JSU students react to passing of Mississippi House Bill 1020

The Mississippi House of Representatives passed House Bill 1020 on Feb. 9, 2023. Under the bill, the Mississippi Supreme Court has the ability to appoint judges to hear civil and criminal cases.

While the Attorney General will be appointing prosecutors to hear those cases, some believe that ultimately it is taking away citizen’s rights to elect judges.

According to WLBT, over 60 percent of the House of Representatives voted in favor of House Bill 1020, and the bill passed 76-38, with only one member of the Jackson delegation supporting it.

The lawmakers spent nearly five hours in debate of the bill and it has yet to receive a ton of positive support. In fact, some residents of Mississippi feel like the justice system has taken a humongous step in the wrong direction and has received a wave of negative feedback.

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba looked on from the House gallery during the debate and described it as a reminder of the apartheid.

“They are looking to colonize Jackson,” Lumumba said in a press conference. “They are trying to put their military force over Jackson and they are trying to dictate who has province over Jackson, while they’re simultaneously introducing a bill about how they can remove elected officials in Jackson. It reminds me of colonial power where they dictate who is our leadership.”

The mayor added, “They put military power over us and we are just supposed to pay taxes to the king. That’s all we are supposed to do is pay taxes to the king.”

Nicolette Jones, a Jackson resident said she does not know how to feel about the House 1020 Bill.

“They know exactly what they are doing to us. And in any way they can, they will continue to keep black people down,” Jones said. “As a matter of fact, this will only lead to the further breakdown of modern laws and putting black people right back under another race’s thumb.”

Jackson State students feel that the 1020 House Bill is too restrictive and seem disappointed by the decision overall.

Javin Cole, a sophomore accounting major from Austin, Texas, believes that the passing of the 1020 bill is unfair to AfricanAmericans.

“Honestly, I am disappointed but it doesn’t surprise me that they approved a bill like this,” Cole said. “Yeah, we live in Mississippi but it’s not fair to take away privileges like that.”

Parker DeLoach, a business administration major from Chicago, Ill., agrees with Cole and said that he does not feel that their peers understand the ramifications of the new bill.

“I don’t think college students pay enough attention to politics as we should. I think sometimes we have a mindset that if it doesn’t affect me directly then I shouldn’t care,” DeLoach said.

Jayla Jones, a freshman political science major from Pine Bluff, Ark., is also not a fan of the bill because she dislikes that it takes away the process of voting for elected officials and just appointing who you want to appoint is a direct hit on democracy.

“In a nutshell, what Mississippi lawmakers are doing could potentially lead to fascism. Which is completely un-American and yet on brand with the Republican party,” Jones said. “And where will these lawmakers get the funds to pay for these new appointed officials? Are they going to replace the old ones with the new ones?”

Jones added, “If anything, them appointing officials solely because they are white is going to cause a new problem. A racial problem.”

Tyshyia Frazier, a sophomore political science major, said she thinks the whole thing is a set up to keep African-Americans down.

“Jackson is probably the blackest city in America and yet they are trying to have white people in full control, but it’s not shocking either,” Frazier said. “I think with this they will eventually take over in the future which will push black people out of Jackson and will cause outrage.”

Most of the JSU students interviewed for this article hope the bill will not make it pass the Senate. The Blue & White Flash will update this story as more information is released.