Women Led the Way, and Mississippi Followed.

I got a story to tell.

Georgia · November 3

On November 3rd, women made history in Georgia. Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman ever elected governor in this country. She is also Georgia’s first woman governor and its first Black governor. At least eight Black women won statewide office in that one state, including a new Secretary of State and a new Attorney General. Both are firsts.

I watched that and thought, look at what women do when we decide to show up.

Then I looked at my own home.

Mississippi · November 11

I’m a Mississippi girl. I know what people say about us. For a long time, the nation saw one story when it looked at Mississippi.

Election night was a rollercoaster. The results went up and down all night. Scott Colom was ahead of Cindy Hyde-Smith, then it tightened, then he was ahead again. The count went on for days, and on November 11th it was called. Scott Colom won. He will be the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction.

Remember when Senator Hyde-Smith was asked about the price of beef and told people they had so many proteins to choose from? Colom’s campaign turned that into an ad. A voter in the ad said, “Pick another protein? I’d rather pick another senator instead.” Mississippi did exactly that.

Here is what I want you to hear. This was not one group. Black, white, and other Mississippians stood together. When we are under pressure, we come together. We chose Scott Colom as Mississippians, and we were ready to get out of the Trump era we are living in now.

National TV was in Mississippi. Symone Sanders Townsend of MS NOW sat down with Senator-elect Colom in his hometown of Columbus. When she asked about national party leaders, he said, “the people of Mississippi recruited me.”

Sources

• Georgia statewide results
• Mississippi Today on Colom's win
• MS NOW interview with Colom

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