THE MLBC RUNDOWN - Sept. 3, 2026 When Communities Speak, Things Move Here is what happened, why it matters and what you can do next. This week brought a clear reminder: when people organize, speak out and keep the pressure on, public officials must respond. From Senatobia, where city leaders fired the police chief, to Louisville, where residents filled the room to speak directly with lawmakers, Mississippi communities are making their voices heard. The work is also crossing state lines as Black lawmakers build stronger partnerships around the issues affecting the people they represent. ACCOUNTABILITY IN SENATOBIA Senatobia Aldermen Fire Police Chief The Senatobia Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday to fire Police Chief Harold Vanderford. Vanderford attempted to resign after investigative reporting revealed that he repeatedly used racist slurs in private text messages. The Board rejected his resignation and terminated him instead. The people of Senatobia refused to let this be pushed aside. Community members kept asking questions, demanding accountability and making it clear that this conduct could not be accepted from someone entrusted to lead a police department. The firing matters. But it does not answer every question. The investigation into the police shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley remains open. Kohen’s family is still owed facts, direct communication and a full accounting of what happened on June 14. Accountability cannot stop with one personnel decision. Read the latest reporting:https://mississippitoday.org/2026/09/01/senatobia-police-chief-fired-after-racist-texts/ TOWN HALL RECAP Louisville Showed Up - and the Story Traveled Residents came together Monday for the Protect Our Voice Legislative Town Hall in Louisville. The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus partnered with the Winston County Branch of the NAACP to discuss voting, possible changes to Mississippi’s congressional districts, new state gun laws and other issues affecting local communities. People did not simply sit and listen. They asked questions, raised concerns and spoke directly with elected leaders. WCBI covered the town hall, helping carry that community conversation beyond the meeting room. That matters. When residents show up and local media tell the story, more people understand what is at stake—and more people know how to get involved. Watch and read the WCBI coverage: https://www.wcbi.com/ms-black-caucus-encourages-voter-participation-ahead-of-election/ Later this month GREENVILLE Wednesday, September 16, 2026 | 5:30 p.m. Elks Lodge | 1818 E. Alexander Street, Greenville, MS 38703 Special Guest: Attorney Scott Colom LAUREL Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. L.T. Ellis Community Center | 610 Munson Street, Laurel, Mississippi Lunch will be served. BUILDING POWER ACROSS STATE LINES Mississippi and Tennessee Lawmakers Strengthen Their Partnership The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus recently joined the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators in Nashville for important conversations about education, healthcare, economic opportunity, criminal justice reform and voting rights. Black communities across the South face many of the same challenges. Our responsibility does not end when a meeting is over. Black communities across the South face many of the same challenges. The work now is to stay connected, establish shared priorities and turn those priorities into measurable action. This collaboration gives Mississippi and Tennessee lawmakers an opportunity to strengthen their strategies around education, healthcare, economic opportunity, criminal justice reform and voting rights. Thank you to our Tennessee colleagues and every MLBC member who participated. Our families are counting on us to continue this work with purpose and urgency. Photo credit: Mayor Erik D. Simmons RETREAT AND TOWN HALL The Work Moves Forward in Greenville MLBC members will convene in Greenville September 16–20 for the 2026 Annual Legislative Retreat. The retreat will include a public Protect Our Voice Town Hall: Wednesday, September 16, 2026 | 5:30 p.m. Elks Lodge | 1818 E. Alexander Street | Greenville, MS 38703 Special Guest: Attorney Scott Colom REDISTRICTING WATCH Natchez: Your Voice Belongs in the Room The next public redistricting hearing will be held: Tuesday, September 8, 2026 6:00 p.m. Alcorn State University MBA Building Auditorium, Natchez Campus 15 Campus Drive Natchez, MS 39120 Arrive early to sign in and secure your seat. A clear bag policy may be enforced. Want help preparing to participate? Email mslbc1976@gmail.com. Cannot attend in person? Watch the livestream through legislature.ms.gov. Find a hearing near you. Public redistricting hearings are scheduled across Mississippi through October 1. Attend in person or watch online. SEE ALL HEARING DATES AND LOCATIONS WATCH THE HEARINGS LIVE OPERATION TURNOUT One Church. One Action. Thirty Days. Operation Turnout Part 2 will bring faith leaders and community partners together for another virtual organizing session focused on voter engagement and coordinated civic action. Wednesday, September 9, 20261:00 to 2:30 p.m. | Virtual meeting via Zoom Every church can take one clear action. Identify a civic engagement captain who will share voter registration information, hearing dates and time-sensitive community action alerts with the congregation for the next 30 days. REGISTER FOR OPERATION TURNOUT PART 2 WHAT YOU CAN DO NEXT Know. Share. Show Up. Organize. Know: Learn what proposed map changes could mean for your community. Share: Send this Rundown and the upcoming event information to your church, neighborhood group, family chat or organization. Show up: Attend the Natchez redistricting hearing on September 8, join Operation Turnout Part 2 on September 9 and attend the Greenville town hall on September 16. Organize: Ask your church to appoint one civic engagement captain for the next 30 days. Decisions are being shaped now. Our communities must be part of shaping them. Our Voice. Our Power. Our Future.

