By Christopher Young,
Contributing Writer,
Election Day – Tuesday, November 3rd – just thirteen days away. It will be a critically important day in our state and in our nation. Who will “we the people” choose to represent us, to serve us, to stand up for our concerns? Historically, these mid-term elections draw much less voter turnout than in presidential election years. Nationally, four years ago, just 46 percent of eligible voters participated. In Mississippi the number was 32 percent – you guessed it, the lowest in the nation. In the 2024 Presidential election, the turnout rate for the nation was 64 percent. In Mississippi it was 57.5 percent. Only five states had a lower turnout rate than Mississippi, all per Pew Research Center.
We must do better. All elections matter despite many believing that they don’t. The League of Women Voters keeps it very simple and spot-on: “Elections affect every area of our lives, from health care to jobs to racial justice. When we choose our leaders by voting, we’re choosing the people who will make decisions that shape the direction of our country and our communities.”
This year as we go to the polls, we do so against a backdrop of selfish leadership that is hurting our country in so many ways. We see clearly the unquenchable greed and megalomania that harms us. “We the people” are paying the price. We have watched our institutions be denigrated, our norms be erased, massive increases in racial and cultural division, a daily barrage of lies, and cost of living that continues to explode. The lawless would-be King, based on a recent Fox News poll, has a disapproval rate of 64 percent. Some Republicans who have endorsed his behaviors are now finally breaking from him in hopes of saving themselves on election day.
If that doesn’t motivate us to do better on November 3rd here in Mississippi, then consider something else. Consider our very own neighbors, right here among us, who continue to fight for voting rights. Think about Dr. Flonzie Brown Wright. After years of being called out of her name, being asked how many bubbles were in a bar of soap, she successfully registered to vote, then overcame more barriers to run for elected office. “On Nov. 5, 1968, Wright became the first Black woman elected to public office in Mississippi, post-Reconstruction, as the Canton Election Commissioner,” per Voices of The Civil Rights Movement. Voter Registration Day in Mississippi is now named in her honor.
What about another legend, our neighbor James Meredith? After serving his country in the Air Force, he became the first African American to graduate from the segregated University of Mississippi – that process and his personal safety required federal intervention. It took a ruling of the Supreme Court to even get him admitted. Three years after his graduation, he set off on his March Against Fear – a planned 220-mile journey from Memphis to Jackson (June 5 to June 26, 1966) – “it aimed to promote Black voter registration and confront white supremacy in the state,” per his 2012 memoir and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The world knows the story. On Day 2, a white supremacist’s bullets hit him in four places, trying to assassinate him. After time in the hospital, he rose up and rejoined the march before it reached Jackson.
Douglas MacArthur “Mac” Cotton also risked his life to register voters. He was recruited by Bob Moses of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee – while working in the library at Tougaloo College to pay down his tuition fees. He and his friends answered the call and served in some of the most dangerous parts of Mississippi. SNCC leadership gave them dimes to bury deep in their pocket in the event they had to make emergency calls. He led 200 people to the courthouse in Greenwood, to register to vote. That got him arrested and sent to Parchman. One guess as to what Mac Cotton thinks about the importance of voting?
The list of our neighbors, right here among us, who sacrificed so much goes on and on. Carroll Rhodes, a premier Civil Rights and Voting Rights attorney is surely on the list. Forest County NAACP President Clarence Magee is on the list. Representative Alyce Griffin Clarke – the first African American woman elected to the Mississippi Legislature – who posted on Facebook just two weeks ago, at age 87, “Mississippi, don’t wait until Election Day to make your voice heard. If you’re eligible to vote, consider making a plan to vote absentee,” is easily on the list. Hezekiah Watkins – often referred to as the youngest Freedom Rider, arrested at the bus station in Jackson for absolutely nothing and sent to Parchman’s death row at age 13!
The list goes on and on. This year, at your polling station, consider saying a prayer for our country, and for these legends who paved the way – our neighbors, who risked their lives so that others could exercise their right to vote, and who have never stopped fighting for our rights. This year, of all years, make your voice heard in honor of their profound sacrifices.
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