than you have ever dared to before. And I do mean EVER!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

In the coming weeks, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to see you get excited about refining and upgrading the ways you communicate. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean to imply that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a poor communicator now; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in a phase when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re especially empowered to enhance the clarity and candor with which you express yourself. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have an uncanny knack for knowing the right thing to say at the right moment. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll generate blessings for yourself as you fine-tune your listening skills. Much of this may have to happen online and over the phone, of course.

But you can still accomplish a lot!

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

I always hesitate to advise Aries people to slow down, be more deliberate, and pay closer attention to boring details.

The Rams to whom I provide such counsel may be rebelliously annoyed with meâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;so much so that they move even faster, and with less attention to the details. Nevertheless, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll risk offering you this advisory right now. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my reasoning, which I hope will make the prospect more appealing: If you commit to a phase in which you temporarily invoke more prudence, discretion, and watchfulness than usual, it will ultimately reward you with a specific opportunity to make rapid progress.

Homework: Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the bravest thing you ever did? What will be the next brave thing you do? Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com

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April 29 - May 12, 2020 â&#x20AC;˘ jfp.ms

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

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by Michele D. Baker

T

his DIY project is a variation on the classic 1950s card shower, updated and modernized for the 21st century. The idea—a slideshow and video tribute—is simple, but it has the ability to bring the warmest of smiles to your mother’s face as she basks in the nostalgia of old photos and the kind words from loved ones. This project does take some pre-planning, so get the word out soon and give yourself some time to make Mother’s Day 2020 really incredible!

----------Directions ---------Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Get the Word Out Early

Request Photos and Videos

Create the Tribute to Mom

To make this process go as smoothly as possible, getting a jump on the planning stage is key. Notify friends, family, co-workers, distant relatives, and even highschool classmates that you’re planning a video tribute and give a deadline to receive photos and videos. These can be in color, black-and-white, new or old. Dig out your baby photos (and your siblings’ baby photos) and dad and mom’s wedding album. Ask Grandma to send photos of mom as a little girl. Scan her senior photo from her high school yearbook.

Friends and family can also send tributes. A script can be helpful, as well as a time limit and suggestions for the background (plenty of light, no clutter). The invitation might look something like this: “We’re honoring HELEN this Mother’s Day with a video tribute. If you’d like to participate, email photos of HELEN and/ or a video by May 5. Your video should be 60 to 90 seconds, and you can use your phone or laptop camera.

Please upload the video to YouTube and send me the link. In the video, tell us your full name, then tell a personal story, wonderful childhood memory, or why you’re grateful to have HELEN in your life. Wrap it up by wishing HELEN a Happy Mother’s Day 2020. Feel free to dance, use props or signs, make decorations, or do anything else to make HELEN feel special.”

Using the electronic photo and video files, create a tribute for Mother’s Day. There are lots of programs online with templates based on holidays and occasions; two easy-to-use ones are Shutterfly and Smilebox. Consider using a combination of photos with captions and then pop in videos that are especially entertaining, funny or heartwarming. Don’t worry if you don’t use all the photos and videos—people can see all of them on Mom’s new YouTube Channel, including a slideshow of all the photos and all the individual videos. Post to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, and add a Spotify playlist of all Mom’s favorite songs, and you’ve got a remarkable bespoke gift that will let Mom know just how amazing you know she is. Happy Mother’s Day!

April 29 - May 12, 2020 • jfp.ms

Michele D. Baker is a freelance travel writer and photographer. To learn more, visit MicheleDBaker.com.

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