Jackson Voices

The legend of creation and evolution theory

In 1908, you could pick up a public school “science” textbook and read the following:

“God created the heavens and the Earth in 6 days…It is a duty to pray…God governs the world in infinite wisdom.”

In 2000, a typical public school “science” textbook reads as follows:

“Evolution is fact, not theory – birds arose from non-birds and humans from non-humans. No person who pretends to any understanding of the natural world can deny these facts.”

 
  

  

    


  
  	    

      Progress in Death: Medgar Evers’ Legacy
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
In one of the earlier episodes of ‘Law and Order,’ ADA Paul Robinette delivers one of his memorable lines. “We are past the separate drinking fountain. We are past legal discrimination. We are at the hearts and minds stage. And believe me, there is no quick fix.” In many ways, albeit a bit oversimplified, that dialogue sums up where the popular discussions on race relations are even today. The dialogues on race either focus on how the system itself is discriminatory (the liberal progressive position) or debate the cultural norms that often frame the outlook on the world that typifies inner-city hyper-segregated neighborhoods (the conservative position).
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Medgar Evers – Would he do it again if he could?
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
I have lived in Jackson, Mississippi for a total of 14 years and had  never driven past the small, bluish-green house at 232 Guynes Street,  which is now called Margaret Walker Alexander Drive.  That was my  initial thought as I pulled up to the front of the home that had housed  Medgar Wiley Evers and his family.  I sat in the cool of my air  conditioning waiting for the rest of The Clarion-Ledger Jackson Voices  group to arrive for a private tour.  I wondered to myself how many more  hidden treasurers about our history I had overlooked as I lived life;  sometimes selfishly.
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Medgar Evers: A lesson in history that needs to be told
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
I remember studying Anne Frank in the eight grade and how excited I was, mainly because we would be reading the play aloud and I of course, was Anne Frank. In addition to reading the play version of Anne Frank’s intimate diary that gave a look at the harsh lives Frank and her family had while in hiding, we also learned about troubles the other Jews faced as well.

     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Medgar Wiley Evers: 50-year anniversary of a martyr
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
It was a warm summer night on June 12, 1963 when a shot rang out on  Guynes Street in the Georgetown neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi. An  innocent young black man was killed.
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Infrastructure Problems Still Plaguing the City and Neighborhoods
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
Infrastructure is a word that has been beat to death in recent weeks by the Jackson mayoral candidates. And it remains to be seen how and if the leaders can handle the current infrastructure problems facing the city. But for right now it is one of, if not the most important issue facing Jackson today. And as a Jackson resident, I’ve seen this problem first hand around various areas of the city.
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Harold Washington and Chokwe Lumumba: Unity for Change
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
Following the bitterly fought Democratic primary and runoff, two issues  that made headlines during the past week involved a quibble over  Christopher Columbus and the controversy surrounding a write in campaign  during the general election coming up on June 4th. Both of these events  highlighted the daunting task Chokwe Lumumba has in front of him.
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Mississippi is not that bad
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
Recently I saw a segment on the news that quoted a study that said  Mississippi was the second laziest state in the union. It’s crazy to  think that this is the way the rest of the world sees Mississippi.  Granted, the “Hospitality State” is far from being perfect, but can you  think of one that is? If so, I would like to see it.
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Jackson’s Mayoral Race: The day after the election
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
Today is May 22nd, the day after the primary runoff in the Jackson Mayor’s Race.  Presumably, after the Republican and Independent candidates have their say in the June general election, Jackson will have a new mayor.  But as history goes, whoever comes out of the May primary alive is usually the “guy”, the next mayor of Jackson.  What an awesome responsibility!
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Jackson’s mayoral election crowded with candidates seeking the job
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
Charles GrahamWhat do you look for in the next mayor of Jackson? What should be his or her priorities?


As Jackson’s mayoral election is only about a week away, I ask myself  this question and then try to give an intelligent answer. There are 13  candidates; four are women. A crowded field of candidates tells me that  something is terribly wrong at city hall. As one of my colleagues said,  “there are a lot of candidates who think they can do a better job.”