(Photo from Congressman Bennie Thompson's Facebook page)
- Congressman Bennie Thompson told attendees, “The toughest job in America is being black,” while House Minority Leader Robert Johnson said of the redistricting battles ahead, “You don’t stop until you tear everything down and you can build it back right.”
Urged on by the NAACP, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Mississippi Democratic Party, hundreds gathered in Jackson on Wednesday afternoon to protest the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais that ruled race could no longer be used as a determinative factor in drawing voting districts.
The high court’s ruling has set off talk of redistricting across the South, as states have been forced to draw voting districts with racial quotas in mind for 60 years under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Unlike other states, Mississippi has not yet undertaken corrective redistricting actions following the Callais ruling but it is widely believed lawmakers will consider the matter soon.
Governor Tate Reeves (R) called off a special session to redraw state Supreme Court lines in the wake of Callais and has since said he is considering when to move forward with congressional and legislative redistricting. Speaker Jason White (R) said this week that he foresees a special session before January to address legislative redistricting ahead off the 2027 election cycle.
As for congressional redistricting, given that the state has already held its primaries for this midterm cycle, Governor Reeves has said he is consulting with the White House and others on the best time to address the issue. Many in Republican circles see this as an opportunity to change representation in the state’s 2nd Congressional District. Reeves himself has said it is not a matter of if but when Democrat Congressman Bennie Thompson’s “reign of terror” in the Delta district comes to an end.
On Wednesday, the predominantly black crowd marched from the Old Capitol, wandered through the streets of the capital city, passed the current State Capitol, and ended at the city’s convention center. The marchers chanted and sang songs, harkening back to the 1960’s civil rights era.
Those gathered wore shirts and waved signs with slogans that mirrored the NAACP’s national push against the Callais ruling. Other signs featured Mississippi civil rights leaders such as Fannie Lou Hamer and Medgar Evers.
Raneeta Bass from Pocahontas, Mississippi, was among those marching and chanting. She attended the march in honor of her 86-year-old sister, Ruby Wingate. While a student at the former Campbell College, an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) junior college in Jackson that was closed in 1964, Wingate was jailed for sitting at Woolworth’s lunch counter in 1963.
“I am doing this for her, since she cannot be here,” said Bass, explaining that other members of her family protested during the civil rights era, including her grandfather.
“I am bringing up the rear,” she said with a small laugh.
Sitting beside her, Luvenia Williams held a “No Jim Crow” placard and wore an “I fight for Voting Rights” shirt. She was there to defend her right to vote.
“It’s about fair representation,” she said.
It was not all harmonious at the Old Capitol. A lone protestor, a self-described street preacher, used his public address system to shout at marchers, accusing them of being brainwashed by Democrats.
During their march through the city, supporters were heard yelling to those in the street, “You keep it up!” and “So proud.” Many onlookers greeted the marchers with applause, waves and smiles.
At the Jackson Convention Complex, it was standing room only as participants, media, and leaders with the NAACP, SPLC and the Mississippi Democratic Party settled in for about two and a half hours of speeches. The speeches included politicians, civil rights leaders, and voting rights advocates.
Congressman Thompson spoke out against congressional redistricting, which could alter Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District, a seat he has held for more than 30 years.
Thompson, a black man, touted his record in Congress, telling the crowd how the Voting Rights Act allowed “people that looks like me” to become mayors, sheriffs, and more who now hold political power in Mississippi.
“You have to understand that the system is not fair,” Thompson told attendees. “If our governor in this state say that a congressperson that votes for healthcare, housing, economic opportunity, education for his constituents is a ‘reign of terror,’ give me a break.”
Thompson said “it is the system that oppresses us.”
“The reason I act the way I do is because I was mistreated along the way. The mistreatment isn’t something I wanted to happen. It’s because the system didn’t want people like Bennie Thompson and you to make it,” the congressman said. “The toughest job in America is being black.”
Thompson said “those of us who tried to level the playing field, we get called terrorists.”
“The Supreme Court, I thank you for what you are doing right now because what you’re doing is allowing us to unleash the anger, unleash the disappointment, unleash everything we’ve had to deal with as a people right now,” Thompson said.
State Treasurer David McRae (R) voiced his concerns about the day’s events, challenging Congressman Thompson in a social media post.
“Let me be very clear: Bennie Thompson supports today’s anti-redistricting rally because he wants to protect HIS political interests, not Mississippi’s,” McRae said. “Throughout his time as Congressman, he has focused more on HIS profile, HIS ambitions, HIS celebrity rather than the policies that work at home. He voted to raise every Mississippians’ taxes.”
McRae added that Thompson led efforts “to impeach a President Mississippi voted for. He fought to open the borders, put law enforcement officers in danger, and force California values on the good people of Mississippi.”
Also at the rally was Mississippi House Minority Leader Robert Johnson (D). He spoke to the crowd while flanked by his fellow legislative Democrats from the House and Senate. His desire is to keep the state legislative districts with majority black populations intact. He also said a change in leadership was needed at the Capitol. Voting, Johnson said, is the way to change Mississippi.
“They always say we only vote at 25%, Well, damn it, it’s time to vote at 100%,” he said to a roaring crowd.
Johnson described the current redistricting environment as a fight, saying he is ready to rumble in the state House of Representatives.
“I don’t care what they got. I got to have a club, a knife, or whatever I got to have. But we ain’t going to stand for it no more. This is a fight,” Johnson said. “You don’t stop until you tear everything down and you can build it back right.”
Speakers from the NAACP, SPLC and other racially motivated groups said court cases are coming, as are voter drives.
One leader challenged the audience to sign up 10 people who are not registered to vote.
“I don’t need to be disrespectful, but we do need to be disruptive,” she said.
In response to the march and rally, Shuwaski Young, a black Democrat-turned-Republican candidate for Secretary of State, took to social media to push back on the narrative being shouted by the NAACP, SPLC, the Mississippi Democratic Party and other groups.
“We are witnessing a racialized political rally in Jackson, Mississippi today built around fear and division,” Young said. “Black voting rights are not in danger in Mississippi, and organizations like the NAACP and SPLC know it. Political disagreements over redistricting should not be used to spread fear among voters or divide our state.”
Young went on to say that claims that black voting rights are under attack “may generate headlines, but they do not reflect the reality on the ground.”
“Every eligible voter in Mississippi has the right to register, vote, and have their voice heard,” Young said. “Mississippi deserves honest conversations rooted in facts, not fear. We should be focused on expanding opportunity, growing our economy, strengthening education, and improving our communities for all Mississippians. Division and fear will not move Mississippi forward.”
Frank Corder
