All Posts

THE MLBC RUNDOWN - Sept. 10, 2026 GREENVILLE IS UP NEXT Here is what is happening, what you need to know and where you can get involved. This week, we are preparing to take our work to Greenville, bringing elected and community leaders together for voter education and making sure Mississippi communities know when redistricting decisions are being discussed. The calendar is full. The opportunities to participate are clear. Let’s get to it. GREENVILLE 2026 Civic Action Meets

This week, MLBC’s work continues to move from the Capitol into churches, neighborhoods and community rooms. Across Mississippi, the Caucus is sharing clear information, listening to local concerns and demanding answers about decisions affecting Black families.

It was an honor for the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus to join the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators in Nashville for important conversations about education, healthcare, economic opportunity, criminal justice reform, and voting rights. Our communities face many of the same challenges, and our responsibility does not end when the meeting is over. We must stay connected, establish clear policy goals and timelines, and hold ourselves accountable for the work ahe

This week, MLBC’s work continues to move from the Capitol into churches, neighborhoods and community rooms. Across Mississippi, the Caucus is sharing clear information, listening to local concerns and demanding answers about decisions affecting Black families.

As Legislative Leadership and the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees considers potential changes to how our public institutions of higher learning are funded, we believe it is important that policymakers have a complete, independent, and data-driven picture of the resources currently available to each institution and the potential impact of any new funding formula. Our request to the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure asks PEE

The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus is calling on state officials to establish a clear point of contact and provide Kohen Wiley’s family with direct, timely and ongoing updates about the investigation into his death. On June 14, one-year-old Kohen Wiley was fatally shot during a law-enforcement encounter in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating the circumstances surrounding his death. Members of the Mississippi Legis

Mississippi is once again facing important decisions about how our political districts—and ultimately our political power—may be shaped. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais, state leaders have created separate House and Senate Select Committees as well as a Joint Redistricting and Reapportionment Committee to examine possible mid-decade redistricting. The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus wants Mississippians to understand one important poin

By Rep. Kabir Karriem | Chairman, Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus Governor Tate Reeves called the Mississippi Legislature into the 2026 Extraordinary Session with less than 24 hours' notice to consider the Mississippi Youth Court Reform Act of 2026, one of the most significant overhauls of Mississippi’s juvenile justice system in decades. There is no question that our youth court system deserves thoughtful reform. Our children, families, judges, prosecutors, public defen

By Rep. Kabir Karriem | Chairman, Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus There are moments when a state has the opportunity to tell the world who it really is. Recently, I visited The Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. Both tell the story of our state. Both are truthful. Yet each tells that story through a different lens. As I walked through those exhibits, I realized the most important story of Mississippi isn’t confined to museum walls. It is being written every day by the c

A slate of new Mississippi laws took effect July 1, impacting areas ranging from criminal justice and education to health care and retirement benefits. Rep. Kabir Karriem, chairman of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus, recently highlighted several of the new laws in a public information flyer, encouraging residents to stay informed about how policy changes may affect their daily lives. Here’s a closer look at several key measures and what they mean in practice: Crimina

This photo provided by Veronica Roberson to MSN shows her granddaughter, Kohen Wiley, of Senatobia, Mississippi.

The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus welcomes today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court to uphold Mississippi’s five-day absentee ballot receipt window and reject an effort that would have disenfranchised lawfully registered voters across our state. The challenge to Mississippi’s absentee voting law was part of a broader national effort initiated by the Republican Party to restrict access to the ballot box. Had the challenge succeeded, countless Mississippians

Statement from MLBC Chairman Rep. Kabir Karriem: Monday's action by the Supreme Court of the United States should trouble everyone who cares about fair representation in Mississippi. A lower federal court previously found that Mississippi’s state House and Senate maps diluted Black voting strength. Following that ruling, new districts were established and special elections were held. Now, however, the case is being sent back to the lower court under rules that may make it har

This statement may be attributed to MLBC Chairman Rep. Kabir Karriem: Reports indicate that Gov. Tate Reeves is canceling the May 20 special session. Let me be clear: canceling the session does not cancel the fight. People are beginning to pay attention. Questions are being asked. Communities are preparing to respond. The session is now canceled, but the issue has not gone away. Black representation and Black voting power still deserve public attention, and Mississippi leader

The decision by Governor Tate Reeves to convene a special session at the Old Mississippi State Capitol is deeply troubling. It is a painful and deliberate reminder of one of the darkest periods in Mississippi history. That building stands as a symbol of the systematic destruction of Black political power in this state. It was there that legislators voted to secede from the Union and, under the 1890 Mississippi Constitution, that laws were crafted with the clear intent to stri

The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus expresses profound disappointment and deep concern following the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais. This ruling represents a troubling step backward in the ongoing struggle to protect the voting rights of Black Americans and to ensure fair and equitable representation in our democracy. At its core, this decision weakens critical protections that have long served as a safeguard against racial discrimination

From classrooms to courtrooms, from the ballot box to the doctor’s office, the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus (MLBC) is delivering real results for Mississippi families. The 2026 legislative cycle has been defined by one word: Action . Across the state, MLBC members have been organizing town halls, hosting legislative hearings, and advancing a bold policy agenda rooted in equity, opportunity, and justice. But beyond engagement, the Caucus has translated advocacy into me

By Senator Rod Hickman, MLBC Vice Chairman | Mississippi Senate District 32 I did not come to the Mississippi Legislature to be a spectator or to do harm dressed up as policy. I came to solve problems, to make our communities safer and to ensure that the laws we pass actually serve the people of this state. That is why I write today with deep disappointment following the recent passage of Senate Bill 2322 , which is now pending the governor’s signature to become law. Taken as

By Rep. John Faulkner | Mississippi House District 5 In Mississippi, the balance of power inside the House of Representatives is not just tilted, it is firmly controlled by a Republican supermajority. Republicans also control the Senate, although Democrats recently broke that chamber’s supermajority, and they hold the Governor’s Mansion as well. With that level of control comes the ability to set the agenda, move legislation, and ultimately determine what policies live or die

By Rep. Kabir Karriem | MLBC Chairman “We will not forget the works of the Lord. We will tell the next generation.” — Psalm 78:4 April 4, 1968, is not just a date etched in history. It stands as a solemn reminder of a moment that shook the conscience of a nation. On that day in Memphis, Tennessee, assassins took Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from us through an act of violence rooted in hate. Yet even in that tragedy, the seed of his sacrifice bore fruit that continues to challen