Mississippi's Old Capitol building, a site that witnessed some of the state's most racist history, will host a special session of the state House of Representatives on 20 May to redraw supreme court districts.
Controversial Venue
The decision to convene at the Old Capitol, where lawmakers voted to secede from the Union in 1861 and later crafted the Jim Crow-era 1890 constitution, has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic legislators and civil rights advocates.
Jason White, the Republican House speaker, told local outlet WLBT that any special session called between now and January 2027 would be held in the Old Capitol house chamber due to renovations. The state senate will continue to use the new capitol building.
Kabir Karriem, a Democratic state representative and head of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus, expressed dismay: “I was a little taken aback with the location of the Old State Capitol. Even though they said that they were doing some remodeling, the optics of it are horrific for 1.2 million Black folks here in the state of Mississippi.”
Historical Context
The Old Capitol served as the statehouse from 1839 to 1903. In 1861, lawmakers there voted to secede from the Union to preserve slavery. In 1890, white supremacist delegates crafted a constitution that implemented Jim Crow laws, disenfranchising Black Mississippians for generations. Today, more than 40,000 Black Mississippians remain disenfranchised due to those laws.
Lawmakers last met at the Old Capitol in 2009 for a ceremonial acknowledgment of restoration after Hurricane Katrina damage. During renovations in the 1980s, they met at the old Central High School building in downtown Jackson.
Redistricting and Voting Rights
The special session follows a US Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v Callais that weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Governor Tate Reeves called lawmakers back to redraw the state's three supreme court districts, a move many predict will dilute Black voting strength.
Former President Donald Trump has also urged the Mississippi legislature to redraw congressional districts to target Bennie Thompson, the state's lone Democratic congressman who chaired the January 6 committee hearings, despite primaries already being held.
Safia Malin, policy director for One Voice Mississippi, a civic engagement organization, said using the Old Capitol at this time “feels like it’s almost a deliberate or intentionally cruel attempt, even if that’s not the way it’s being presented on its face.”
Cheikh Taylor, chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party and a state representative, issued a statement: “This special session is about power, and making sure Black Mississippians never have enough of it to threaten the people who currently hold it. And now they plan to do it in the Old Capitol, the same building where Mississippi voted to secede from the Union over slavery, and where white supremacist delegates crafted the 1890 Constitution that stripped Black citizens of their voting rights and ushered in decades of poll taxes, literacy tests and racial terror. Rep Kabir Karriem is right. It is a slap in the face to the 1.2 million African Americans in this state. It is also a confession. They are returning to the scene of the crime to try and finish the job.”
