Category: People And Places - boom jackson

Ladies' Night at the 4th Quarter Exchange

12/12/2019

by Aliyah Veal

Rapper Unknwn performs for the first time at the 4th Quarter Exchange, a music event that brings artists and consumers face-to-face through performances and networking. Photo by Drew Dempsey

JACKSON — Rapper Unknwn wore shades, a black hoodie, jeans and an Army jacket, and her mystique matched her name perfectly. The crowd inside Offbeat in midtown formed a stage around her at the 4th Quarter Exchange, a musical event bringing artists and consumers face-to-face through performances and networking.

Pauline Rogers’ Long Road

12/12/2019

by Jenna Gibson

Pauline Rogers operates the RECH Foundation alongside her husband. Photo by Acacia Clark

Pauline Rogers watched her mother kill her father in an act of self-defense when she was a little girl. Originally from Vancleave, Miss., Rogers was born and raised in a family where she was one of 11 siblings, and she grew up doing petty crimes like shoplifting, and eventually found herself in prison.

Matthew West: Singing, Crying, Connecting

12/12/2019

by Nate Schumann

Contemporary Christian music artist Matthew West headlines for the 2019 K-Love Christmas Tour. Photo courtesy Matthew West

Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, four-time Grammy winner Matthew West, 42, grew up playing baseball but possessing a talent for music that those around him encouraged him to pursue.

Chandler Griffin, Storyteller

12/12/2019

by Richard Coupe

Jackson native Chandler Griffin owns and operates Barefoot Workshops and Blue Magnolia Films, both of which teach participants the skills needed for filmmaking and photography so that they can tell their own stories. Photo courtesy Austin Britt

"I've done everything from teaching Dalits how to tell stories to running a workshop in Malaysia with kids who are deaf but want to tell their stories," filmmaker Chandler Griffin says about his career to date. Dalits are members of a lower-caste group in India. "My work is based on always thinking how to make storytelling more accessible."

Young Influentials 2019

9/20/2019

by JFP Staff

Albert Sykes Photo by Acacia Clark

The most influential people sometimes come from unlikely places. Meet more of Jackson's under-40 power group. They're creative, connected, engaged, and making waves in the capital city and Mississippi.

Sisters in Birth, Inc.

9/19/2019

by Anne McKee

Sisters in Birth Inc., which began enrollment on Aug. 31, aims to equip pregnant women in Hinds County with the tools necessary for having healthy births and breastfeeding their children. Photo by Mustafa Omar on Unsplash

One reason Sisters in Birth Inc. founder and Executive Director Getty Israel decided to create her organization is "because there was a time when I was a single mother without a support group," she says.

Amber Johnson: Becoming the First

9/19/2019

by Richard Coupe

Amber Johnson is the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in computer science from Purdue University, which has one of the most respected programs in the United States. Photo by oyinolu

Amber Johnson had long been interested in gadgets and technology.

Rapper Vitamin Cea Wants to Bring More Realness To Hip-Hop

9/19/2019

by Aliya Veal

Gautier, Miss., rapper Vitamin Cea said she wants to instill an understanding and honor of being from Mississippi in her music. Photo by Alexander FRE$CO

When Charity Hicks was in eighth grade, her friend Jasira introduced her to Nicki Minaj after Jasira remixed one of Minaj's songs. Hicks loved the remix, and it inspired her to write her own.

New Mural Honors Frances Fortner

9/19/2019

by Amber Helsel

Scott Allen painted a mural honoring Frances Fortner. Photo courtesy Jarrod Parker/Zenwood Photography

In May 2018, Jackson Academy senior Frances Fortner was headed to graduation rehearsal when she hit a partially covered manhole on Ridgewood Road. Her car flipped, and she later died from her injuries at a local hospital. Her death was a tragedy that brought about more in-depth conversations about how the City handles infrastructure issues, but now, Jacksonians can remember her in another way.

Daisy Carter

9/19/2019

by Amber Helsel

Photo by Acacia Clark

During college, Daisy Carter wanted to become an English teacher so she could teach the subject she loves and give back to Jackson Public Schools.