OPINION: "The Deep South won’t leave you alone. We couldn’t miss more than a couple of church services monthly without encountering a search party," Jeffrey Baker writes.

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Lindsey Burke, author of the Project 2025 plan to overhaul the American education system, is pushing Mississippi leaders to adopt the Trump administration’s education plans to use public funds to support “school choice” initiatives like vouchers for attending private schools. buff.ly/JiJ4XJP

Genocidal acts include: killing; causing serious bodily or mental harm; and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction in whole or in part.

Genocide was codified in a 1948 convention drawn up after the horrors of the Holocaust that defines it as acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

When Mississippi Choctaw and East Cherokee come together for the annual Battle of Nations football game, it helps "improve survivability" for indigenous tribes, said Dr. Tammy Greer, a member of the United Houma Nation. "We need that. We share cultures. That is huge," she said.

Democracy only works when truth is on the field. Your donation = yardage gained for Mississippi communities. buff.ly/uQLkSFE

U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson voted against honoring “the life & legacy” of Charlie Kirk on Friday, saying that the conservative activist “resurrected dangerous prejudices of a dark past." “The fact is Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric was divisive, disparaging, & too often rooted in grievance,” he said.

OPINION: "The media can play a crucial role in perpetuating the lone gunman myth. Consider how swiftly the media and politicians labeled the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, perpetrated by Omar Mateen, as an act of Islamist terrorism," Art Jipson writes. buff.ly/MMVKZXD

Colin Kaepernick is funding an independent second autopsy for Trey Reed, the Black student found hanging from a tree at Delta State University, after the Mississippi State Medical Examiner ruled the death a suicide.

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The City will host five public forums for residents to share their perspectives with the Police Chief Search Committee on public safety priorities, leadership qualities, and the future of the Jackson Police Department.

Hinds Community College President Stephen Vacik called Emanuell Cooks' death "a sobering reminder how precious our time here on earth really is."

Our bodies have evolved to crave sugar and salt, says Dr. Alicia Landry, a registered dietician. “It’s used as a preservative, and so we’ve had these in our foods as long as we’ve had processed food, so switching from that can be difficult and you’ll have a physiological reaction to that.”

“Even though it’s so common, it’s still the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about,” said Mississippi Department of Mental Health Director LaBethani May.

OPINION: "If you can find the time … I highly recommend that you reacquaint yourself with that book, game, film or activity from “way back” that brings a smile to your face just from remembering it," Nate Schumann writes.

“While some may simply chalk this up to ‘dirty politics’ or expect a politician like Colom to lie, cheat and steal his way into office ... impersonating the voice of a sitting U.S. Senator is not politics as usual and not something to be taken lightly,” Mississippi GOP Chairman Mike Hurst said.

OPINION: "(T)he political leanings of a state—how a state voted in the presidential election of 2024—play a significant role in what faculty perceive about free speech and DEI programming," Matthew J. Mayhew writes.

OPINION: America has never been richer. But the gains are so lopsided that the top 10% controls 69% of all wealth in the country, while the bottom half controls just 3%, writes Nathan Meyers.

The Mississippi Museum of Art now owns the only two known portraits of enslaved Mississippians that were painted before the Civil War. "Portrait of Frederick" joins "Portrait of Delia," both hanging in the same museum together for the first time in history.

“To be a historian … is to grapple with the very core of what it is that makes us human. Our triumphs, our tragedies, our flaws, and our strengths are all laid bare by the scholarly study of history, and without this kind of inquiry, there is little hope for mankind,” said Professor Ethan Schmidt.

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Thousands of literary fans climbed the steps of the State Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi, on Saturday, Sept. 13, to sit in on panels, attend workshops and ask authors to sign their books as part of the 2025 iteration of the Mississippi Book Festival.

The Mississippi Museum of Art now owns the only two known portraits of enslaved Mississippians that were painted before the Civil War. "Portrait of Frederick" joins "Portrait of Delia," both hanging in the same museum together for the first time in history.

The City of Jackson is inviting residents to share their thoughts on public safety and priorities as the City searches for a new police chief. The former police chief, Joseph Wade, stepped down in August 2025, citing the stress of the job.

OPINION: "Storms and fires have become the prices we pay to live in the places we love, and our legal clinics accidentally became seasoned experts in legal responses to natural disasters," Jeffrey Baker writes.

