CLEVELAND, Miss.—Jada Barnes does not see the need for mid-decade redistricting. The field director for the Mississippi MS Votes Action Fund was present with her organization at the redistricting hearing held at Delta State University on Sept. 1.
“It’s no reason for redistricting. There’s no reason that we should be redrawing lines right now,” Barnes told the Mississippi Free Press on Sept. 1.
The Mississippi redistricting hearing comes after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 majority ruling in Louisiana V. Callais that determined one of Louisiana’s majority-Black congressional districts was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Justice Samuel Alito, in writing for the majority, said Louisiana relied too heavily on race when crafting the district. This ruling significantly narrows Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which has previously allowed a path to creating majority-minority districts.
The decision has left several Black Mississippians worried about an erosion of their voting rights and representation. At President Donald Trump’s urging, several red states have either already installed new congressional maps or are in the process of doing so. Some Democrat-led states have also taken up redistricting in response to this push.
A Hub, Mississippi native, Barnes explains that Mississippi Votes’ mission is to ensure that younger people are a part of the voting process, making the organization’s presence at the redistricting hearing even more important.
“MS Votes’ standpoint is to always make sure that young people are involved and young people are a part of the process,” she said.
Barnes, along with more than 100 people, filled the auditorium of the Bologna Performing Arts Center to share thoughts on Mississippi’s redistricting push to the Mississippi Standing Joint Legislative Committee on Reapportionment and Redistricting. The committee’s chair, Mississippi Sen. Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, told the assembly that it was not a question-and-answer session, but would allow attendees to share their thoughts on the matter of redistricting.
Mississippi House Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville, had a simple message to redistricting planners on Sept. 1: “Leave us alone.”
“Voters should choose their representatives—not representatives (choosing) their voters. Redrawing boundaries, primarily for political advantages, undermines public confidence in government. Mississippi citizens deserve districts that reflect genuine communities of interest rather than political calculations,” he told the assembly at the Bologna Performing Arts Center at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi.
‘We Shall Overcome’
While most people spoke about their opinions at the hearing, one lady decided to sing.
Effie Burt, a 72- year-old Mississippi woman, began her dissent, stating that she is representing herself. After the audience burst out into laughter, she talked about how she felt the mid-decade redistricting was unnecessary and ethically wrong.
“What you’re doing is wrong. It is unnecessary, is biased and is racist. You are following the present administration, and my parents taught me not to follow man, but to follow God,” she said to the redistricting committee.”
As she concluded her dissent, she began to sing.
“We shall overcome. We shall overcome. We shall overcome, someday. Deep down in my heart, I do believe we shall overcome someday.”
The vast majority of speakers were against redistricting, but there were some supporters.
Susan Spiller, the president of the Leflore County Women’s Republican Club, moved to Greenwood a decade ago from Texas. Upon her arrival to Mississippi, she stated that she remembered asking someone about the differences.
“When I first moved here, things were really different. So I asked somebody that grew up here… and he just says to me, ‘Think of it as 1965, and you’ll be okay,’” she said.
She continued by stating that she supports redistricting based on racial neutrality and that times have changed in Mississippi.
“I’m asking this committee to redraw Mississippi’s district based on traditional race neutral criteria… It is not 1965. It is 2026, and it’s time for one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all,” Spiller concluded.
Redrawing Rights
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a direct result of racial discrimination toward Black Americans across the nation, specifically in the Jim Crow South. The Louisiana v. Callais decision has many fearing a weakening of minority representation in Congress and in statehouses across the country by giving states the power to strategically redraw congressional districts by political party influence instead of relying solely on census data.
The Callais decision does not require Mississippi to redistrict, but several Republican lawmakers have expressed support for doing so. Following the Louisiana v. Callais decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pulled an order requiring Mississippi to redraw its Supreme Court maps designed to give more voting power to Black Mississippians. The U.S. Supreme Court then reversed a decision ordering Mississippi to create more Black-majority legislative districts.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has praised the Supreme Court’s decision and said he may call a special legislative session for the purpose of redrawing the state’s various maps. He’s also said that U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson’s “reign of terror” will soon be “over.” Thompson is the state’s only Black congressional representative.
Potential Costs
Itta Bena Mayor Mary Tyes-Williams also voiced her concerns during the redistricting hearing. Elected in 2025, Tyes-Williams has been a long-time resident of Congressional District 2 before her mayorship. Living and serving in the Mississippi Delta has given her first-hand experience of the issues the region faces as both a citizen and a public office holder.
“Mississippi should not be undertaking a mid-decade redistricting process before the 2030 census. This is not simply about lines on a map. These lines determine which communities are represented together, whether communities of shared interest remain connected, and whether citizens maintain a meaningful voice in Congress,” Tyes-Williams said.
The Itta Bena mayor also discussed how funds for redistricting could be better spent.
“Mississippi communities are facing serious needs involving water, sewer, roads, public safety, infrastructure needs, healthcare needs, educational needs, and economic development. Taxpayer dollars should not be spent unnecessarily on this attempt to offer mid-decade redistricting.”
Mississippi House Rep. Timaka James-Jones, D-Belzoni, was previously circuit clerk in Humphreys County for 20 years. She used that experience to criticize another aspect of redistricting: the costs borne by the counties responsible for redrawing precinct lines.
“My position is very clear… Redistricting isn’t about just drawing lines. Redistricting is about representation. Why are we trying to consider redistricting when the law clearly says that we don’t need to redistricting until after the census numbers come back?”
She added to her sentiments, “Mississippi is already struggling with budgets. Counties are struggling with budgets. Can you imagine the strain you will put on all of these counties that do not have the money to continually have changes over and over again?”
Humphreys County Circuit Clerk Marvin Jones spoke about how redistricting funds could be used in other entities in the state’s budget.
“The state is always bragging about this surplus of money that you have, so if you want to redistrict go ahead and redistrict some of that super majority money back into the Delta.” He added, “When you think about redistricting, redistrict money into health care, Medicaid expansion, SNAP benefits for the elderly and children … Take care of the Delta the way you take care of North Mississippi,”
While most of the comments spoke about their beliefs on redistricting, one man conveyed dismay at seeing the legislators’ body language during the meeting.
“I don’t plan on couching language. I plan on being direct,” T. Malik Ross said. “I have a problem with some of the body language up here and how cavalier things are.”
Ross said Mississippians would continue on in the event the lines are redrawn.
“You can draw those lines as much as you want to draw them. We’re going to keep doing what we’re going to keep doing, and we’re going to make Mississippi better because we are the ones that get up and go to work and add to the richness of Mississippi,” Ross said.
Nothing Set in Stone
Mississippi House Rep. Tracey Rosebud, D-Tutwiler, told the Mississippi Free Press after the meeting about the committee’s intentions.
“This committee that you see here is so we can have representation throughout each portion of the state and hear the voices of the people as well,” he said.
The state representative also wanted to comment on the idea that the committee had already redrawn the redistricting maps. Several of the attendees commented that they felt the committee had already made its decision.
“The perception of it is totally wrong. There were some wrong ideologies of it that were given. We have to hear what you all have to say. The individuals here are not mandated to be here, so the individuals that come to hear it, want to hear it,” Rosebud said.
As the redistricting hearings continue across the state in Natchez, Meridian, Hattiesburg, Biloxi and Jackson, Rosebud urges citizens to give a definitive answer of whether they are for or against redistricting.
“What citizens need to really understand is to make sure they come and speak whether they are for it or against it because it’s critical. Definitely to know where we stand, so that a total criteria can be established,” Rosebud said.
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of redistricting and read past stories here.
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