‘We will not go back to Jim Crow’: thousands of Mississippians rally for voting rights
Demonstration, held at historic location where the ‘Mississippi Plan’ was enacted, comes as southern states race to dilute Black voting power
TL;DR
- Thousands rallied in Mississippi to support voting rights following a Supreme Court decision impacting the Voting Rights Act.
- The rally occurred at the War Memorial Building, historically significant for Black disenfranchisement in Mississippi.
- The Supreme Court decision is seen as potentially leading to the greatest destruction of Black political power since Reconstruction.
- Southern states like Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Georgia are redrawing congressional districts, potentially diluting Black voting power.
- Mississippi's governor had planned a special session for redistricting, but reversed the decision, though map redrawing is expected before 2027.
- Speakers and activists warned against redistricting efforts and vowed to resist a return to Jim Crow laws.
- The event involved speeches, chants, freedom songs, and a march through downtown Jackson.