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Stewpot Community Services was started over 40 years ago by people like you and me who saw a growing need in Jackson and decided to work together to respond. One of our greatest strengths is that we are, and always have been, locally owned. 

Last month we received a great honor: we were one of only 38 organizations in the United States to receive a leadership award from the Jeff Bezos Day 1 Families Fund. The Day 1 Families Fund focuses its giving toward the needs of homeless families with children. They take their vision from the inspiring words of Mary’s Place in Seattle: ensuring “no child sleeps outside.”

Stewpot has a long history of serving families experiencing homelessness, which is one reason why we were invited to apply.  We opened our first shelter for women and children, Sims House, in 1984, and, over time, operated as many as five shelters at once. In that long history, we have helped thousands of homeless families with children find and maintain stability. And it has always been work that we have done together, as a community, neighbor reaching out to neighbor. 

We are excited about the Day 1 award because it helps us do some new and impactful things. For instance, the city of Jackson currently has no transitional shelter for families with children. We were reminded during COVID how critical transitional shelter can be for a family to achieve stability since for some, a longer runway is the key to success. So, we will use Day 1 funds to help fill that critical gap in our area. 

Additionally, the Day 1 gift stretches over five years, which means we can play the long game. We can establish creative partnerships that will leverage the funds for bigger impact. We can evolve with emerging needs. The field of possibilities opens up with Day 1’s multi-year commitment. 

However, the Day 1 funds do not undergird the other essential ministries of Stewpot. Through four decades of growth and change, we now provide an array of important services to people in need: a Community Kitchen, a Food Pantry, Meals on Wheels, a Clothing Closet, a day shelter, a men’s shelter, after school and summer camp programming for  kids and teens, a Legal Clinic, Chapel, and with our partners, HeARTworks art and St. Dominic Community Health Clinic. Between 400-500 people visit our campuses every day to find help and hope. 

In the midst of our many struggles as a city, we should all feel proud of the recognition our homegrown effort has received by a national, high-profile foundation.  You and I should be proud of the “compassionate, needle-moving work”  we’ve done to help families experiencing homelessness as well as grateful for the opportunity to expand on that work. 

But you and I are still being called upon to help feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, and care for the at-risk child right here in our own city.  The vast majority of Stewpot’s work still needs our support to continue. 

So let us not grow weary in doing good. Some of our neighbors still struggle mightily, and we want them to know that we will not leave them to struggle alone. To find out more about what your gifts support, or to volunteer, visit our website at www.stewpot.org. We’re still in this work together…as people of faith, meeting needs, in our community.

The post Stewpot Community Services accepts leadership award appeared first on Mississippi Today.

”During a brief phone interview Sunday, Bailey repeatedly declined to comment. Told that several high-ranking deputies were involved in arrests that had sparked accusations of brutal treatment, he said, ‘I have 240 employees, there’s no way I can be with them each and every day.’” Read the article here.

The post Marshall Ramsey: The Response appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Dec. 3, 1841

Frederick Douglass founded and edited his first antislavery newspaper, “The North Star,” in Rochester, New York. The publication title referred to Polaris, the bright star that helped guide Black Americans escaping slavery: “To millions, now in our boasted land of liberty, it is the STAR OF HOPE.” 

He explained in this first issue that he desired to see “in this slave-holding, slave-trading, and negro-hating land, a printing-press and paper, permanently established, under the complete control and direction of the immediate victims of slavery and oppression … that the man who has suffered the wrong is the man to demand redress,—that the man STRUCK is the man to CRY OUT—and that he who has endured the cruel pangs of Slavery is the man to advocate Liberty.” 

The publication also sought to “promote the moral and intellectual improvement” of people of color. He championed not only for the freedom of those enslaved, but for women’s rights as well with the motto, “Right is of no sex. Truth is of no color. God is the father of us all, and all we are brethren.” 

In 1851, the paper merged with the Liberty Party Paper from Syracuse and became known as Frederick Douglass’ Paper. The paper closed during the Civil War, and in 1870, he moved from Rochester to Washington, D.C., and became part owner of the New National Era, which attacked the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and the mistreatment of and violence against Black Americans throughout the nation. His sons ran the newspaper until it folded in 1874. Because of a fire, no known collection exists of all of Douglass’ newspapers.

The post On this day in 1841 appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Despite election problems in Democratic-voter rich Hinds County, Brandon Presley did not delay his concession speech to incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves on the night of Nov. 7.

