Transcending Today

I still remember my last day of high school. I remember leaving the parking lot and listening to the Dave Matthews song “Number 41,” and I still remember the lyrics that were blaring from the speakers of my Nissan Maxima. “I will go in this way, and I’ll find my own way out. . . .” They seemed poignant at the time, though I’m not sure in what way exactly. As a matter of fact, I’m not really sure that I even liked Dave Matthews. I think I wanted to like Dave Matthews because all my friends liked Dave Matthews.

EssaysGabe HartMay 11, 2016Jackson TN, Tennessee, JCM, Jackson Central-Merry High School, Jackson-Madison County School System, Gabe Hart, education, athletics, sports, high school, school, Vision 2020, Dave Matthews, Allen Avenue, Vision2020, teaching, teacher, students, school system, job, Libert, Southside High School, South Side High School, Early College High School, integration, diversity, African American, African-American Merry High School, Jackson High School, Artis Hicks, athlete, Ed Jones, Ben Howard, Al Wilson, basketball, 5A State Championship, Oman Arena, Wesley Barlow, North Side High School, Nancy Petit, Wanda Taylor, Donna Tosh, Russ Pflasterer, O’Neal Henley, Johnny Williams, Johnny Reynolds, Tommy Allen, Tom Cobb, football, coach, Ricky Collins, Germantown TN, Jim Hardegree, Frank Shelton, Bobby Jelks, Jon Frye, Joe Davis, Willie Wortham, Jimmy Carmichael, USJ, University School of Jackson, Rothrock, Brett Favre, entrepreneur, Best of 2016

Setting the Table

Imagine a table. There are many faces, both black and white, seated around that table. Everyone present wants their stories to be heard and their hardships to be acknowledged. Rightfully so. Sometimes I have the honor of sitting at that table. I sit beside my husband Charles and my best friend Melanie. Naturally, I gravitate toward their voices in conversations on racial reconciliation in our city.

On: The HUB Classic

Caleb Hall, a student and basketball player for the JCM Cougars, won the Lane College Slam Dunk Contest at the Oman Arena Tuesday during a break between the sixteen different high schools battling in out in Area Relief Ministries’ third annual HUB Classic Basketball Tournament. JCM joined teams from North Side, Liberty, Trinity, and Madison from Jackson.

On: JMCSS Vision2020

Ideally, an organization would not require restructuring. It might and should be focused on the future, but it would not be worried about it. It would already be running effectively and efficiently and would simply be looking at how to keep that success a reality. That is not the current state of our school system, unfortunately. At one time, however, our school system was running effectively. This is evidenced if you start having conversations with the people within our community.