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 ahead. The people we represent deserve to see progress and hear directly from us about the results. This partnership is an opportunity to turn our shared priorities into action: stronger schools, better jobs, access to quality healthcare, safer communities, and protection of our voting rights. Thank you to our Tennessee colleagues and every MLBC member who participated. Let us continue working together with purpose and urgency. Our families are counting on us! As always, thank you for your service and leadership. 📸 Photo Credit: Mayor Erik D. Simmons & Rep. Zakiya Summers

THE MLBC RUNDOWN - AUGUST 26, 2026 Faith, voice and action are moving across Mississippi Here is what happened, why it matters and what you can do next. 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. FAITH IN ACTION Churches Are Helping Protect Our Voice MLBC recently met with clergy and church leaders for Operation Turnout, a statewide faith and civic engagement effort. The work is rooted in a truth our communities know well: churches have always helped Black people learn, organize and move. Operation Turnout equips congregations to protect the voice, mobilize the vote and turn faith into action in their communities. Faith leaders were challenged to speak boldly, educate their congregations and help people take action. That can mean sharing trusted information, helping eligible voters prepare, bringing neighbors together and choosing one clear civic action to complete within the next 30 days. One Church. One Action. Thirty Days. · Choose one action your church can complete. · Name one person to lead it. · Set a date and get started. We are the only salt in town. The message draws from the biblical call to be the salt of the earth. Faith has a public role. That work continues before, during and after Election Day. To learn more about Operation Turnout, contact mslbc1976@gmail.com or sign up to the Protect Our Voice Network here. The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus is connecting people with clear information, listening to local concerns and calling for answers on decisions that affect Black families across our state. MLBC ON THE MOVE - OKOLONA AND UPCOMING TOWN HALLS Okolona Showed Up. Louisville, You're Next. A strong crowd came out for the first Protect Our Voice Legislative Town Hall in Okolona. Community members connected with legislators, heard updates and made space for local voices to be heard. That is what public service should look like: elected leaders meeting people face to face, in the communities they serve. Now the town hall tour is headed to Louisville. Louisville Town Hall Details Monday, August 31, 2026 | 6:00 p.m. Still Valley MB Church Annex 521 Armstrong Street, Louisville, MS 39339 Come hear legislative updates, ask questions and speak directly with members of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus. Food will be served. Bring your questions. Bring your concerns. Bring someone with you. Save the Next Dates HATTIESBURG Thursday, September 10, 2026 | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. C.E. Roy Community Center | 300 East 5th Street, Hattiesburg, MS 39401 Light refreshments will be served. LAUREL Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. L.T. Ellis Community Center | 610 Munson Street, Laurel, Mississippi Lunch will be served. ACCOUNTABILITY - KOHEN WILEY Kohen Wiley's Family Is Still Waiting for Answers One-year-old Kohen Wiley was fatally shot on June 14 during a law-enforcement encounter in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating his death. MLBC has called on Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell to make sure Kohen's family receives direct, timely and ongoing updates about the investigation. Some information may need to stay private while the investigation continues. Silence is still not acceptable. READ AND SHARE THE OPEN LETTER MLBC is calling for direct, timely and ongoing communication with Kohen Wiley's family about the investigation into his death. POLICY WATCH - COLLEGE FUNDING Mississippi's public HBCUs serve students and communities across the state. MLBC is asking for a full review before any new funding formula moves forward. College Funding Plan Paused. The Questions Remain. State leaders and the Institutions of Higher Learning Board are considering changes to how Mississippi's public universities receive state money. During its August 20 meeting, the IHL Board took no action on the proposed performance-based funding formula. That means the current formula remains in place for now. The MLBC is still calling for an independent PEER review before any new formula moves forward. The Caucus wants the full picture on the table, including each institution’s funding, student needs, facilities, endowments and history of state investment. The request also includes Mississippi’s public community colleges. The goal is clear: Mississippi should understand who could gain, who could lose and how students and communities could be affected before changing how public colleges and universities are funded. A formula that treats every school the same can still hurt schools that have been underfunded for years. MLBC wants clear facts about what the plan could mean for Jackson State University, Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State University. READ THE MLBC REQUEST REDISTRICTING WATCH Redistricting Hearings Have Begun. Our Power Is on the Line. Mississippi lawmakers have started holding public hearings on whether to redraw the state’s legislative, congressional and judicial voting districts before the next census. The first hearing was held August 18 in Tupelo. The next hearing is Thursday, August 27, at 6:00 p.m. at Northwest Mississippi Community College’s Ranger Center, 1210 Church Road in Southaven. