Honoring Black History Month with a Call to Action

A publication of the Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative | February 2024

Dear CCLT Partner,

MLICCI is celebrating Black History Month during this important election year by recognizing three individuals who remind us of the importance of voting and voting rights: Fannie Lou Hamer, Sherrilyn Ifill, and Carol Anderson.

We all know how important Fannie Lou Hamer was and continues to be in securing voting rights for Black Mississippians and all Americans. Beaten in Winona, MS for registering Black people to vote, she went on to participate in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and challenge the all-white Mississippi delegation to the Democratic National Convention. If you haven’t already had a chance to read this great book, we encourage you to check out Keisha Blain’s Until I am Free, Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America. Here is a photo of the MLICCI team hosting Barnard College’s Mississippi Semester student group visiting the Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial in Ruleville, MS. Honor her memory by getting engaged in voter registration and voter engagement in 2024!

Sherrilyn Ifill, formerly the President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, is now at Howard University School of Law. This year, she will launch a center focused on the 14^th Amendment. She says, “The 14^th amendment, created during the Reconstruction Era, carries the promise of equality for Black people and accountability for people engaged in insurrection and white supremacy…”. She urges all of us to be “all in” for this important election year. No one can sit this one out. No one can be checked out.

Carol Anderson, history professor at Emory University and author of the important book, One Person No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying our Democracy, reminds us how important it is for EVERYONE to VOTE, no matter what. Don’t let impediments stand in your way!

Let’s honor Black History Month by vowing to be engaged in this important election year!

Thanks,

Carol Burnett

MLICCI Executive Director

It's time to get ready to vote! The Voter Registration deadline for the Primary Election, when we select the candidate to represent the respective political parties, is Monday, February 12, 2024. The Primary Election is March 12, 2024.

Please encourage your staff, parents, and families to get registered and turn out the vote.

The following positions will be on the ballot:

President
U.S. Senate and U.S. Representative
Supreme Court Justice
County Election Commissioners
Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee Commission
Mississippi Levee Commission

Make your plan to vote, be ready to make your voice heard, and take someone with you! In-person absentee voting ends on Monday, March 9. County Circuit Clerk offices are required to be open from 8 a.m. to noon. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day! Your vote is your voice!

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: Mississippi House Passes Presumptive Eligibility

The Mississippi House of Representatives recently passed House Bill 539 for presumptive eligibility for women. This legislation is another critical piece of the puzzle to help reduce maternal and infant mortalities in the state of Mississippi. It would allow pregnant women who are eligible for Medicaid to get in the doctor's office early while their application is in process. Women whose family net income is 194% or less of the federal poverty income, about $29,000, would qualify. This is a HUGE win for moms. However, HB 539 has another set of hurdles to cross before it makes it to the finish line, and that's in the Mississippi Senate.

TAKE ACTION: URGE YOUR STATE SENATOR TO SUPPORT PRESUMPTIVE ELIGIBILITY!

CALL (601) 359-3770.

Not sure who your Mississippi Senator is? Insert your address in the link below to find out.

Find My Legislator

ABOUT MLICCI

In Mississippi, one of the biggest barriers to employment for low-income single moms is access to child care. Because we believe that no mother should have to choose between the job she needs and the child she loves, MLICCI works to improve the state’s child care assistance program and strengthen the financial viability of the child care centers that serve low-income mothers.

MLICCI | www.mschildcare.org