I Don’t Work for the Speaker. I Work for the People.

Published in the Jackson Advocate

During Mississippi’s recent special session, House Speaker Jason White told me to “stand down” and threatened to have me removed from the chamber. My offense? Asking for debate on $7.2 billion in state budget bills that lawmakers were given just moments before being forced to vote on them.

As a legislator elected to represent more than 25,000 Mississippians, I cannot—and will not—be silent when democracy is circumvented.

This special session was called under the pretense of urgency, but it was marred by dysfunction. House members, particularly those in the House Democratic caucus, were shut out of negotiations. We had no substantive opportunity to weigh in on how taxpayer dollars would be spent, and we were given no time to fully review the lengthy budget bills.

In a supermajority where options are limited, we exercised one of the few tools left to us: we requested the bills be read aloud using the automated system, a sensible process until it is turned into the “demon chipmunk” by leadership. We also demanded our constitutional right to debate. That request was met with outright hostility. The denial was a clear violation of the House rules.

Debate is not obstruction. It is a safeguard. It is how we ensure transparency, spot errors, and raise concerns before laws are passed. When legislative leaders move in darkness and silence dissent, democracy dies a little more. Sometimes there's a misplaced comma or decimal that guts an otherwise sensible fiscal product. Without debate and the opportunity to actually read a bill, lots of mischief goes undiscovered.

The Speaker’s behavior isn’t just about a moment of personal disrespect—it’s part of a broader pattern. This is not the first time he has dismissed Democratic voices on the floor, nor the first time he has reneged on promises of bipartisan cooperation. Most notably, he pledged not to rush the budget process. That promise was broken.

Mississippians deserve more than closed-door decision-making and power plays. They deserve a legislature that reflects the will of the people, not the whims of a few. They deserve to know what’s in the budget. They deserve to hear the questions, the concerns, and the competing visions that elected officials bring to the table.

As a Black woman in this body, I know what it means to be spoken over, sidelined, and silenced. But I was not elected to sit quietly. I was elected to speak the truth, ask hard questions, and fight for the people who entrusted me with this role.

I would like to work with the Speaker, but I don’t work for the Speaker. I work for the people.

And I will continue to do so—boldly, unapologetically, and in full view of the public who deserves to see what democracy looks like.