People in Mississippi's majority-Black capital city say the mostly white state Legislature is trying to encroach on their rights of self-government
The proposals for state control have angered Jackson residents who don’t want their voices diminished in local government, and are the latest example of the long-running tensions between the Republican-run state government and the Democratic-run capital city.
Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the proposal for courts with appointed judges reeks of apartheid and “plantation politics.” Still, Black lawmakers say creating courts with appointed judges would strip away voting rights in a state where older generations of Black people still remember the struggle for equal access to the ballot.
Jackson residents have a longstanding distrust of the water system because of frequent warnings that the water must be boiled to kill contaminants before it’s safe to drink. During crises in August and September and again in December, people waited in long lines for bottled water. People pushing the legislation failed to consult with most Jackson lawmakers or Jackson residents, the pastor said.
The Capitol Police currently patrol state government buildings in and near downtown. The House bill would expand the territory to cover the city's more affluent shopping and residential areas, and several neighborhoods that are predominantly white. In Jackson, some white residents also object to a wider territory for the Capitol Police and new courts with appointed judges.
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