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais does not require Mississippi to redraw its maps. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act remains law, but the ruling sharply limited how it can be used to challenge maps that weaken Black voting power. MLBC is calling for an open and accountable process, including public hearings across the state, livestreamed meetings, proposed maps and data released for public review, and meaningful community input before decisions are made. Voting maps determine which communities vote together, who represents them and whose voices carry power. Show up, follow the maps and make your voice part of the public record. READ THE MLBC REDISTRICTING UPDATE Find a hearing near you. Public redistricting hearings are scheduled across Mississippi through October 1. Attend in person or watch online. SEE ALL HEARING DATES AND LOCATIONS WATCH THE HEARINGS LIVE Know. Share. Show Up. Organize. Know: Read the redistricting update and learn what changing the maps could mean for your community. Share: Send this Rundown and the Louisville flyer to your church, neighborhood group, family chat or organization. Show up: Attend the Louisville town hall Monday and bring someone with you. Organize: Ask your church to choose one Operation Turnout action for the next 30 days. Decisions are being shaped now. Our communities must be part of shaping them. Our Voice. Our Power. Our Future.

Protect Our Voice The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus represents, serves and advocates for public policies that affect the well-being of Black Mississippians. We are working toward a state where Black Mississippians thrive through effective leadership and equitable policymaking that strengthens communities, protects rights and ensures dignity and opportunity for every generation. Verify Your Voter Registration Everything You Need to Know to Vote in Mississippi The Latest There's no need for mid-decade redistricting, and any committee actions must be held to the highest standards of integrity and transparency. Scroll to the bottom for the Public Hearing Schedule. Read More Where MLBC Stands Mississippi is facing an attack on Black representation and renewed uncertainty over its political districts following the Callais decision affecting voting-rights protections. State leaders have expressed interest in redrawing Mississippi’s four congressional districts, state legislative, and judicial districts. Although legislative redistricting committees have been established, new maps have not yet been presented. Callais is not a command nor a mandate to redistrict. It changed the standard courts will use in certain Voting Rights Act cases, but it did not erase the Constitution nor authorize racial discrimination. Any new map must still be drawn without intentionally diminishing Black voting strength. Political maps determine which communities vote together and who has the opportunity to elect representatives who understand their needs. When communities are divided unnecessarily, their voting strength can be weakened. When the process happens behind closed doors, residents may not have an opportunity to review proposed maps, identify problems or explain which communities should remain together. Fair representation helps communities advocate for: Strong public schools Accessible health care Safe roads and reliable infrastructure Affordable housing Economic investment and good-paying jobs Accountable government Fair treatment under the law We want to be clear: Mississippi Republicans are making a discretionary political decision to consider new maps. Any effort to dismantle or weaken the voting strength of Black Mississippians would threaten the ability of Black voters to elect a representative of their choice. Maps decide representation. Representation influences resources. Resources shape the future of our communities. Our Position The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus believes: Black voters should not lose meaningful representation because legal standards or political priorities change. Communities should not be divided merely to weaken their voting strength. Mississippi’s only majority-Black congressional district should not be dismantled for partisan advantage. Every proposed map should be released early enough for meaningful public review. Public hearings should be held throughout the state before maps are finalized. Residents must have access to understandable maps, population data and information about proposed changes. Black communities, rural communities and other communities of interest must have a genuine opportunity to be heard. Maps must be evaluated by their real effect on voters—not simply by the stated intentions of those who draw them. Public participation must begin before decisions are made, not after a plan has already been completed. MLBC will speak openly, stand courageously and use its influence to protect the rights and representation of Black Mississippians. Take Action Protecting our voice requires more than watching what happens at the State