The CEO of a Jackson based financial services organization testifies before the Senate on some of the banking challenges faced by rural communities.

Then, 2020 was a census year meaning the Magnolia State will soon have new voting districts drawn. In our sixth and final installment of Your Vote, Your Voice, we examine the policies and procedures that guide the pens that draw the maps.

Plus, we look at the state of Mississippi’s lottery, nearly 18 months since it launched.

Segment 1:

In the Deep South, financial access in rural communities has been an epidemic long before COVID-19. At nearly 16 percent, Mississippi carries the highest percentage of un-banked residents in the country; a number that soars to 21 percent when specifically referencing Black communities in the state - all of this according to the FDIC. Of the 20 largest banks in the Southeast, only one has branches in the Mississippi Delta. These are all issues being considered by the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. William Bynum, the CEO of Hope Enterprise Corporation, a Jackson-based financial services organization testified before the committee yesterday where he outlined the importance of Community Development Financial Institutions - or CDFIs.

Segment 2:

Mississippi lawmakers will be working this year to redraw a number of maps that will impact voters in the state. 2020 was a Census year which means the U.S. Congress will reapportion its membership in the House of Representatives. On the state level, Census data will be used to draw House and Senate districts for the next legislative elections in 2023.  Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann has the statutory responsibility to appoint members to the committee that will consider how these new maps will be drawn. In our sixth and final installment of Your Vote, Your Voice we begin by exploring the redistricting process with the leader of the Senate.

The redrawing of district maps comes with inherent biases and complications. As Representative Ed Blackmon explains, a key priority for many elected officials is to preserve the district that elected them. He shares more about the politics of redistricting with our Ashley Norwood.

Segment 3:

Somewhere between 55 and 60 new projects by the Department of Transportation have either begun or have been funded in the last 18 months - all a result of the Mississippi Lottery. The lottery has raised more than 84 million dollars since last July alone - 80 million of it going to roads and bridges, the rest to the state's education system. Tom Shaheen, President of the Mississippi Lottery Corporation, who is retiring at the end of June, shares more about the lottery's impact with our Michael Guidry.

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