Redistricting hearings across the state are open to the public, with tight security planned

By Taylor Vance | Originally published by Mississippi Today

When a panel of state lawmakers convenes in Tupelo on Tuesday to hear from the public on how, or whether, the state should redraw Mississippi’s legislative, judicial and congressional districts, the hearings will be open to the public. 

State and local authorities plan to provide security for the hearings before a joint House and Senate committee on redistricting on what has become an intensely debated topic.

Alex Gibert, spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said no threats have been made against any legislator. Still, the Mississippi Highway Patrol will work alongside other divisions within the agency to “ensure the safety of legislators and civilians who are present.” 

Many civil rights leaders, Black lawmakers and voting rights advocates believe the hearings are a pretext for the Legislature moving to dismantle several majority-Black districts and weakening Black political power in the state.

Republican leaders believe that when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the Callais decision on a Louisiana casae, it cleared the way for the Legislature to redraw political lines to make it easier for Republicans to get elected.

The committee is encouraging the public to participate. The public can offer comments at any of the eight public hearings, or submit a redistricting plan to the committee, according to the directions on the committee’s website. 

This is not the first time state police have protected board members during an impassioned policy debate.

In 2000, former Gov. William Winter led a 17-member advisory council on changing Mississippi’s former state flag that featured a Confederate battle emblem in the upper left canton that many Black citizens viewed as racist and white citizens viewed as part of the state’s history. 

The council conducted hearings across the state to gather input on how state officials should proceed after it was revealed that the state never actually adopted an official state flag. Some of the hearings grew heated and saw citizens argue with one another.

Below is the schedule of planned redistricting hearings. Each will start at 6 p.m. 

• Aug. 18 at Itawamba Community College in Tupelo 
• Aug. 27 at Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia 
• Sept. 1 at Delta State University in Cleveland 
• Sept. 8 at Alcorn State University in Natchez 
• Sept.10 at Meridian Community College in Meridian 
• Sept. 17 at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg 
• Sept. 22 at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gulfport 
• Sept. 24 at the state Capitol in Jackson

This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Source: Original Article