Sen. Derrick Simmons felt that his Black colleagues were becoming more frustrated. White senators argued that systemic racism is “a subjective myth” during Jan. 21 debates. They claimed that Mississippi children shouldn’t be taught about racism and that teaching racism was similar to Karl Marx’s teachings. During the debate, Black senators’ personal and emotional pleas were ignored by their white counterparts. Simmons, a Black Mississippi Delta man who is the Senate Democratic leader, had an idea. He approached each of his 13 Black colleagues one by one and asked for their approval. Simmons asked for a roll-call vote after the final vote was called. Instead of voting by voice, each senator would be asked to vote individually. All 14 Black senators walked out of the Senate as the Senate clerk called the roll. All Black senators – all Democrats – walked out, but it did not affect the final outcome. Republicans have enough members to pass any bill that they want. Their decision was symbolic, however. Black legislators in the state with the most racialized and violent history of racism used a key strategy of civil rights movements — organizing a walkout to protest the passage of a bill that would have prohibited the teaching of this history. This was a historic moment in Mississippi’s history. 1993 was the year that Black caucus members resigned before the then-Gov. Kirk Fordice gave his State of the State speech to protest his policies. No Capitol observer has ever seen any members protesting a bill being voted on. Simmons said to Mississippi Today, “The greatness and strength of America is the freedom to stand up for what you believe is right.” “We all believed that walking out was the right thing to take, and we were united in our convictions. We did exactly that. We decided that nonsense was not worth our votes.” READ MORE. All of the Mississippi’s Black senators resigned as their white counterparts voted to ban critical-race theory. One irony is that it could have been a historic day for so many different reasons. The Senate passed the Senate’s largest pay increase for public school teachers since decades, just minutes after passing the critical race theory bill. This was a crucial moment for the nation’s lowest-paid educators. Republican Lt. Governor. Delbert Hosemann was the top priority for legislative action in 2022. He and his staff had been working on it for several months. Hosemann did not preside at the debate on Friday but sent a press release after the day’s events praising the passage of the bill. Hosemann’s teacher pay plan received little praise on Friday, as the Black senators dominated the story. They dominated the headlines in Mississippi and all television stations broadcast B-roll from their walkout on primetime. The international and national walkouts were huge. Simmons spoke Saturday on MSNBC about the implications of the bill, and the historic decision made by Black lawmakers not to vote. Simmons stated that the people who threw stones at Ruby Bridges to stop them from going to school are now angry that their grandchildren will learn they did so. To improve Mississippi and America, it is necessary to tell the truth. My children, Black children and my children, as well as white children, should learn the history of slavery, civil rights movements, and the uncontrolled killings of Black Americans. Simmons said, “Racism is a part of our history. It is important that we acknowledge it and have a discussion about it.” Before the final vote, several Black senators went to the well to clearly state their views on the bill. Senator Barbara Blackmon, D.Canton, stated that there are 14 Black senators present in the chamber and they are telling you this bill is morally flawed. “Yet, you ignore the thoughts and positions of these fourteen members of this body. It must be something, if all 14 members of this body feel or think something is wrong. This was Sen. David Jordan’s most powerful plea from the floor. He was a freedom fighter during this movement. Jordan, 88, taught in Mississippi public schools for 33 years and 20 in integrated schools. Jordan stated that many Mississippians were against Jordan teaching their children. He taught them how he had taught his students, which was by giving facts, science, and truth. Jordan stated from the podium before the vote that “it’s sad that we’ve wasted so many time on something which’s not necessary.” “Mississippi is a great nation. People of color have suffered the most from racism. This bill is unnecessary to us. It is not necessary. Racism has been a victim of us. Christian friends, we cannot continue to stumble into the future backwards. This bill is what we get. There are more important things we need to do. We must show more cohesion and progress.” 1) Critical race theory legislation could jeopardize relations between black and white legislative leaders. These relationships are very important in the Blackest State in America, where a large constituency is often ignored by Jackson’s policy. After the June 2020 flag change, Black leaders showed goodwill toward white leaders. After decades of struggle from Black legislators, white leaders finally decided to join their Black counterparts in changing the flag. It was the last flag in the country to feature the Confederate battle emblem. Simmons stated, “You couldn’t help but feel good after the work we did together in June 2020.” As a Mississippian, you had the mindset that we could move forward in an inclusive spirit and not being exclusive. We are now less than two years later and we let the nation’s critical race theory debate divide us. After the flag, we had so much optimism and hope. On Friday, it’s almost like you feel completely defeated.” 2) What will Congress do? The Senate’s critical race theory bill was quite mild in comparison to other legislation. The House is headed by Speaker Philip Gunn who has made it very clear that he intends to address critical race theories. The House bill will be more restrictive about what Mississippi teachers can and cannot teach. After the outcry of the Senate vote, will the House leaders accept it and move on to other matters? The House’s black caucus members have an advantage now to plan for how they will respond to any outcome. The House will be a more dramatic place to debate, as almost everything is more dramatic. 3) Is it worth it? The push to ban critical racism theory is rooted within national political rhetoric, a red meat issue promoted by out-of state interest groups. Republican Senator Mike McLendon, who was the bill’s author, defended the measure on the floor. He said that the issue was pushed by his constituents on the basis of what they saw on Fox News. McLendon and no other politician can point out a single instance in which critical race theory was taught in the state, a fact that has been confirmed by state education officials. White Republicans pushing this bill know full well that it will cause harm to their relationships with Black colleagues, and their Black constituents. This harm is deep-rooted and will continue for a long period. When Republican legislators are up for reelection in November 2023, will their constituents even remember this hot-button issue, which has been featured on Fox News in recent week? 4) Mississippi teachers find themselves once more caught up in a political battle at the Capitol. The irony is that white legislators are simultaneously pushing for massive pay increases for teachers and telling them what they cannot teach. This could further erode trust in lawmakers by educators who already distrust them. Mississippi has more than 30.000 educators, as well as their loved ones and families. This is a significant voting bloc that may be able to recall all of this when the legislative and statewide elections are held in 2023.