Congressman Bennie Thompson speaks in the Overby Center at the University of Mississippi, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Photo by Ariel Cobbert.
“In college, I met Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, everybody you can imagine who were part of the civil rights movement at the time,” Thompson said.
Thompson is the congressman for the second district and is the second black man in modern times to represent Mississippi. He is a past chairman and now a ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee. Thompson is a key figure in conversations including ISIS/ISIL and Ebola, among others.
Chancellor Dan Jones introduced Thompson as both his friend and adviser and said he is known for representing people from different backgrounds.
“Congressman Thompson is, for this state and for our country, a large voice for the voiceless; he has been committed to justice for those who have suffered injustice,” Jones said.
Marvin King, political science professor, said his class came to the congressman’s speech because he wanted his class to hear about the relationship between federal and state government.
“This is what congressmen do when they are home or visiting their home district nearby, and I think he did great,” King said.
Meredith Bro, a junior political science major, enjoyed the topics Thompson discussed during his speech, especially when he talked about how important politics is for people in the state.
“The congressman did a really great job speaking about his view and sharing his unbiased opinion about various subjects in politics,” Bro said. “It was really inspiring to hear him speak and definitely see the progress made in Mississippi, not only for its politics but for its people.”
Thompson discussed how he discovered his town had not participated in voter registration, so he joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and helped organize voter registration drives for African-Americans in the Mississippi Delta.
Thompson talked about his struggle in graduate school due to a lack of facilities and how he would have to study in the library of a neighboring private school.
Thompson believes the best thing about this country is our ability to be different and working toward bettering situations.
“Public service requires commitment, stamina and dedication, and I have tried to do that during my lifetime,” he said. “I love being in congress because I love demonstrating to people from up north and out west that southerners can walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Thompson has pride in our country and pledged to make sure there is always opportunity to better ourselves and the country.
“I will work as hard as I can as a member of Congress, and I want you to do the same thing as long as you will be in this country to make it the best that it can be,” he said. “There are differences. There are shortcomings, but we have to work on making it better, and I pledge to you to continue to do that.”
