Fighting For Fair Representation

The Joint Legislative Redistricting and Apportionment Committee held its final public hearing in Jackson, MS on October 1, 2026 at the Mississippi State Capitol. More than 100 individuals, mostly made up of college students, organized, rallied, and made their voices heard. Nearly 70 college students courageously spoke against mid-decade redistricting during public comments. I yielded my time to the young people, who rightfully and righteously deserved the platform to let the committee know where they stand. They spoke for all of us who are fighting for our voting rights.

Nevertheless, I was prepared to speak and I will share my comments to the PEER committee attorney, Ted Booth, at ted.booth@peer.ms.gov. You can and should as well!

Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank you for allowing me to speak.

I come before you not simply as a legislator, but as a Mississippian. This is my home - I grew up here. I’m raising my family here, we worship here, and I work here.

I am asking us to return to some basic values: fairness, stewardship, stability, and equal representation.

I join the majority of the people in this room who oppose mid-decade redistricting. 

No court has ordered this Legislature to undertake statewide mid-decade redistricting. Callais did not command us to redraw Mississippi. 

So I ask: Why are we doing this?

We are four years away from the next census. If split precincts are the concern, fix the split precincts. We do not need to redraw legislative and congressional maps—and spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars doing it—to solve an administrative problem.

These dollars could support child care for working families, maternal and infant health, public schools, deteriorating roads and bridges, public safety, or services for seniors and people with disabilities - not a manufactured emergency. 

Mississippi has the highest Black population in the country, yet Black Mississippians remain underrepresented in major institutions of government. When the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus and Minority Leaders raised concerns about this process, the Senate Minority Leader was removed from this committee. Why?

If race counts when determining how many people Mississippi has, then It should count for representation. It can not suddenly become irrelevant when determining whether Black people have a meaningful voice.

This is not about creating race-neutral districts because race is the reason districts are being scrutinized in the first place. 

Black Mississippians should not continually be treated as collateral damage every time the law changes or political power shifts. And the legislature should not disenfranchise Mississippians in a non-mandated desire of someone outside this state. 

Colleagues, how long must our communities keep fighting the same fights? How many generations must come before this state decides that no voice deserves to go unheard?

There is a solution to this debacle… and that’s The Robert G. Clark, Jr. Voting Rights Act. It would establish Mississippi's own protections against voter suppression and vote dilution, provide public notice of voting changes, strengthen transparency, and create state-level enforcement mechanisms.

When Mr. Clark came in as a Caucus of one, he was ostracized… now almost 60 years later we don’t need to return to that. We can protect the right to vote, strengthen confidence in our elections, and ensure every Mississippi community has a meaningful voice. That’s worth fighting for. 

We do not have to keep reopening old wounds. We can choose fairness over fear. Stability over disruption. And, representation over dilution. And we can finally say that in Mississippi, every person counts—and every voice matters.