By Maria Echaveste
Close to Logan Circle in Washington, DC is the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Park, a small triangle of grass and concrete that prominently features a metal sculpture of the famous historian. Almost 100 years ago, Dr. Woodson, one of the first scholars of African-American history, identified the second week of February as "Negro History Week," in part because it connected the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and Frederick Douglass on February 14. Here we are decades later—Black History Month is now nationally recognized and presents an opportunity for learning and reflection. This is especially important now as some voices seek to limit, censor or otherwise manipulate learning about our collective national history.
The Opportunity Institute (“OI”) works primarily in education because we see it as the best driver of social and economic mobility and racial equity, and equally important, as the key ingredient for a thriving and strong democracy. As Dr. Woodson wrote “The mere imparting of information is not education. Above all things, the effort must result in making a man think and do for himself.” Education is key to realizing one’s potential and self-determination.
So why am I talking about democracy during Black History Month? Schools have the ability to foster an engaged democratic citizenry and drive substantial and inclusive economic growth. But historic inequities can hinder progress. The state of Mississippi, where OI has been working for several years, including its current Adolescent Learning and Development Project, has a painful history with its economy dependent on slavery for so long— its resistance to change after the Civil War; its embrace of Jim Crow; its violent opposition to the Civil Rights Movement. All this provides clues to the origin of the continuing challenges facing the entire country. Moreover, understanding history helps put in context current legislative efforts in Jackson, the state capital of Mississippi. Those efforts raise questions about how well representative democracy is working in Mississippi.
Jackson, Mississippi is a city where roughly 80% of the residents self-identify as Black or African American. There are troubling, and deeply historically rooted inequities at play in Jackson that resonate in many communities across the country and bring to mind the concerns with education, civic participation, and self-governance that motivated Dr. Woodson roughly 100 years ago to formalize a holiday that links Douglass and Lincoln.
You have likely heard about the continuing lead-tainted water emergencies in Jackson. Adding to the challenge, in rural parts of Mississippi, hospitals are closing their doors and aspects of an already fragile healthcare system are teetering on the brink of collapse. So it was puzzling to learn that the Mississippi legislature was busy passing House Bill 1020, rather than tackling the water and health care issues facing Jackson and the state. The bill would give power to the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court to appoint two judges to oversee cases in the district; to the Attorney General of Mississippi to appoint four prosecutors; to the Mississippi Public Defender to appoint public defenders; and to the Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner to have authority over an increased Capitol Police force that would cover an expanded amount of territory. All of this in the immediate aftermath of the shocking murder of Tyre Nichols by the Memphis police, only a few miles from the Mississippi border.
Right now, all of the key state officials to receive augmented power from House Bill 1020 are white. Not surprising that 74 of 76 white legislators in the House voted in favor of the bill, while 36 of 38 Black legislators voted against it. Current projections are that House Bill 1020 has the votes to pass in the Senate and that the state’s governor is inclined to sign it into law. That governor, by the way, has been connected to a massive fraud scandal relating to the corrupt misuse of public funds intended for low-income people in the nation’s poorest state.
The seeds for House Bill 1020 were planted a few years ago, with the publication of a new Capitol Complex Improvement District Master Plan, utilizing lessons learned from historical redlining and community displacement. And let’s not forget, of course, the gerrymandered electorate in Mississippi that ensures only one out of the 4 members of Congress is Black, though the African-American population was more than 37% in 2021. And last but not least, the governor and legislative leaders have pushed for repealing the personal income tax, which would have serious consequences for state investments in education, especially for low-income and rural residents of the state.
As we celebrate Black History Month, we would do well to understand the historically-rooted challenges to equity and democracy. Frederick Douglass and Carter Woodson were both alive during Reconstruction. That era was also the last time a Black person held statewide office in Mississippi. We need to recommit ourselves to strengthening our democracy so that our ideals come closer to reality for every American, wherever they may reside.