Mississippi’s Next Freedom Movement Needs Young People Right Now

By Rep. Zakiya Summers

Mississippi has always been shaped by young people bold enough to challenge the status quo. From the students who organized sit-ins, to the young organizers who powered Freedom Summer, to the teenagers who sat in jail and prison cells so that democracy might one day work for all of us—progress in this state has never been handed down. It has always been demanded. Today, we are standing at another crossroads.

Legislation like House Bill 2, the so-called “Education Freedom” bill, threatens to dismantle our public education system under the guise of opportunity and competition. In reality, it is a long-term policy decision that will deepen inequality and accelerate Mississippi’s brain drain. By diverting public dollars away from already under-resourced public schools and into a fragmented system of private options with little accountability, HB 2 weakens the institutions that educate the vast majority of Mississippi’s children.

Rural districts, working-class communities, and Black communities will bear the greatest harm. Students who remain in public schools will face fewer resources, fewer educators, and fewer opportunities—while families with means will reap the benefit of governmental subsidies to pay for private schools. Mississippi cannot recruit teachers, retain college graduates, or build a competitive workforce while actively disinvesting in the very schools that anchor community stability and economic mobility. If we are serious about stopping the brain drain—about keeping our best and brightest rooted here—then we must strengthen public education, not hollow it out.

This is why young people are needed now more than ever.

The same forces that once sought to suppress Black votes, segregate classrooms, and silence dissent are resurfacing in new forms through voter suppression, gerrymandering, attacks on factual history, and policies that prioritize privatization over the public good. Across the country, we are witnessing coordinated attempts to roll back hard-won civil rights gains. Court cases that threaten fair representation remind us that political power, especially Black political power, remains vulnerable. We need an educated electorate, voters who can connect history to policy and understand the importance of taking action.

That is why I introduced the Robert G. Clark, Jr. Mississippi Voting Rights Act to modernize and strengthen voting protections at the state level and ensure that every Mississippian has a fair and equal opportunity to participate in our democracy. Backed by the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus, the Act prohibits voter suppression and vote dilution, restores safeguards to prevent discriminatory election changes before harm occurs, and establishes clear protections for voters with disabilities, limited English proficiency, and communities historically excluded from the political process. This legislation is not symbolic. It is structural. 

Freedom Summer teaches us that young people have always understood this truth. As Freedom Summer leader Bob Moses once said, “You don’t have to be a giant to do giant things. You just have to care enough to act.” Those young organizers did not wait for permission. They knocked on doors, built freedom schools, registered voters, and reimagined what Mississippi could be—often at great personal risk. That philosophy defines this moment.

Today’s young Mississippians are navigating rising tuition, underfunded schools, limited job pipelines, environmental threats, maternal health crises, and an economy that too often shuts them out. They know that policy is personal, that democracy is not abstract, and that the decisions being made right now will determine whether they build their lives here or are forced to leave to thrive elsewhere.

This is another civil rights moment, and young people are central to the outcome.

A Call to Action for Students and Young Voters

If you are a student, a first-time voter, or a young Mississippian wondering whether your voice matters, know this: it does. Get informed. Get registered. Show up to hearings. Ask hard questions. Organize on your campuses and in your communities. Vote in every election—not just presidential ones. Demand policies that invest in public education, protect voting rights, and make Mississippi a place where talent is nurtured, not exported.

Democracy does not sustain itself. It requires participation, pressure, and people – especially young people – willing to stand up for justice even when it is uncomfortable. 

Rep. Zakiya Summers serves Mississippi House District 68. This editorial was published by www.thepeoplespaperms.com.