New Orleans Queen of Bounce, Big Freedia, had to explain to fans on social media why her recent show was cancelled at The Dollar Box Showroom in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The show, which was scheduled for Friday February 12, was cancelled after the club owner, Ben Shemper, got a call from a State Alcohol Beverage Control…
An African American man was found hanging from a tree in Claiborne County, Mississippi, Thursday the FBI said in a statement. The Huffington Post reported that the body was found with a bed sheet around the neck and wearing a skull cap, authorities said at a press conference later held by the FBI and the…
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.– ViiV Healthcare has announced the launch of a four-year, $10 million initial investment to fuel a concerted community response to the HIV epidemic among Black Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) in Baltimore, Maryland and Jackson, Mississippi, two U.S. cities hard hit by HIV/AIDS. The goal for this new initiative named…
A disturbing message advocating for violence against LGBT people has been spray-painted in big letters on the wall of a building in downtown Jackson, Miss. The shocking statement, “NO 2 GAY MARRAGE [sic] KILL THEM,” has disturbing echoes for LGBT people in a state where they are disproportionately likely to face discrimination and harassment. In…
Mississippian, Rev. Edward James took what he called a “ridiculous” approach Friday to protest a federal decision to strike down Mississippi’s ban on same-sex marriage, reports Adam Ganucheau in The Clarion-Ledger. James, pastor at Bertha Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Jackson, dressed a horse named Charlotte in a makeshift wedding gown and staked a spot…
As part of their ‘Southern strategy,’ the Human Rights Campaign will launch a television spot tonight in the Jackson, Mississippi market that takes aim squarely at one of the most conservative, and homophobic, regions of the country, reports Jay Reeves for the Associated Press. The goal is part of a larger strategy to address huge…
WASHINGTON—Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced Rob Hill as state director of HRC Mississippi. Hill will lead the organization’s Project One America effort across the state to bring equality to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Using the resources of HRC and collaborating with local organizations, Hill will work to change hearts and minds, advance enduring legal protections,…
There is strong support for equality in Mississippi despite the state’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” which took effect yesterday. Since January, eight cities have passed equality resolutions recognizing the dignity and worth of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. “This is proof that the people of Mississippi are further ahead than their leaders at…
WASHINGTON D.C.—The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has released three emotional and inspiring videos highlighting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Mississippians, Alabamans, and Arkansans sharing their courageous stories. The video is part of HRC’s Project One America Summer of Conversations story-telling campaign announced earlier this month. “We want people to start a conversation about equality whether on front porches, in…
Last night, Waveland, Mississippi unanimously passed an anti-discrimination resolution recognizing the dignity and worth of all city residents – including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT). Waveland becomes the seventh Mississippi city to pass such a resolution and joins Starkville, Hattiesburg, Greenville, Magnolia, Bay St. Louis and Oxford. “This is another important…