Reeves has not been as quick in the past to accept election results. In 2020, Reeves cast doubt on the loss by Republican incumbent President Donald Trump despite more than 60 court cases, many decided by judges appointed by Trump, validating the election and despite the election results being confirmed by numerous Republican state officials throughout the country.

Still, Reeves and other Mississippi election officials argued that the election was not secure and fair in states Trump lost, even though those states operated under the same rules as states that Trump won.

On social media in 2020, Reeves said: “a safe and fair election here in Mississippi — not upended by last minute schemes to radically alter voting methods. Election integrity is vital.”

Just as the math — and remember, Reeves says he is “a numbers guy” — confirmed Trump’s defeat in 2020, the math also confirmed Presley’s loss on Nov. 7.

Presley could have cited Hinds County election problems as a reason not to concede. But he did not. And that has proven to be the right decision.

Even if the Democrat Presley had garnered the level of support in Hinds County as Barack Obama did in 2012, he still would not have had enough votes to defeat Reeves.

In 2012, Obama received 76,112 votes in Hinds County — the most ever for a candidate there — in his successful presidential reelection campaign. On Nov. 7, Presley won 54,006 votes in Hinds County — 22,106 votes less than Obama garnered in 2012. Reeves defeated Presley by 26,619 votes, meaning an Obama level of support in Hinds would not have put Presley over the top statewide.

The vote in Hinds County is important for a couple of reasons.

First of all, it is the state’s largest county and by far the biggest base of support for Democrats.

Second of all, there were numerous election problems in Hinds County on Nov. 7. Multiple precincts — at least eight, reportedly — ran out of ballots. There were reports of people leaving after waiting in lines for hours and, in some cases, not being able to vote at all.

It is difficult to believe that Presley, despite his and his team’s effort to get supporters to the polls, could have outdistanced the turnout Obama received in 2012. It was a watershed year in terms of turnout for Mississippi Democrats.

Granted, if Presley got all the votes that Obama received in Hinds County in 2012 and Reeves did not garner all the votes that Republican Mitt Romney won that year in Hinds County, there would have been a runoff election. Remember, Obama got 22,106 votes more than Presley in Hinds County. Presley came up only 15,466 votes short of what was needed to force a runoff. But it is unlikely to believe that Presley could match Obama numbers in Hinds County for a number of reasons, including the fact the county has lost significant population since 2012. The U.S. Census Bureau reported Hinds had a 4.4 % population loss during just a two-year period from 2020 to 2022. Numerous studies highlight much larger losses since 2010.

We will never know for sure how many people did not vote in Hinds County because of the election problems, but it is safe to say the numbers were not enough to cost Presley the election or even the chance of a runoff.

It also should be pointed out that the people running the elections in Hinds County are locally elected Democrats. The problems that occurred were unfortunate. But it is reasonable to assume they were not intentionally sabotaging Presley.

Going back a few years, it can be and has been mathematically proven that local Democratic officials did cost Democratic nominee Al Gore the White House in 2000.

The infamous butterfly ballot was designed by Democrats and used in Democratic-controlled Palm Beach County Florida. In that county, many people — 15,000 or more — thought they were voting for Gore, but accidentally voted for Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan because of the confusing design of the ballot or voted for both Gore and Buchanan causing the ballot to be disqualified.

In an interview just after the election, Buchanan admitted, “When I took one look at that ballot on election night …  it’s very easy for me to see how someone could have voted for me in the belief they voted for Al Gore.”

Gore lost Florida and thus the White House by 537 votes.

Despite that math, Gore conceded.

Presley did the same on Nov. 7.

Reeves and other Mississippi elected officials did not in 2020.

The post Unlike Reeves in 2020, Presley accepted election math on Nov. 7 appeared first on Mississippi Today.

OXFORD — Who knows where this basketball season heads for Ole Miss? Answer: Nobody. It’s early, like really early. No college basketball trophies that matter are awarded in December.

That said, Chris Beard’s first Ole Miss basketball team took a huge step – perhaps even a bounding leap – toward playing basketball that really matters here Saturday, knocking off a hugely talented Memphis 80-77.

Here’s what we do know for certain:

• The Rebels are a battle-tested and perfect 7-0, having won numerous down-to-the-wire games including Saturday’s nail-biter.
• They are still getting to know one another, learning Beard’s system. They seem to play better each time out and are nowhere near as good today as they have a chance to be in March.
• They have two seven-footers who doggedly defend the paint, mostly from high above the rim and will take away the inside games of many lesser teams.
• Ole Miss fans are responding. They packed SJB Pavilion (9,416 strong), painted it red, and threatened to blow the top off in the second half when the Rebels erased an 11-point deficit.

