(Photo from Cheikh Taylor on Facebook)
- The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus says they wants to hear the public’s views on healthcare, infrastructure, education freedom, voting rights and more.
Mississippi Democrats are gathered in Gulfport this week to discuss the party’s platform and to here from speakers that include Congressman Bennie Thompson and Rev. Dr. William Barber, II, chairman of the NAACP’s legislative political action committee.
The retreat will also include a community conversation with members of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus on Tuesday. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. at Gulfport’s Good Deeds Community Center with a free dinner for those in attendance. The event will start at 6 p.m.
State Representative Jeffrey Hulum III said the community conversation is just one that the Black Caucus will hold across Mississippi to understand what is on Mississippians’ minds, politically speaking. The Caucus wants to hear the public’s views on healthcare, infrastructure, education freedom, and voting rights, he said.
“Or lack thereof, and different things that affect all people in Mississippi,” said Hulum.
School choice, which is the number one priority for the Republican supermajority during the 2026 legislation session, as announced by Speaker Jason White at the Neshoba County Fair, will be heavily debated during the four-day event. Democrats believe public money should be given to public education, while Republicans have said the money should follow the student and allow parents to have a say.
Democrats will work to block bills that allow more school choice, party officials have indicated. Last session, Republicans, mainly in the Senate, did not have the votes to pass expanded school choice legislation.
“When we take those public education dollars away and give them to private entities, or certain charter schools, what are we teaching, or who are we really helping? We’re not helping a bulk of Mississippi because a bulk of Mississippi goes to public schools,” said Hulum.
Other topics to be discussed during the retreat and the community conversation include the reform of the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) which occurred this year. A new tier was added for state employees hired after March 2026 in an effort to address the system’s long-term financial stability.
Democrats are aware of the need for PERS reform but disagree with Republicans on how those reforms should be implemented.
Another hot-button issue to be discussed by members is voting rights, especially early voting which passed the Senate but did not have the votes in the House. Democrats have promised to fight any efforts at what party members see as voter suppression. Rev. Barber has said he believes voter suppression is a sin.
The retreat started Monday and will end Wednesday. Messages from Magnolia Tribune to party leaders went unreturned on Monday.
Daniel Tyson
