NOT A SINGLE AFRICAN-AMERICAN HAS WON STATEWIDE OFFICE IN MISSISSIPPI IN 129 YEARS, HOW?
So what’s the deal with Mississippi? My first memory of the state was, well, learning how to spell the state’s name. It was kinda fun, to be honest. But just a few decades later, I’m still yet to have ever been there. Why? Well, pretty much ignorance of anything I’d want to see there. So yes, I do know there’s lots of history there that would be interesting to see. But there’s a lot of other history that’s not so nice to take part in. So something new to me that fits that bill is the fact that the state of Mississippi hasn’t elected a single African-American to any office in 129 years.
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HOW CAN MISSISSIPPI STILL BE SO RACIST, NOT HAVE ELECTED A SINGLE AFTRICAN-AMERICAN IN 129 YEARS?
So what the hell is that about? To ask the question is to answer it. But it’s even worse than you are likely to assume. So do you know which state in the US has the highest percentage of African-American citizens living there? You guessed it: Mississippi. So the fact that every person of color living there hasn’t had someone from their community representing them in statewide government in any fashion for over a century is simply shameful. It’s been since 1890!
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IF A CANDIDATE DOESN’T WIN HALF THE TOTAL VOTES, THE WHITE LEGISLATURE PICKS THE WINNER
So how is this possible, given the reality of how many African-Americans live there? It’s simple, really. The system is gamed to make sure whites-only remains a reality in state government. So this is how it works. In Mississippi, to win office outright you must win more than 50% of the votes. If no single candidate wins that number, the Mississippi legislature chooses who they want to be in the office. It literally has nothing to do with voters. But most especially, African-American voters.
So you won’t be too surprised to hear that 4 African-Americans from the state of Mississippi have sued in federal court, just this past month, to end the racist, appalling state practice. So stay tuned.
