Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus to host community meeting in Gulfport

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) – The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus will hold a community meeting in Gulfport on August 19.

State Representative Jeffrey Hulum III said several different topics will be addressed during the town hall meeting, which is the start of a statewide tour.

“We want to go throughout the state and let them know exactly what’s going on from healthcare, infrastructure, education, freedom, voting rights, or lack thereof, and different things that affect all people in Mississippi,” said Hulum.

Hulum, who opposes school choice, said it will be one of the highly debated topics at the town hall meetings.

“When it comes to public education, public money should be given to public education,” said Hulum.

During this year’s legislative session, a school choice bill didn’t have enough support in the House chamber. As a result, it was never brought up on the floor for debate or a vote.

The bill would have allowed public dollars to flow into private schools. If a student transferred, the associated funding would have followed them to their new school.

“When we take those public education dollars away and give it to private entities, or certain charter schools, what are we really teaching or who are we really helping? We’re not helping a bulk of Mississippi because a bulk of Mississippi goes to public schools,” said Hulum.

Hulum also said a big focus of the upcoming town hall meetings will be the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) reform.

“We’ve got to find a way to fund it. But how do we fund it? Not by taking away from the people who have already put into the system. So that’s one of the most important things,” said Hulum.

Early voting is also an important topic for the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus.

“We’re going to continue to push, and we’re going to fight for all people. Not just one side, but all people when it comes to voting,” said Hulum.

The town hall meeting called ‘Community Conversations with the Caucus’ will be held at the Good Deeds Community Center in Gulfport. The doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the program begins at 6 p.m. on August 19.

“One of the most important things we want everybody to understand is that this meeting is for all people. This is not a black meeting. This is not a democratic meeting. This is a meeting for the people in South Mississippi,” said Hulum.

The event is free and open to the public.

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