Hundreds of people gathered across from the Mississippi state capitol building on Thursday evening to rally against the aggressive Republican efforts to draw maps that favor their own party.
asserted
that → gather → party
Shortly after the US supreme court’s decision in Louisiana v Callais, which severely weakened section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, Tate Reeves, the Mississippi governor, moved in lockstep with other Republican governors and lawmakers to call for a special session to redraw maps.
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Reeves → weaken → maps
However, before that special session could occur, Reeves canceled it and wrote on X that he expected “lawmakers to redraw congressional lines BETWEEN NOW and 2027 elections!”
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lawmakers → occur → lines
In August, members of the Mississippi legislature’s joint redistricting committee began a tour of eight redistricting hearings across the state.
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members → begin → state
The last of those hearings took place Thursday evening in Jackson, the state’s capitol.
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last → take → Jackson
The giants of the civil rights movement didn’t fight so that we could sit this fight out.
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we → fight → fight
They fought so we could stand exactly where we’re standing right now and finish what they started,” Safia Malin, policy director at One Voice, a civic organization, told the crowd before the hearing.
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Malin → fight → hearing
Malin was one of several speakers who reminded the people gathered of the history and fight for voting rights in the state, from the 1890 constitution, which disenfranchised Black voters and ushered in an era of Jim Crow, to the 1964 efforts of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic party and the work of Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer and others.
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which → remind → Evers
Following the rally, those gathered marched to the capitol holding signs, their chants of “Leave our maps alone” and “Whose maps? Our maps” echoing through the capitol building.
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maps → follow → building
An hour before the hearing was scheduled to begin, the room was full, with some people leaning against the walls.
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people → schedule → walls
Others sat in an overflow section outside and watched the proceedings on television screens.
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Others → sit → screens
Prior to the proceedings, house Democratic leader Robert Johnson, who is Black, encouraged audience members to ensure that they made the historical record.
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they → encourage → record
“This is testimony,” said Johnson, one of several Democratic lawmakers who showed up to observe or speak at the proceedings.
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who → say → proceedings
So let’s make sure we’re heard.”
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we → let → ?
The committee, handpicked by legislative leaders, is primarily made up of white men.
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committee → handpicke → men
It consists of 16 Republicans, all of whom but one are white, and four Democrats, all of whom are Black.
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all → consist → whom
The committee did not answer questions, provide information about how the redistricting process would look on their end or explain how citizens’ testimony would affect their decision.
And in a room full of dozens of Black men and women, six of the first 10 speakers were white.
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speakers → answer → men
The first Black woman called to give her testimony was the 15th person to speak.
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woman → call → testimony
Overall, 67 people spoke.
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people → speak → ?
Each person was given two minutes to speak.
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person → give → minutes
The proceedings lasted just under two hours.
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proceedings → last → ?
State auditor Shad White, who is considering a gubernatorial run, created controversy almost as soon as he began his comments.
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he → consider → comments
“The delta deserves better leadership than Bennie Thompson.
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delta → deserve → Thompson
It just does,” White said, as members of the audience booed.
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members → do → audience
White, Reeves and other Republicans in the state have openly targeted Thompson and his district.
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White → target → Thompson
Through continued boos, White said that there was a “silent majority” of people who “want better representation for the Mississippi delta”, and not someone who is “focused on running the January 6th committee”.
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who → continue → committee
Jesse Otto Smith, who was born and raised in Mississippi, said that the stakes of the redistricting hearing were personal.
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stakes → bear → hearing
“I’m 76 years old.
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I → ’m → ?
My father was born in 1926 – he couldn’t vote.
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he → bear → 1926
My grandfather was born in 1891 – he couldn’t vote.
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he → bear → 1891
That’s why I’m here.
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I → ’ → ?
My great-grandfather was born as an enslaved man, considered less than a human, in 1861 – he couldn’t vote.
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he → bear → 1861
He was a piece of property,” he said.
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he → say → property
“That’s why I am here.
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I → ’ → ?
My mother graduated from Rust College, grew up in Starkville, but couldn’t go to school at Mississippi State, paid taxes without representation.”
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mother → graduate → representation
Walter Boone, who is white, called the redistricting efforts “Mississippi plan 2.0”.
“The original Mississippi plan culminated in our 1890 constitution, and we cannot ignore that history.
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we → call → history
I’m not a scholar or trained historian, and even I know that Mississippi has been here before,” he said.
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he → ’m → ?
“Our first reconstruction ended in much the same way, through a culmination of redistricting and fraud.
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reconstruction → end → redistricting
Our Black elected representatives were stripped of their offices, and Black constituents did not see another person represent them that looked like them for 75 years.”
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that → elect → years
Lauren Wilson, a sophomore at Tougaloo College from Tupelo, spoke in opposition to redistricting.
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Wilson → speak → redistricting
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
