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Juan Cloy has been a cop, an assistant police chief, an FBI agent, a police union representative and a law-enforcement trainer—and his brings all of this experience to his run for the Hinds County Sheriff position. In this, podcast, he talked to Donna Ladd about his experience, his upbringing and his approach to leadership.
Victor Mason comes into the Hinds County Sheriff’s race with an advantage; he’s already the Sheriff. Some would argue he also comes in with a disadvantage—there have been some lawsuits, settlements, texts and health challenges—which Editor-in-Chief Donna Ladd asked him all about in this episode of our limited series of podcasts about the 2019 political season.
In this episode of Let’s Talk Jackson, JFP Editor-in-Chief Donna Ladd talks with New York Times bestselling author—and Jacksonian—Angie Thomas. Angie grew up in Georgetown, not far from the house where Medgar Evers was assassinated in 1963, and bases some of her fiction on the violence and changes she witnessed growing up. She earned a BFA from Belhaven University, where she began work on her debut novel, “The Hate U Give,” which is still on the bestseller list and is now a major motion picture. Her second novel, “On the Come Up,” was released this spring and is also a bestseller. Angie Thomas: angiethomas.com/
This episode is brought to you by the Center for Art & Public Exchange at the Mississippi Museum of Art. Continue Reading
In this, the fourth episode in a limited series for for the 2019 political season, Donna Ladd speaks with Jody Owens, a candidate for district attorney in Hinds County. Owens is originally from Terry, Mississippi, where he grew up in the country on a farm. He went to Terry High School, Jackson State University and on to law school. Recently he was head of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Mississippi office. In June, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba endorsed Owens, who is campaigning as a reformer, as a replacement for outgoing district attorney Robert Shuler Smith. Continue Reading
On this Let’s Talk Jackson Politics… Cassandra Welchin is a candidate for an open seat in House District 68 representing parts of West and South Jackson, Rankin County and Byram. Welchin describers herself as a policy advocate, organizer and coalition builder; she has an undergraduate degree from Jackson State and a graduate degree from Brandies University. She spoke with JFP State Reporter Ashton Pittman.
JFP Reporter Ashton Pittman sits down with Marcus Williams, candidate for State Senate from District 26. Williams, who is in his early 30s, is running for the seat long held by State Senator John Horhn. The seat represents parts of North Jackson, southern Madison County and Hinds County to the West, reaching parts of Clinton and Edwards, Miss.
Former JPD Chief Lee Vance sat down with Donna Ladd to discuss his run for Hinds County Sheriff. Vance is probably Sheriff Victor Mason’s best-known challenger, Vance spent 30 years with the Jackson Police Department after growing up on Wood Street. “I started school when schools were still segregated, went to Mary C. Jones Elementary School.” Although he retired just months into the Chokwe Antar Lumumba mayoral administration, he’s been endorsed by the major in the sheriff’s race. This episode is brought to you by the members of the JFP VIP Club. Continue Reading
In episode 7×09, Donna Ladd talks with Maisie Brown, a 17-year-old Murrah High School student whom Donna met when she was 14 and an 8th grader at Bailey Middle School. Since that time, Maisie has become a leader in the Youth Media Project, hosting the first YMP Mayoral Forum and mentoring writing students. She was a TEDxJacksonWomen speaker in 2016 (at age 15) and is a strong proponent of public education, changing the Mississippi flag and women’s rights. This episode is brought to you by the members of the JFP VIP Club. Join at jfp.ms/VIP and help support JFP programming such as Let’s Talk Jackson. Continue Reading
In this episode of Let’s Talk Jackson, Editor Donna Ladd sits down with Rukia Lumumba for a wide-ranging discussion on criminal justice and solutions to crime and violence. Perhaps best known locally for her work on her brother’s successful mayoral campaign, Rukia Lumumba is a Howard-educated attorney and executive director of the People’s Advocacy Institute, a non profit dedicated to finding community-driven solutions to crime.
In this episode of Let’s Talk Jackson, Donna Ladd sits down with Ronnie Crudup, Jr., the executive director of New Horizons Ministry Inc., and the recently elected Mississippi Representative from District 71. Donna and Ronnie talk about the effects of demographic shifts in South Jackson and how he’s trying to reverse the results. Also, find out why he thinks “God has a sense of humor.”