March 27, 2022
Imagine you’re Clay Yarborough, a current state representative who thought the next campaign was all set. A few months back,…
Jacksonville Today seeks to include a diverse set of perspectives that add context or unique insight to the news of the day. Regular opinion columnists are independent contractors who are not involved in news decisions. Want to submit your own column on a matter of public interest? Email pitches to jessica@jaxtoday.org.
March 23, 2022
OPINION | 6 takeaways from the 2022 legislative session
The 2022 Florida regular legislative session is in the books. The Legislature had four constitutionally mandated duties this year: pass…
March 22, 2022
THE JAXSON | Bronzeville: A revitalization example for Jacksonville
Those hoping to revitalize Jacksonville’s historic Black neighborhoods should take a look at Chicago’s Bronzeville. Located in the South Side,…
March 22, 2022
OPINION | A return to normal
Over the last few weeks, I’ve allowed my son to go out in the world sans mask. Initially, it wasn’t…
March 20, 2022
OPINION | Confederate monuments are here to stay
The Jacksonville City Council is set for yet another of its masochistic explorations of what would, in a 21st Century…
March 14, 2022
OPINION | Fun and games in the Florida Legislature
Florida has gotten a well-earned rep for being the country’s sideshow. “Florida Man” headlines alone illustrate why we’re considered America’s…
March 13, 2022
OPINION | Controversial Ed Board pick shows what DeSantis thinks of Duval County
As the Legislature wrapped up its business Friday, the last bit of work before passing the budget Monday, Gov. Ron…
March 9, 2022
OPINION | Feds’ Everglades slight means more toxic water dumped on Floridians
Lake Okeechobee, the massive water body north of the Everglades, is surrounded by a dike that was built by the…
March 8, 2022
OPINION | Parking craters: A Downtown vibrancy killer
Despite a common perception that parking is difficult in the city center, Downtown Jacksonville has more surface parking lots, garages…
March 7, 2022
OPINION | Teachers should make a life, not just a living
My mother was a public high school teacher for 33 years. She worked at Bloom High School in Chicago Heights.…
March 6, 2022
OPINION | Ukraine war hits close to home
The narrative thrust of American war, at least as presented in mass media, has been remoteness. Our enemies never have…
February 28, 2022
OPINION | Differences make us better
On this first day of Women’s History Month I’m celebrating the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court…
February 27, 2022
OPINION | House redistricting map creates Jax-only CD5…lands with a thud
The intramural pissing match between Republicans in Tallahassee continues, and no clear resolution is at hand as they try to…
February 23, 2022
OPINION | Leave university funding alone
In Florida’s state government, the Legislature is required to produce a balanced budget every year. This is very different than…
February 22, 2022
THE JAXSON | 5 Gullah Geechee dishes to try in Jacksonville
The Gullah Geechee descended from enslaved Central and West Africans who worked the plantations of the Lowcountry in the coastal…
February 21, 2022
OPINION | What are you so afraid of?
The definition of democracy is “government by the people.” It’s “a form of government in which the supreme power is…
February 20, 2022
OPINION | Drama on Florida House floor reflects Duval’s racial divide
Duval County legislators were at the center of drama in the Florida Legislature last week, and the confrontation spoke to…
February 15, 2022
OPINION | 7 big projects that moved Downtown forward (and how they did it)
Downtown Jacksonville has its fair share of “gamechanger” developments that have failed to deliver, but when done right, major projects…
February 14, 2022
OPINION | History is happening now
Tomorrow would have been Jordan Davis’s 27th birthday. Trayvon Martin would have made 27 on February 5th. Instead, we remember…
February 13, 2022
OPINION | Ron DeSantis isn’t bluffing about his map
Many of those reading this rejoiced last week when the Florida Supreme Court rebuffed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ unprecedented ask for…
February 9, 2022
OPINION | Florida’s surgeon general fight is a preview of 2024
Before the 2000 Bush/Gore election, Tim Russert, the late Meet the Press host, was asked what he would be watching…
February 7, 2022
OPINION | The value of being
There’s a notion that has circulated in the Black community for generations: Black people have to be twice as good…
February 6, 2022
OPINION | Lawson for Lt. Gov?
Will Florida’s 5th Congressional District, which connects Jacksonville’s Urban Core to Gadsden County while hugging the Georgia border, become a…
January 31, 2022
OPINION | Erasing Black history does not erase Black people
In my other life, I write books and host a podcast. I am unabashed about centering the point of view…