Mississippi Today (https://mississippitoday.org/author/eshelton/)
Eric J. Shelton joins the team as our inaugural photojournalist. Shelton began his photojournalism career with the Associated Press after graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi. He has since worked across Texas and Mississippi as a photojournalist, most recently serving as photo editor of the Killeen Daily Herald. Throughout his career, Shelton has documented issues concerning drug abuse and poverty, and he has won awards from the Mississippi Associated Press Managing Editors and the Arkansas Press Photographers Association.
Marcus Alford is in Jackson teaching and training dance students during the USA International Ballet Competition. But the former student football trainer who introduced dance stretches to Coach Bear Bryant’s football team is much more than that. This week, Mississippi Today photographer Eric Shelton spent time with the graceful instructor and the dancers as these athletes worked on their craft.
Utica is a rural town that is often overlooked and left out of conversations about economic development. Yet, residents of the town are fighting for its future.