Trump, Republican-initiatives the focus of concern for Kwanzaa celebrants, leaders and community activists

With Christmas in the rear view mirror, residents and citizens of Jackson considered and discussed their concerns for the new year, 2017. At Kwanzaa celebrations and in think tank and planning sessions, black leaders and everyday people focused on what they feel awaits the state and country come January with Republicans in control of the Mississippi legislature, the U.S. Congress, the White House, and soon, the Supreme Court.

Congressman Bennie Thompson, at the Jackson Community Kwanzaa Celebration, encouraged citizens to retain hope in the face of the swearing-in of Donald Trump. He reminded them that they and their ancestors survived slavery, segregation and Jim Crow; the administrations of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush I and II. His comments were virtually identical to those of Angela Stewart, C. Liegh Mclnnis, and Willie Jones at a Kwanzaa celebration across town at the Smith Robertson Museum.

It has been widely publicized that at the national level, Donald Trump and the Republican congressional majority are looking forward to: (1) drastically changing, if not destroying the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), (2) cutting the funding for Medicaid, perhaps destroying it, (3) reducing and changing Medicare and Social Security, (4) making war on Muslims, at home and abroad, (5) deporting millions of immigrants and preventing others from coming to this country, and (6) stacking the Supreme Court in order to deal crippling blows to abortion rights, the protection of gay, lesbian and other marginalized groups, and the civil rights and liberties of all citizens, but especially, regarding voting and police power and conduct

For the first time since the 1930s, a Republican majority will be in charge of all three branches of the federal government. Word is that many or them are set on rolling back all of the social welfare legislation passed under Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Barack Obama. It is against this backdrop that Congressman Thompson and the others spoke.

Meanwhile, in assessing the upcoming session of the Mississippi state legislature, longtime labor and immigration advocate Bill Chandler indicated that migrants, laborers and low income Mississippians are in for a rough time. He feels that it is only a question of whether the state legislature will defer to congress and the Trump administration in the matter of negative social, economic and political actions. The legislature is fully prepared to pass oppressive legislation if congress does not. This includes things like nullifying "the sanctuary" ordinances enacted by municipalities and stricter immigration policies.

At the state level, Congressman Thompson and Chokwe Antar Lumumba, speaking to the crowd at the Medgar Evers Community Center as well as Ms. Jones, Ms. Stewart and Mr. Mclnnis, speaking at the Smith Robertson Museum, underscored the attacks of the Republican dominated government on (1) Jackson Public Schools and public schools in general, through underfunding and the multiplication of charter schools, (2) Jackson's airport, and (3) the governance of Jackson's Capitol Complex. (Thompson also referenced the attempt to convict Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith as a part of the attack on black people in the Jackson and Hinds County area.) All of them also indicated that there is probably more to come in the new session.

These issues have been widely discussed by activists in organizations such as the Coalition for Economic Justice, Women for Progress, the NAACP, and Southern Echo. As a result of the discussions, much of Jackson is focused on them for the new year"