OPINION: "Hodding Carter III … helped lead the insurgency of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party along with its most visible and arguably most militant member, Fannie Lou Hamer, against Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 decision to back the all-white, 'regular' Mississippi Democrats," Paul Krause writes.

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A growing number of experts say Israel's conduct in the Gaza Strip amounts to genocide—raising the question of whether a state forged in the aftermath of the crime is now committing it. buff.ly/ws2lu45

“You're giving incentives to residents south of the tracks, but at the same time, you are imperiling residents that live north of the tracks,” said Gulfport resident Katherine Egland, who said the city's post-Katrina development tax incentives worsened flooding in historically Black neighborhoods.

Mericia Sanders, Cherokee of Mobile, Alabama, said that she would like to see more interaction between Indigenous schools like the matchup between Cherokee and Choctaw. “This is necessary to ensure that the Indigenous culture continues and a better understanding of the different tribes," she said.

Rep. Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress, voted for the resolution honoring Charlie Kirk—even though he once referred to her as “a delusional man who wants to force all of society to change its laws to indulge his sexual fetish.”

"Findings were consistent with the initial investigation, determining the cause of death to be hanging and the manner of death as suicide. Final toxicology results are pending and may take two to four weeks to complete," the Cleveland Police Department said.

OPINION: "Importantly, the lone gunman narrative is applied unevenly, especially along racial lines. White perpetrators are frequently described as mentally ill or troubled loners," Art Jipson writes. buff.ly/MMVKZXD

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Dr. Alicia Landry, a registered dietitian and professor at The University of Southern Mississippi, said changes to SNAP would mirror standards already used in other federal nutrition programs, such as the Women, Infants and Children program and the National School Lunch Program.

OPINION: "It’s no wonder that during quarantine—when I felt isolated and anxious about the future—I turned to something nostalgic like playing retro games from my childhood," Nate Schumann writes.

OPINION: "Despite the lack of resources and reactionary public policies (in Mississippi), people know their neighbors," Baker writes. "Families, churches, schools and folks are going to share shelter and bread as much as they can for the people they know." buff.ly/HZgW8aq

The City of Jackson is inviting residents to share their thoughts on public safety and priorities as the City searches for a new police chief. The former police chief, Joseph Wade, stepped down in August 2025, citing the stress of the job. buff.ly/ipnIbXR

Scott Colom, a Democrat who had just announced his campaign to oust Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, was joining in on a social-media trend in which people call and wish their friends a good night, his communications team said.

OPINION: "Despite their sharp disagreements on other aspects of DEI, both red state and blue state faculty overwhelmingly agree that 'colleges and universities should provide support for students of all religious, secular, and spiritual identities and backgrounds,'" Mayhew writes.

Mississippi Delta Community College's statement does not specify Emanuell Cooks' cause of death. "Our entire Trojan family is devastated by this loss," MDCC President Steven Jones said.

“The broken arrow is a sign of peace. (That is) just how I’ve thought to express that feeling. I had so much that I needed to get out, and I think that I just worked diligently to kind of use that as a therapy of sorts,” said Lawson King, whose statue honors slain professor Ethan Schmidt's legacy.

“My hope is that by speaking publicly, I … can not only reunite with my son, but also shine a light on how others in similar situations may be struggling in silence. No parent should have to fight this hard to simply be present for their child,” said Rodrick Aiken.

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So that those who couldn’t attend can still feel involved, the Mississippi Free Press—thanks to David Rae Morris’ brilliant photography—has put together this photo gallery showcasing just a fraction of what this annually anticipated event has to offer.

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OPINION: "My southern friends up north had told me about Greenville’s newspaper, The Delta Democrat-Times, which enjoyed a reputation for heroic stands against the Klan, the White Citizens Councils and the racist clouds that continue to define a good deal of the white South," Paul Krause writes.

The Mississippi Museum of Art now owns the only two known portraits of enslaved Mississippians that were painted before the Civil War. "Portrait of Frederick" joins "Portrait of Delia," both hanging in the same museum together for the first time in history. buff.ly/D7L9GET

Gulfport resident Katherine Egland, who chairs the NAACP's Environmental & Climate Justice Committee, says the city isn’t ready for the next big storm. “I’m not saying we didn’t make some progress. What I’m saying is we didn’t make nearly the amount of progress that we should have made,” she said.