SPLC Embarks on Tour Spotlighting Racial, Environmental and Socioeconomic Disparities Throughout Mississippi
The Truth, Poverty and Democracy Tour will combine community listening sessions, townhall meetings and site visits to hear from people that are impacted by limited access to much needed resources
JACKSON, Miss. — The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in collaboration with the Foundation for the Mid South, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, One Voice, ACLU-MS, Mississippi Poor People’s campaign, the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus and others will the conduct the inaugural Truth, Poverty and Democracy Tour, October 13-15, 2024. The multi-city tour will connect Mississippians to advocates and resources that address systemic barriers to healthcare, housing, education and voting rights.
The Truth, Poverty and Democracy Tour follows the release of SPLC Mississippi's inaugural State of the State Report, a collection of essays providing a comprehensive review of Mississippi's current social, political and economic landscape and the ongoing impact of racial and socioeconomic injustices on communities.
“The Truth, Poverty and Democracy Tour provides a safe space for Mississippians to share their struggles and give insight into how advocacy and civic groups as well as state leaders can effectuate the necessary changes needed to build a better Mississippi,” said Waikinya Clanton, SPLC Mississippi state office director. “It’s the people of the state that are hurting from policies that are entrenched in suppressing their constitutional rights and preventing them from thriving due to generational disparities. Our goal with this tour is to listen and create strategies and share policy recommendations that can support the people who are compounded by the systemic poverty in the state.”
The tour will examine issues surrounding poverty and democracy in the state of Mississippi, centering on the lived experiences of people in the poorest regions. It will consist of a series of community conversations, talks and roundtables with subject matter experts and ending with a legislative hearing. Throughout the tour, beginning in DeSoto County and ending in the city of Jackson, stakeholders will connect the needs and challenges of obtaining programs that provide pathways out of poverty for those who are in the most need.
The tour is an initiative of the SPLC’s the South’s Got Now and Mississippi's Got Now: Road to 60, a multidisciplinary effort that unites community members, youth, faith leaders and civic groups committed to building a more representative, more inclusive and more democratic ecosystem in Mississippi.
