Mississippi Today

Photo profile: Vilas Annavarapu

Published

2 years ago

September 2, 2023

Mississippi Today is profiling members of Jackson’s 2023 Change Collective.

Vilas Annavarapu, 24 of Jackson, is a co-founder of the Riverside Collective, a worker-owned ice cream and coffee shop in south Jackson. Also, he currently works part-time for a non-profit in west Jackson called the Center for Social Entrepreneurship, overseeing all educational programming.

Annavarapu shares how he came to love the state after he wrote his college thesis on the Mississippi Freedom Schools. He was accepted into the Mississippi Teacher Corps, a 2-year teaching program that recruits college grads to teach in the neediest areas of the state.

For two years, Annavarapu taught at Blackburn Middle School and he had an epiphany.

He found that he loved his students, teaching and the idea of helping them into the future.

“I never thought I’d love teaching and working with a few young people as much as I did,” said Annavarapu. “They’re incredibly bright, creative and thoughtful. And they have really, really big ideas for themselves in the world. Many people would be surprised by that. It touched me and I found that I wanted to find different ways to support them. So, after I finished teaching, I started a worker-owned business, that business is the Riverside Collective.”

“The workers make decisions about the store’s operations democratically, decide on the equitable distribution of profits, and involve community members in planning external events,” said Annavarapu. “The workers are only accountable to one another and their neighborhood. This allows for organic and sustainable growth not subject to the demands of shareholders looking for increasing returns. This model of ownership allows for economic development to occur without gentrification or displacement– as the business succeeds, so does the neighborhood.”

Riverside is looking to build a more equitable future centered around the values of:

Care for self.
Care for others.
Care for the environment.

“We work with middle and high schoolers to teach them the principles of cooperative entrepreneurship, we involve them in decision making, and pay them for their work. It’s a project based, and community facing approach, to get young people to learn fundamental skills like math, literacy, and lifelong practices like cooperation, creativity, and critical thinking.”

“One thing I notice in the classroom is that there are a lot of challenges. But for me, teaching them math and literacy wasn’t nearly as exciting sometimes as them talking about how they could make money. So, when I talked about entrepreneurship and business development, they got really excited. Still, what’s crucial to all of that is literacy, math skills and the fundamental skills to develop business ideas, while nurturing a deep love for education, and investing and giving back to their communities.”

“We’re in our startup phase right now, and as Riverside matures, we hope to be an incubator for other worker-owned enterprises. As more cooperative businesses grow, so will people’s capacity to build consensus and reclaim ownership over industry. Companies that profit off the poor cannot bully their way into communities. People set the terms for the economy– not the other way around, and are no longer at the mercy of corporations or their shareholders, residents will be able to make informed decisions with an eye toward a sustainable future for generations to come.”

“That’s what this worker cooperative is about. Creating a future and an economy that values people’s labor. The dignity of labor will also be in harmony with our environment. We have an economy that prioritizes endless growth and destruction. Unless we come up with a new human centric model that focuses on meeting people’s basic needs and respecting our planetary boundaries, we’re in for a rough ride. This planet is all that we have, and unless we take drastic, radical action now and invest in developing a more ethical economy, our future is bleak.”

Sipping his tea, Annavarapu finishes by saying, “it’s simply about building an economy that pays people well, treats them with dignity, and is respectful of our planet.”

Vilas Annavarapu, 24 of Jackson, is the co-founder of the Riverside Collective, a worker-owned ice cream and coffee shop in south Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Vilas Annavarapu, 24 of Jackson, is the co-founder of the Riverside Collective, a worker-owned ice cream and coffee shop in south Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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UMMC holds free cancer screenings

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @EricJShelton – 2025-04-30 12:00:00

by Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Resident physician Claire Babin, right, performs an oral cancer screening on Ella Holmes during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Physicians prepare for oral, head and neck cancer screenings during a free screening event at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, screens Diane Carter for oral cancer as medical students Mason Nodurft, left, and Eva Kiparizoska observe during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Educational giveaways advocating against smoking are available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Sharon Terry, senior tobacco treatment specialist, waits for patients during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Skylar Robinson, medical office assistant, left, and Kiandria Bruce, registered nurse, review materials at the patient sign-in table during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Head and neck cancer literature is available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Dr. Alex Brooks and registered nurse Angela Noble talk during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Nina Brown, clinical manager, helps Ned Bostic with paperwork during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin performs an oral cancer screening on Ned Bostic at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Ned Bostic receives a neck cancer screening during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, and medical student Hanna Watson examine Ned Bostic during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery hosted a free oral, head, and neck cancer screening Wednesday at the Jackson Medical Mall as part of Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week.

The event featured quick, noninvasive screenings aimed at catching cancer early — when treatment is most effective. Onyx Care provided free HPV vaccinations, while the ACT Center for Tobacco Treatment, Education, and Research offered resources on smoking cessation and free services.

“These screenings take about 10 minutes and can save lives,” said Dr. Gina Jefferson, head and neck surgical oncologist at UMMC. “The earlier a cancer is diagnosed, the better chance we have of curing it.”

Tobacco and alcohol use remain major risk factors for these cancers. However, physicians say an increasing number of cases are linked to HPV, especially among younger adults with no history of smoking or drinking. Dentists are often the first to spot early signs, which can include persistent sores, lumps in the neck, or difficulty swallowing.

Oral, head and neck cancers are among the most common globally. When found early, survival rates can exceed 80 percent.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post UMMC holds free cancer screenings appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article presents factual information about a free cancer screening event without showing a clear ideological stance. It primarily focuses on the health benefits of early cancer detection and the availability of free resources, such as HPV vaccinations and smoking cessation support. The language used is neutral and the content is centered around public health education rather than promoting a political viewpoint. The inclusion of factual statistics, such as survival rates and risk factors, adds to its informative and objective tone. There are no signs of bias or advocacy for a particular political agenda, making this a centrist piece.

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Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball?

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2 days ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @rick_cleveland – 2025-04-30 10:46:00

by Rick Cleveland and Tyler Cleveland, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi State didn’t even wait until the end of the season to fire Chris Lemonis, who brought the national championship to Starkville not quite four years ago. Where do the Bulldogs go from here. Robbie Faulk who covers the Bulldogs more closely than anyone else joins the podcast to discuss the situation.

Stream all episodes here.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball? appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Mississippi Today

Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-30 10:21:00

by Mississippi Today, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi Today is looking to speak with current and former mobile sports betting users. We’d like to speak with people who spend considerable amounts of time and money betting on sports through online gambling sites.

We’re interested in hearing the experience of people who have suffered from gambling addiction or problems, or friends and family members of people who have. We also would like to talk with people who believe legalizing mobile sports betting would benefit Mississippi and its residents.

We want to hear from you. Please take the survey below or contact Political Reporter Michael Goldberg by email at mgoldberg@mississippitoday.org

TAKE THE SURVEY:

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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article from Mississippi Today appears to present a neutral stance, focusing on gathering input from various groups of mobile sports betting users, including those who may have experienced addiction issues. The content does not advocate for or against the legalization of mobile sports betting but instead seeks to gather diverse perspectives, including those of individuals who may support or oppose it. The language used is objective and does not suggest a particular ideological perspective, allowing for a balanced exploration of the issue at hand.