The year in recap

By L. Socrates Garrett,
Guest Writer,

2023 began with the relief from COVID-19 and the economic devastation that it caused. Many business owners lost their clients and their sources of income, and many citizens lost their jobs.
The stimulus checks that relieved some of the pain and suffering that Americans were feeling came just in time for many.
African Americans in this country continued to show record unemployment numbers somewhere in the 50 percent range. Businesses had ‘help wanted’ signs everywhere but no one was applying for jobs. The situation was so bad until the Governor of Mississippi decided that he did not want to extend unemployment benefits to Mississippians, trying to force people to come back to work.
The Governor continued his stance on not accepting Medicaid expansion in Mississippi. Hospitals were closing and more people were challenged to get basic medical care. One hospital closure in the poorest part of Mississippi saw a young lady die from complications that could possibly have been prevented if there was a hospital in the area that was open.
2023 saw the greatest divide in the African-American community that had been seen in the past. City leaders were divided and the Mayor versus the City Council led to garbage being left on the streets for two weeks because the city could not come to an agreement on who the contractor would be. The irony of that is this city is 85 percent black and the lowest bidder on the proposal was black and was eventually allowed an opportunity to provide the much-needed relief that the citizens deserved.
There was the state takeover of the water plant that led to our Governor saying “it was a great day not to be in Jackson.” The struggle between local black elected officials and the conservative state legislature continued through the year and finally the federal government stepped in and took control of the water system through a third-party administrator. The questions still remain will the federal government or state government or city government finally run the water plant in Jackson, Mississippi? Stay tuned!
The fight for control of the Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport continues to be a sticking point between state leaders and city leaders. It resembles the old days where Europeans controlled all things, and this new shared government is not working well in Mississippi.
2023 confirmed once again that a black person cannot be elected to a statewide office. No African American has held a statewide office since reconstruction, although many have tried, some with impeccable credentials and others that were not known by traditional black political figures.
The struggle for control of Jackson is far from being decided. The state authorization of a separate police department operating within the boundaries of Jackson is seen by many as the pilot case for all urban cities that are struggling with high crime numbers that are elevated far beyond what has been the norm.
To make matters worse the state implemented a new court system whereby the judges didn’t have to be elected by the citizens and the elected district attorney was bypassed. This is a severe and dangerous blow to democracy where one man or woman could determine the discharge of sentencing that historically have been disproportionally harsh on African Americans.
The governor’s race in Mississippi garnered a lot of intertest in national politics with many believing that the republican hold on the highest office would come to an end. Brandon Presley, a democrat, was seen as an able challenger and money poured into Mississippi (except black owned media) from everywhere. The black community responded and came out to vote in large numbers although there were voting issues in the largest county of our state. Hinds County ran out of ballots causing many candidates to cry foul.
Governor Reeves retained his seat and assured Mississippians that Mississippi would not change its ways and promised to keep Mississippi red until Moses returns to part her ways.
The African-American political leadership continues to turn on itself.
The unfortunate accident that caused the death of Dexter Wade, a black man, was buried in a pauper’s grave site while the family continued to search for him allowed the blame game to continue. We blamed one another as to who was at fault. This led to the opportunity for national black representation to come in swiftly to denigrate local black leaders and to enrich themselves. Al Sharpton came to preach the funeral and Ben Crump came as legal council.
This year we saw the bold outrageous treatment of blacks by the Rankin County Goon squad that violated every civil right and moral standard of the men by shooting one in the mouth and using tasers and a dildo in the harassment.
2023 overall has been a difficult year for Mississippi. Youth violence is at an all time high and the mass exodus out of the city of Jackson includes a great deal of black flight as well.
Our hope is that we have bottomed out so that the city and state can begin the process of rebuilding trust and confidence in sisters and brothers whether they be black or white.