“Miss Hazel

Aug 18, 2023 | mississippifreepress.org | Jonathan Odell |“The Healing |“Miss Hazel |Utne Reader

I tell people where I grew up, and they say, “Oh, is that the Laurel, Miss., on HGTV?” Then they gush “It sounds just like Mayberry!” parroting one of the perky hosts on the blockbuster home-improvement show “Home Town.”I suspected the show was repackaging my memories for popular consumption, because my Laurel was no Mayberry.

May 10, 2023 | mississippifreepress.org | Jonathan Odell |Utne Reader |“The Healing |“Miss Hazel

At a press conference in January 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida argued against an advanced-placement course in African American studies, warning that such material acted as a trojan horse for indoctrinating students into “left-wing” ideology. The statement infuriated me, but once I settled, I had to agree with him. In fact, such a thing had happened to me.