From holding police accountable to defending voting rights, 2024 was a busy year! Here's a quick look at how we showed up to defend civil rights in Mississippi this year, and a sneak peek at how we plan to continue the fight in 2025.
The ACLU of Mississippi can accommodate journalist inquiries into local and national issues affecting civil rights in Mississippi. To speak with an ACLU expert, please email comms@aclu-ms.org or call (601) 354-3408.
On July 2, 2024, a panel of 3 Federal judges unanimously held that Mississippi’s Senate map violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting strength of Black voters in the DeSoto County and Hattiesburg areas. Today, the Mississippi Senate released a map proposal, in response to the federal
The ACLU of MS has joined the ACLU, affiliates in Texas and Louisiana, and IDRA to file a friend-of-the-court brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in support of Darryl George, who was suspended from Barbers Hill ISD in Mont Belvieu, Texas, for wearing his hair in long locs.
Today, the Mississippi House of Representatives, with very little notice, and without public viewing or input, passed new legislative maps. The process of reshaping legislative districts—something affecting the democratic voice of every Mississippian—should be open and transparent.
Attorneys representing Black Mississippi voters presented proposed maps of voting districts that would meet all requirements to fulfill a recent federal court order.