Capitol. It requires informed, organized and sustained community participation. Utilize this suite of actionable items to Protect Our Voice and join the Protect Our Voice Network by completing the contact form at the bottom. Protect the Voice Join the MLBC Protect Our Voice Network. Complete the contact form below. Attend MLBC town halls and official redistricting hearings. MLBC encourages you to participate in the public hearing nearest you. Submit written or oral community testimony. For the public access policy, click here . Know your legislators and ask legislative leaders to provide public hearings, accessible data and adequate notice. Contact your legislators before any redistricting vote. Invite MLBC to speak at your church, campus or community meeting. Share trusted redistricting information with your network. Mobilize the Vote Verify your voter registration, address, polling place and ballot. Help seniors, students, recently relocated residents and people with name changes verify their information. Create a personal voting plan. Help at least five relatives, friends or neighbors prepare to vote. Participate in Stroll to the Polls on the first day of in-person absentee voting on September 21, 2026. Recruit poll workers and nonpartisan poll monitors. Share voter-protection information and report voting problems. Counter misinformation by sharing information from trusted sources. Transform the Block Organize a neighborhood cleanup or community-needs assessment. Hold a youth listening session. Mentor and develop young community leaders. Partner with local schools, churches and neighborhood organizations. Attend meetings of your city council, board of supervisors or school board. Advocate for investment in housing, health care, parks, schools and infrastructure. Turn voter participation into year-round community power. Join the Network Complete the form or email the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus at mslbc1976@gmail.com First Name Last Name Email Message Thanks for submitting! Send

MLBC Retreat 2025 Unifying the Caucus, prioritizing our shared mission, and moving forward together. Thank You Sponsors! The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus brought together our members in a spirit of unity, reflection, and strategic planning. Over several days, members engaged in meaningful conversations about the state of the caucus, identified legislative priorities for the coming year, and strengthened the bonds of fellowship that ground our work. From strategy sessions and policy discussions to moments of celebration and connection, the retreat underscored our shared commitment to advancing justice, equity, and opportunity for all Mississippians. The retreat also honored our rich legacy of leadership, while challenging us to think boldly about the future. Together, we emerged with a renewed sense of purpose and a clear vision: to move forward as One Caucus, united in service to the people of Mississippi. We thank all our members, partners, and sponsors who contributed to making this retreat a success. The lessons, strategies, and commitments made here will guide our work in the upcoming legislative session and beyond. Black Caucus Retreat 8-18-2025 043 Black Caucus Retreat 8-18-2025 1011 Black Caucus Retreat 8-18-2025 032 Black Caucus Retreat 8-18-2025 043 1/121

Action Alerts The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus is committed to ensuring your voice is heard. We encourage all constituents to stay informed and take action on critical issues affecting our communities. Your participation is vital in shaping the policies that impact our lives. Let’s work together to advocate for change and make a difference! MLBC Redistricting Update Stay informed on the latest updates. Take Action. MLBC Calls for Transparency in the Kohen Wiley case Open Letter to Media MLBC Letter to AG Fitch & Commissioner Tindell MLBC is Coming to Okolona, MS August 22, 2026 11 a.m. Zion Springs MB Church MLBC is Coming to Ripley, MS This town hall is free and open to the public. MLBC will provide a legislative update and hear from residents about their concerns. Community Blueprint for Maternal & Infant Health News Release Download Jackson Flyer Download Canton Flyer Download Cleveland Flyer Participant Registration Volunteer Registration Education Equity Hearing on School Choice This hearing has been postponed indefinitely. MLBC and Faith Leaders Gather at State Capitol for Prayer and Policy Agenda Release Download Media Advisory The Future of the Voting Rights Act Digital Dialogue Watch Now Addressing Mississippi's Maternal Health Crisis Legislative Hearing Watch Livestream Greenwood Town Hall "Community Conversations with the Caucus" Share Now Watch Now Laurel Town Hall "Community Conversations with the Caucus" Share Now "The Federal Budget Bill and Its Impact on Mississippi Families" Legislative Hearing Watch Now Town Hall Meeting Learn More MDE Proposed Rules on DEI Ban House Bill 1193 prohibits the use, promotion, and institutionalization of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices, policies, and offices across the state's public K-12 schools, community colleges, and public universities. The Mississippi Department of Education will hold a public hearing on the proposed rules. Get engaged and raise your voice on this issue. View More Stay Connected! Get immediate actions and stay plugged in our our social media channels. Be sure to follow us @mlbcofficial!