Jim Crow is Alive and Well in Mississippi

Using the conservative dog-whistle of rising crime rates, both chambers of the state legislature pass separate measures that seek to control a predominantly Black population by taking away their vote.

A Jackson, Mississippi, resident stands on his front porch on December 10, 2022. Jackson residents have been suffering from unsafe drinking water for years forcing people to use bottled water to drink, cook and brush their teeth. Flooding in August caused the water treatment facility to malfunction leaving residents without water to bathe or even flush toilets. (Photo by Joshua Lott/via Getty Images)

Mississippi’s Republican-controlled House recently passed House Bill 1020, a law that would expand a state-run Capitol Police in Jackson, that establishes a court system comprised of appointed judges. Jackson, Mississippi, has the highest percentage of Black residents of any major US city.

Approximately 83% of Jackson’s nearly 154,000 residents are Black, and roughly 25% of the area lives in poverty. Instead of this Black community being in control of their elected representatives, Republicans are set on giving white government officials more power over the city.

The Mississippi State Senate has also passed a bill to establish a new regional governing board for Jackson’s long-troubled water system. The system nearly collapsed last year following torrential rainfall in central Mississippi that altered the quality of the raw water entering Jackson’s treatment plants. This resulted in a much slower water treatment process, which caused water tank supplies to drop drastically, and produced a dangerous drop in water pressure.

Members of Progressive Morningstar Baptist Church direct people to get bottled water following a Sunday morning service in Jackson, Mississippi, on September 4, 2022. (Photo by Seth Herald/via Getty Images)