Hundreds gather in Mississippi to protest Republican redistricting: ‘This fight is familiar territory’
Dozens of residents testify to legislature’s redistricting committee in heated hearing, the last of eight 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. Shortly after the US supreme court’s decision in Louisiana v Callais, which severely weakened section…
A heated redistricting hearing at Mississippi's Capitol on Thursday saw a large audience criticize what they perceived as an attempt to diminish Black political power and strengthen Republican dominance. The hearing, which took place in Jackson, was the culmination of a series of fiery public hearings that began in August and traveled throughout the state.
Opponents of redistricting wore T-shirts emblazoned with "I FIGHT FOR VOTING RIGHTS" and carried placards, while pro-redistricting attendees in red blazers of the Mississippi Federation of Republican Women were in the front row. The committee, chosen by legislative leaders, was 16 Republicans, mostly white, and 4 Democrats, all Black.
Walter Boone, a Jackson resident, warned against continuing a pattern of policymaking that harms Black residents. Republican State Auditor Shad White argued that the state needed better leadership in the Delta, criticizing a Black member of Congress. The committee chairman threatened to adjourn the hearing when White made comments disparaging another person, leading to a heated exchange.
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