The Green Party of Mississippi condemns Senator Trent Lott's recent comments at Senator Strom Thurmond's birthday celebration. Lott's choice of words made it appear that he spoke for all Mississippians when he said, "I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had of followed our lead we wouldn't of had all these problems over all these years, either."
In 1948, most black Mississippians were second-class citizens not allowed to vote. Disproportionate numbers of our citizens-both black and white-lived in poverty. Such was the situation when Strom Thurmond ran for President as a conservative segregationist. Since 1948, Mississippi has made tremendous progress. But, we still have a long way to go. Senator Lott recognizes neither the fact of our past nor our need to work toward a positive future for all our citizens. Trent Lott's comments do not reflect the views of most Mississippians. While a few individuals and organizations would like to exploit racist undercurrents and fear of change for their political benefit, most Mississippians are committed to a better future, one in which all our citizens enjoy the same rights, privileges, and opportunities.
The Green Party of Mississippi calls on Senator Trent Lott to apologize to the people of Mississippi in particular for his comments. Further, we call on our state's other elected officials, Republican, Democrat, and non-partisan, to condemn Lott's statement. Finally, we call on Senator Lott to explain what he meant by "all these problems."
MORE INFORMATION
The Green Party of the United States
http://gp.org/
National office: 1314 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-296-7755, 866-41GREEN
Index of Green Party candidates in 2002
http://www.greens.org/elections
Green Party of Mississippi
707D McLarty Road
Oxford, MS 38655
greenpartyms@hotmail.com
www.greenpartyms.org
John Wages, 662-840-3706, jwages@earthlink.net
Green Party of Mississippi - Tupelo, MS
Janet Rafferty, 662-324-6407, jrafferty12@hotmail.com
Green Party of Mississippi - State Chair
Starkville, MS
Landon Huey, 601-948-7818, landonwhuey@hotmail.com
Green Party of Mississippi - Jackson, MS