My big question about Beard’s first Ole Miss team was whether or not the Rebels would have the quality of point guard play a team must have to compete at college basketball’s highest level. Well, they for sure had it Saturday. Jaylen Murray, a junior transfer from Saint Peters, won the game for Ole Miss. That’s all he did. He won the game.

You won’t find many stat lines any better than Murray’s. He played all 40 minutes. He led all scorers with 22 points, which is nice but what follows is nicer still. He passed out nine assists while turning the ball over just once. He made four of the six three-point shots he took. He scored seven of those points in the last two minutes. He took over a game that Ole Miss was about to lose and won it.

A wise basketball coach, one who has made millions and millions coaching this crazy sport, once told me that he would always, if at all possible, recruit his point guards from the playgrounds of the big cities, places like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago. He wanted his playmakers to come from the playgrounds where, if you lose the game, you lose the court and have to wait sometimes hours to play again. Those guys, the old coach said, know what it means to win and will do whatever it takes.

Murray, it should be noted, is from the Bronx. He may only stand 5 feet, 11 inches tall, but he knows what it takes to win. Saturday, he did it. This was by far his best game as a Rebel. He came into the game having passed out 23 assists, compared to 13 turnovers. That’s not awful, but it’s not nearly as good as nine and one.

Beard was asked after his press conference whether it was overstating matters to say Murray had taken over the game. Said Beard, “He did what it took to win. I couldn’t be more proud.”

This Ole Miss team has a lot of weapons. Allen Flanigan, a senior transfer from Auburn, is a 6-foot-6 slasher, the son of former Auburn Tiger Wes Flanigan, now one of Beard’s assistants. The younger Flanagan can twist, contort and muscle his way to the hoop. He leads Ole Miss in scoring on the season with 19 a game. Just as his father was, Allen Flanigan is one tough dude.

Returner Matthew Murrell is the team’s sharpshooter and averages 15 per game. The Rebels will need to get more from 6-8 forward Jaemyn Brakefield, who transferred to Ole Miss from Duke two seasons ago, and has the potential and stroke to score more than the 7.8 points per game he currently scores and shoot more accurately than the 33.3% he currently shoots.

The trademark of Beard’s past teams, especially at Texas Tech where his team lost in overtime to Virginia in the 2019 national championship game, has been aggressive, tenacious defense. That apparently will be the case with this first Ole Miss team, as well. The Rebels give up just 66 points a game despite a fast-paced style. Opponents shoot less than 40% from the floor.

That percentage might get even lower, now that Oklahoma State transfer Moussa Cisse has become eligible. Cisse is 7 feet tall and athletic, yet he’s five inches shorter than the guy he currently plays behind. That would be Jamarion Sharp, a skyscraper who came to Oxford from Western Kentucky and has roughly the wingspan of a small airplane. He leads the SEC in blocked shots with 2.7 per game. Now comes Cisse, who blocked two shots per game in two seasons at Oklahoma State after beginning his career at Memphis. It will be highly difficult to score against Ole Miss in the paint. That’s a good start to winning basketball games right there.

No doubt, you have noticed a word that keeps being repeated with nearly every Rebel player. That word: “transfer.” And so it is with college sports these days, when coaches are learning to play musical scholarships. Where the Rebels are concerned, they have two post players who have played college basketball at six different schools combined. You have a point guard who last year played at Saint Peters. You have a wing man who started his career at Duke. You have a leading scorer who played four seasons at Auburn. And you have a coach who has won 11 of 16 total NCAA Tournament games at three previous schools.

So, no, we don’t where this baby of a season is headed at Ole Miss. But clearly there is potential for greatness. Nobody will have an easy time at The SJB Pavilion, where as Beard put it, “It got to the point today where we couldn’t hear each other.”

In college basketball that’s a good thing, almost as good as having two rim-protecting 7-footers and a point guard from the Bronx.

The post It’s early yet, but these Ole Miss Rebels have serious basketball potential appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Dec. 2, 1986

Mike Espy became the first Black congressman elected from Mississippi since Reconstruction. Born in Yazoo City, his grandfather was Thomas J. Huddleston Sr., founder of the Afro-American Sons and Daughters, which operated the Afro-American Hospital, providing health care to Black Mississippians until the 1970s. He learned soon about the color line, becoming the only Black student in a newly integrated high school. 

He recalled carrying a stick to fend off racist attacks: “Relative to the civil rights experiences of snarling dogs and whips and things it was pretty tame. But I’d always have a fight. The teacher would leave the room, and then you’re among 35 in the classroom and they’d make racial jeers.” 

