By Christopher Young,
Contributing Writer,
Reported as being written by Jennie Wilson in 1905, the old-time, upbeat hymn, ‘Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand’ is a favorite at Sunday services, and surely here in Mississippi – a state constantly competing with Arkansas and Alabama as the most church-attending state in America.
You already know the refrain:
“Hold to His hand, God’s unchanging hand!
Hold to His hand, God’s unchanging hand!
Build your hopes on things eternal,
hold to God’s unchanging hand!”
The Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study claims that 77 percent of Mississippians are Christian. The biographies of nearly every Mississippi legislator claim they are Christian, often citing the denomination, and sometimes even the specific church they attend. In our state though, it is particularly hypocritical and cruel to bring preachers to both chambers of the Capitol to open daily sessions with prayer. Everyone seems solemn for a few moments as the pastors pray, then the Christian Republican majority turns around and does some ungodly deeds once the prayers end and the pastors leave.
Here are a few examples. HB1020 – state overreach usurping the autonomy of the predominately African American City of Jackson, foisting state-run law enforcement – Capitol Police – upon us and incorporating an inferior court system with some appointed rather than elected judges. Elimination of the state income tax in the poorest state in the nation. Lack of meaningful action to improve healthcare. Approving just 7.9 percent of applicants for assistance through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) – fourth lowest in the nation – in the poorest of all states, per Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. You can’t have a hold on God’s unchanging hand and act like they do?
Yet probably the centerpiece of godlessness at the Mississippi Capitol, due to the duration and mind-numbing impact, is shown through state contracting. No one talks about it, at least not on the record. The systemic oppression of minorities in the contracting process is so discriminatory it defies description and has been going on for generations. Our Christian Republican legislators want as few dollars going to minorities as possible when state contracts are awarded each year. If the powers that be wanted these numbers to change, they would change. See the numbers highlighted below.
Bill Cork, Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, and the guy that elevated him to that role – Governor Jonathan (Tate) Reeves, know exactly what they are doing and who they are doing it for – and it isn’t the 45% minority population of Mississippians. In fiscal year 2025, of the over $5.5 billion expended (up from $2.24 billion in FY2021) on state agencies – less than 1% went to non-whites (Asians, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans), while over 99% of contract expenditures went to white people.
This is deliberate – state-sponsored and legislature-approved – oppression of minorities. A full-fledged assault on the economics of minorities, a devaluing of our neighbors, and surely not done with a hold to God’s unchanging hand. It’s the Mississippi way, and the conspiracy of silence is multi-pronged: 1) The powers that be like Reeves, Hosemann, Cork, White, Lamar, and others won’t talk about it, won’t respond to inquiries by The Mississippi Link newspaper, 2) Newsrooms in Mississippi do not report on this issue, and 3) The legislative response is nearly non-existent – although Representative Earle S. Banks (D-67) did draft a bill this year, HB740, seeking the folks at PEER be able to monitor economic development contracts to ensure fair minority participation. It died in committee on February 3, 2026.
Senator Sollie Norwood (D-28) told this writer, “It’s shocking news. It’s disturbing but explains the plight that minority businesses have in terms of trying to survive. It’s not wise. No one can say we don’t have qualified individuals – engineers, architects, the list goes on and on. We need an opportunity to be competitive and this needs to be viewed from a humane standpoint as well…we must devote time to try to improve these numbers.”
The current Chairman of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus, Representative Kabir Karriem (D-41) met with this writer at the Capitol on April 29, 2026, to discuss the issue and review the report. He promised action. “We will make this issue a priority of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus.”
White women are not marginalized or systemically discriminated against in Mississippi, yet they were awarded 81.9% of the total expenditures that went to minorities in FY2025. Messages were left for Representatives Becky Currie (R-92) and Stacey Hobgood-Wilkes (R-108), two of the nine white female Representatives. If they called back, they would have been asked how it sits with them that white women alone get three times the contracting expenditures as all minorities – men and women combined. No callback.
No one can ignore that great things come out of Mississippi – medical advances, critical impacts on the space program, literary and musical icons – an endless list of positives, yet we can’t ignore this ongoing hatred of minorities demonstrated in state contracting. It’s also immoral to use prayer as window dressing designed to imply God-inspired work is going on when it is not. We changed the state’s emblem of hatred, now we must change this system of hatred.
Where can Mississippians find hope for change, fairness, and equity? We know we can’t find it in our governor who repeatedly proclaims April as Confederate Heritage Month, or in our majority Christian Republican legislature that allows Confederate Memorial Day on the state’s official calendar each year. We must find relief from this form of ungodly governance. Those that hold to God’s unchanging hand would not do these things.
If we were a state with fair and equitable governance, Verse 4 of ‘Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand’ would ring like a golden bell for our state leaders and legislators.
“When your journey is completed,
if to God you have been true,
fair and bright the home in glory,
your enraptured soul will view!”
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