Redistricting Matters: Mississippians Could Have Fairer Representation With Newly Drawn Maps by Ethnic Media Services

Speaker Bios

Mississippi’s Redistricting Battles Shift to Grassroots — Mirror Trends

Nsombi Lambright- Haynes | nlambright@uniteonevoice.org

Lambright-Haynes is the Executive Director of One Voice, a statewide leadership development and policy advocacy organization, headquartered in Jackson, MS. The goal of One Voice is to build leadership in an effort to address structural oppressions that show up in the institutions that are significant in the lives of families, including the public education system, voting, the environment, and the criminal justice system.  Before beginning her role at One Voice, Lambright-Haynes served as the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Mississippi for eight years. Under her leadership, the ACLU challenged the state’s prison system, the denial of voting rights for people with felony convictions, and a number of school to prison pipeline cases.  Lambright-Haynes serves on the City of Jackson’s Civil Service Commission and Public Safety Taskforce and also served on the transition teams of Jackson Mayors Chokwe Lumumba and Chokwe Antar Lumumba.  She has received a number of honors including the Chokwe Lumumba Award for Advancing Social Justice (2019) the Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Award (2012) and the Young Women in the NAACP Award (2008).

Monica McInnis | mmcinnis@uniteonevoice.org

Monica McInnis, program director for a nonprofit, One Voice, works to advance policy for marginalized communities.

Pastor Jose Rodriguez | Jrodriguez@uniteonevoice.org

Pastor Rodriguez, One Voice, works to advance policy for marginalized communities.

Gary Fredericks | garyfredericks80@gmail.com

President, Gulfport NAACP

Amir Badat | abadat@naacpldf.org

Amir Badat serves as Manager of the Voting Rights Defender and Prepared to Vote Projects (VRD/PTV) and Voting Special Counsel at the Legal Defense Fund. Amir leads LDF’s year-round election protection and voter education efforts, using legal, organizing, and advocacy tools to ensure that Black voters across the South have open access to the ballot box. As Voting Special Counsel, Amir uses litigation, legislative, and public education strategies to promote racial justice in area of political participation. He has led state-wide voter protection programs in Mississippi and coordinated voter protection efforts for national campaigns. Amir has been extensively involved in Congressional and local redistricting efforts in Mississippi during the 2020 redistricting cycle. Amir is a native of Meridian, MS, and currently lives in Jackson with his wife and two-year old son.

Daniel Q. Le | daniel.le@bpsos.org

Boat People SOS-Biloxi (BPSOS-Biloxi) and Boat People SOS-Bayou La Batre (BPSOS-BLB) are the Gulf Coast branches of a national Vietnamese-American nonprofit community-based organization with over 40-year of services.  We have been in operation for the last 15 years providing direct services to the Vietnamese Americans in Harrison, Jackson and Hancock counties in Mississippi and Mobile County in Alabama.  Through culturally and linguistically appropriate services, we make our services available to all community members regardless of ethnic background.