Ego, and the Fear of Losing

Privilege and ego go hand-in-hand according to a 16-year-old white boy living in Jackson, Miss. August Harp is an upcoming soccer star who plays for a well-known, back-to-back-to-back, champion select team and is also on his school’s underdog soccer team. Harp sees how different select world is from public school world. One team fears losing while the other […]

‘A Gang Fight Is a Gang Fight, Little Girl’

One cool summer evening, Amber and CJ went on a walk that took a dangerous turn resulting in a ‘gang fight’ and someone being taken to Henley Young Detention Center. After the flashing blue lights drove away, Amber was left alone wondering how things could have been different if the police were never called, and […]

‘Almost Numbing’: Mayor Tony Yarber on Growing Up Amid Violent Crime

Mayor Tony Yarber (Jackson, Miss.) reflects on how growing up amid violent crime affected his outlook on crime, poverty, friendships and drugs. Yarber uses his experiences as a way to help create opportunities for youth in Jackson. Photo by Kelsee Ford by Amber Taylor, Aja Purvis, Asia Mangum and Maisie Brown [gdlr_video url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17CRwgIBWOs” ] Tony Tarzel […]

Punched in the Gut: On Police and Distrust

Zeakyy Harrington, 17, grew up in the Washington Addition, a neighborhood west of downtown Jackson, Miss. When he was 16-years-old, one of Harrington’s friends threw up their middle finger to a cop driving by and soon after the teenagers were being punched, cuffed and taken to Henley Young Detention Center. Photo Courtesy Imani Khayyam by Zeakyy Harrington [gdlr_frame […]

‘My World’: Kenytta Brown

by Kenytta Brown Imagine a world with no problems Imagine our people picking cotton Thunder storms and dark skies Politicians and many lies There’s crime every hour Sometimes I wonder who really have the power I just want a world when people can be free Not a war to see who can control me!!! Young […]

More Than Brimstone and Bullets: Time to Stop Blaming

At some point or another, a loved one has told you to be careful on ‘that side of town,’ and you begin to wonder what does that even mean. One day, Ryan Perry, a 17-year-old white male, decides to take a solo journey and drives to ‘that side of town.’ What he begins to realize is […]

Genesis Be: Rapping for Change

From Biloxi, Miss. to Brooklyn and back to Mississippi, Genesis Be, a rapper and activist, always makes her way back home. She uses her music to challenge historic and ongoing racial issues that govern politics in her home state.  Photo Courtesy Genesis Be by Darryn Price The first time Genesis Be rapped in public, the […]

Opportunities for All Youth, Regardless of Background

Two miles is not a far distance, but it depends on who you ask in Jackson, Miss. To some, it is a world of difference marked by an imaginary line between families from affluent neighborhoods and those in low-income housing. Poverty, education, crime and opportunity are all issues at the forefront when you don’t have accessibility to resources, […]

Is America Really the Land of the Free?

From the time we are bright-eyed, bushy-tailed five-year olds learning our ABCs, we are taught one essential phrase: America is the ‘Land of the Free.’ Growing up as an African American girl with a white best friend, Jordan Mahoney always said she didn’t see race, she saw people, but her mom always told her “It’s more […]

From a War Zone to Pink Skies

Growing up is hard. Growing up and witnessing wars, police violence and people that look just like you being killed from afar on the television screen is a tough reality to navigate for a 16-year-old African America boy. Kenytta Brown sees the ugly truth in this world, but refuses to ignore the beautiful skies and […]