He became a lawyer, working as an attorney for Central Mississippi Legal Services from 1978 to 1980. Between 1980 and 1984, Espy worked as assistant secretary of the Public Lands Division for the State of Mississippi and then served as assistant state attorney general for Consumer Protection. 

In 1984, he served on the rules committee for the 1984 Democratic National Convention, drawing the attention of the party. In his historic campaign in 1986, he campaigned door to door for votes with his slogan, “Stand by Me, Pray for Me, Vote for Me.” 

While serving as congressman, he emphasized economic development in the Delta, winning reelection three times. In 1993, he became the first Black American to serve as secretary of agriculture, ushering in a wave of reform. Four years later, he was indicted on charges of receiving improper gifts, but a jury acquitted him of all charges. 

He ran for the U.S. Senate in 2018, where he lost to Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, who drew national attention after she remarked that she would “be in the front row” of a “public hanging” if invited by a political supporter. The remark created a firestorm because of Mississippi’s history of lynchings. She later responded, “For anyone that was offended by my comments, I certainly apologize,” claiming her remark had been twisted and “turned into a weapon” against her. 

Espy lost again in a rematch in 2020.

The post On this day in 1986 appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi Today, in partnership with The Atlantic, convened local leaders, policymakers and journalists in downtown Jackson on Thursday to discuss problems and opportunities facing Mississippi, the South and the nation.

Topics covered at the all-day event, “The State of Our Union: Mississippi,” included: the current political landscape of Mississippi, shifting demographics in the state and region, health care challenges facing the state, economic development, criminal justice reform, K-12 education, climate change, and more.

To watch the program, click this link. Photos from the event can be found below.

The post Leaders join Mississippi Today, The Atlantic to discuss state’s challenges and opportunities appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Bye Bye George appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The superintendent of the newly renamed women’s prison at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility was removed from her position this week.

Several advocates told Mississippi Today that Latoya Anderson was escorted off the grounds Tuesday. Anderson was in charge of the Mississippi Correctional Institute for Women, which the Department of Corrections in a March Facebook post called its newest prison. 

A MDOC spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment about Anderson’s employment, but her biography was removed from MDOC’s CMCF facility page, and by Thursday evening was replaced with a headshot for a new superintendent, Tereda Hairston.  

Hairston formerly worked as a community corrections director.

Anderson’s departure comes weeks after Karei McDonald Jr., the second in command of MDOC, was replaced with another deputy commissioner and his biography was removed from the department’s executive leadership page. 

CMCF was one of four Mississippi prisons targeted by the Justice Department for investigation following allegations of gang violence, poor conditions and abuse. That federal probe led to an investigation into allegations of corruption and to the removal of 10 employees at the prison in September 2020. 

Anderson, a Jackson State University graduate, previously was in charge of the department’s Community Work Centers, and she served as deputy warden of the Flowood Community Work Center, MDOC wrote in a September 2022 Facebook post.

She had been with the department for 15 years and also worked as a correctional officer, sergeant, correctional commander, case manager, alcohol and drug instructor and an instructor for the Thinking for a Change program. 

“Being the change the world needs to see is what motivates me and what better place to be a part of that change than at the MDOC,” Anderson said in the Facebook post. 

The post MDOC makes another unexplained leadership shift appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Weeks after the state asked to set an execution date for Willie Jerome Manning, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled Thursday that it will not schedule one until it considers his petition for post-conviction relief. 

In an order authored by Justice Robert Chamberlin, all nine justices agreed that pending motions to set an execution will be put on hold until the state replies to Manning’s post-conviction petition and his attorneys file a response. 

Manning, 55, was convicted in 1994 of the shooting deaths of Mississippi State University students Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler in Starkville. He has spent more than half of his life in prison. 

He has maintained his innocence and is challenging his conviction by pointing out the unreliability of the state’s evidence and testimony. 

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court granted a time extension to the state to respond to Manning’s petition by Dec. 29. A week and a half later, the attorney general’s office filed its motions to proceed with his execution. 

In court documents, the state said deadlines in other death penalty cases through the end of the year have prevented it from responding to Manning’s petition. 

In the Thursday order, Chamberlin wrote “based on the State’s representation that is prepared for the Court to set Manning’s execution date,” it would not grant more extensions unless there are exigent circumstances. 

Attorney General Lynn Fitch is also seeking an execution date for Robert Simon Jr., who last week filed a successive petition for post-conviction relief that the Supreme Court has not ruled on yet. 

The post Supreme Court puts a hold on Willie Jerome Manning execution date appeared first on Mississippi Today.