This moment was important for more than 100 people who gathered at the Masonic Temple, John R. Lynch Street on February 15th. They were there when Bob Moses, Ella Baker, and Fannie Lou Hamer hosted the first Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party state convention in 1964. They knew how crucial Lumumba’s endorsement was. Lumumba, the mayor of Mississippi’s largest Democratic primary voter city, was a popular endorsement target for many Democratic candidates for president. He had been personally courted by Joe Biden and Mike Bloomberg, as well as Pete Buttigieg. They knew that the endorsement of Lumumba, a rising star in progressive wing of Democratic Party, would bring national attention to their campaigns. Bennett stated, “(Lumumba), said he would endorse the people’s decision, and he wanted to me to declare to everyone that they should vote conscious, knowing that this is the person he was going public endorse.” Bennett is currently one 12 Electoral Justice Project fellows of the Movement For Black Lives. Bennett explained that the cohorts were given the task of hosting caucuses for people in their respective cities. All are “major Black cities.” Bennett, a Jackson native, is the executive director of Mississippi Votes. The nonprofit focuses on voter registration and engaging young voters. Bennett has been involved in political organizing since she was 17. Bennett is a student of the important organizing work that black Mississippi women did over the course the state’s history. She draws on their lessons to help her work today. Special Episode: Inside the Mississippi caucus which inspired Bernie Sanders’ largest 2020 endorsements. She engaged many students at Mississippi Votes who were discussing recreating activities from 1964’s Freedom Summer. Bennett devised a unique plan to bring her people together in a caucus, considering that presidential candidates seldom visit Mississippi. Bennett stated that she wanted the caucus in 2020 to be a time when black and brown people — mostly black — could get together to discuss issues that impact our daily lives. “We created an agenda that was specific to us and made it possible to hold people who want to become president of the United States accountable for their policies about black folks.” Bennett said. She reached out to all the campaigns in the race early this year and only five of them — Sanders, Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren — offered to attend. The former governor of Massachusetts, Patrick, was no longer available to speak at the caucus. Instead, four other campaigns were officially represented. She invited many organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and Planned Parenthood to sponsor the event and invite participants. The caucus was attended by 136 people from Mississippi, which represented the state’s multiracial and multigenerational electorate. Bennett explained that attendees were asked to rank four candidates from their first choice to their last choice during the caucus. The caucus-style, ranking choice voting system was created “to get people interested in the alternatives to the current electoral system.” Bennett stated that Sanders won the first vote in overwhelming numbers, with Biden in third, Warren in second, and Bloomberg in fourth. The Caucus attendees were then able to hear directly from four campaign representatives on the issues of criminal justice, education, economic justice and healthcare. Bennett had chosen these four issues because they are often the focus of black voters. Bennett stated, “I wanted chaos at the caucus. I wanted campaign representatives to feel pressure. I wanted Mississippians to know who was there representing different campaigns that may or not reflect the values of our community.” Lumumba then pulled Bennett aside to tell her that he would be supporting the candidate with the highest number of votes. Michael Chester, a Mississippi Votes volunteer and caucus attendee, said that it felt like there was a rebirth in energy in the state. “It didn’t feel like there were a lot pressure and I liked how Lumumba decided to base his endorsement upon the people’s choice. It really captured the essence and feelings of everyone.” Sanders received an even greater share of votes in the final vote. Warren came in second place, Biden came in third, and Bloomberg was a distant fourth. Bennett stated that even though Bloomberg had several paid staffers, Bloomberg did not receive one first-choice vote at day’s end. Patrick, who had dropped out of the race a few days before the caucus began, received more caucus vote votes than Bloomberg. Lumumba was the man when caucus attendees cast their final votes in support of Sanders. On February 28, the mayor’s endorsement for Sanders was made public in a Buzzfeed News article. This article landed the mayor in numerous national publications as well as cable TV interviews. The article stated that the mayor and his staff had decided to have a “people’s caucus”. However, Bennett, Bennett’s young organizers, or the organizations Bennett invited to sponsor the caucus, were not acknowledged for their efforts. Bennett stated that she read the Buzzfeed article and was “quite honestly very annoyed”. I was frustrated because there was an erasure not only of me as an organizer, but also of my thought process and passion for young people. Buzzfeed is the national news source that everyone uses. It would have been much more powerful to talk about those in the position and place to make that endorsement possible.” Lumumba’s spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bennett stated that Lumumba’s endorsement of Bennett based on her hard work and the young organizers with whom she worked was “a win”. I challenge anyone who is running for office or in office to really think about who you are talking to. Who is sharpening your political analysis Who is sharpening your political analysis? Because young people (should) be at the center or core of policies.” Bennett said. “We just have to be more aware of how we engage our people and our processes.”_x000D