Why a Black-Majority City Might Have a New White-Appointed Judicial System

NPR’s Juana Summer speaks with Jackson, Mississippi Chokwe Mayor Antar Lumumba about a new bill that would allow the state to create a separate court system for the city area.



JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

A new bill passed this week by the Republican-controlled Mississippi House of Representatives drew sharp criticism from Democrats. This bill, if passed, would allow the state’s Chief Justice and Attorney General, both of whom are white, to appoint judges and prosecutors for a new and separate county court system in the capital city of Jackson, a city that is majority black. This would mean that voters would no longer be able to elect judges and prosecutors in that district. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba compared the plan to apartheid. He blew up his supporters on Tuesday.

(SOUND FROM ARCHIVE RECORDING)

CHOKWE ANTAR LUMUMBA: As for the other legislators, I was surprised that they came half-dressed because they forgot to put on their hoods.

SUMMERS: Mayor Lumumba is joining me now. Thank you for being here.

LUMUMBA: Thank you for inviting me. And thanks for letting me know.

SUMMERS: I mean, you’re unmistakable about this bill. But before I ask you more about this, I’m wondering what you’ve heard from the current judges, prosecutors, and police about this bill and the impact they think it will have on the city.

LUMUMBA: Well, all Hinds County elected officials have joined forces to fight this bill. The judges came out, made a statement and staged a protest demonstration. The Hinds County District Attorney is officially opposed to this particular bill. And this is just part and parcel of the effort that has been going on for some time to take over the city of Jackson, not just this Democratic city, but this predominantly African American city.

SUMMERS: We should note that the sponsor of this bill, State Representative Trey Lamar, doesn’t live in Jackson, but he said that this effort is aimed at preventing crime and resolving the backlog of cases going through the Hinds County court system. Jackson had the highest murder rate in the country in two years. Do you dispute what Lamar says about the end goal of the bill, to make Jackson safer for the people who live there?

LUMUMBA: Absolutely. If he had been concerned about supporting the public safety issue in Jackson, they would have sponsored a bill in response to the numerous requests from the Jackson Police Department asking for more equipment to speed up the time it takes for a case that is actually in court. . They will support the state crime lab, which is the main contributor to the backlog of cases, all these things that we have been asking for and trying to implement year after year, and the support that has been denied. They just want to control Jackson. So it’s a power grab, whether you’re talking about the complex Capitol area, whether you’re talking about our water system, whether you’re talking about the fight we’re currently in for control of our airport, whether you’re talking about trying to take over our school district. All of them are consistent with each other.

SUMMERS: So I want to get back to the issue of public safety and crime. Last year, the homicide rate was 88%. So, how do you and other city officials deal with this homicide rate, as well as the deeper issues that lie behind it?

LUMUMBA: Well, yes, if they bothered to ask us, they would find that Jackson, who suffers, like the whole nation, from an elevated murder rate, that most of our murders were due to interpersonal relationships that are guarded only by itself has a limited influence on it. I never said that the police should be deprived of funding. I said that we can use other tools and resources to solve this complex problem in a complex way. But I believe that this is not a sincere and serious desire of the legislature. And so they’re trying to create a city within a city for the most populous white section of the city of Jackson. Let’s call a spade a spade.

SUMMERS: The sponsor of the bill, Trey Lamar, has repeatedly stated that his efforts are not motivated by racism. You don’t seem to believe that it is.

LUMUMBA: Well, if you walk like a duck, quack like a duck, then you probably shouldn’t be offended that someone calls you a duck. There is one delegate from Hinds County who supported this particular bill. Recall that one of the white delegates supported this bill. But this was done without consulting anyone from our delegation. This was done without consulting me as mayor. But still you just know better than me. As he stated, you know, we need the best and smartest. And obviously we Black Democrats are not smart enough to know what we need most.

SUMMERS: What do you want the supporters of the bill and other people around the country listening to this conversation to understand about the needs of your city, the people of Jackson, who, in your opinion, have gone unnoticed here?

LUMUMBA: First of all, I want them to understand that the people of Jackson are wise. They have an understanding of what best serves their community. They, like any other community, deserve the right to determine who the people who have such power over them, the right to take the life of the police that they are trying to implement, the right to sentence people to long terms of imprisonment without supervision. or any liability to residents. You know, we’ve been here before. It reflects the old Mississippi. And, to quote former coach Dennis Green, they are what we thought they were.

SUMMERS: Jackson, Mississippi, Chokwe Mayor Antar Lumumba, thank you so much for being here.

LUMUMBA: Thank you for inviting me. I appreciate it.

SUMMERS: And we’ve reached out to State Representative Trey Lamar for an answer. We haven’t received a response yet.

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