JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Maisie Brown of Jackson, Mississippi was sitting in her Algebra I class in 2016 when she was given an assignment to design a new Mississippi state flag. Brown did not understand why people were so upset about the flag.
Legislators adopted Mississippi’s state flag and its Confederate battle emblem in 1894, nearly three decades after the end of the Civil War. Mississippians voted nearly two-to-one in 2001 to keep the design.
After researching the state’s flag, Brown decided to share her thoughts on it in a local newspaper.
“When I saw discrepancies and just blatant symbols of racism embraced by so many, I felt compelled to speak out on it,” Brown said. “In the words of the late John Lewis, if we see something wrong, we have a moral obligation to do something about it.”
For Brown, it was only the beginning. Along with coming to grips with her state’s flag, several high-profile killings – of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile – at the hands of police sent the nation into a frenzy of anger, frustration and nationwide protests in 2016.
Brown, who was only 14 at the time, found herself compelled to take an even further call to action by attending her first protest surrounding Sterling and Castile’s deaths.
“I saw things wrong and there were people who could not live comfortable because of their skin color,” Brown said. “I needed to be a part of the process to help others.”
Attending protests led Brown to speaking at protests. Now, Brown - 18 and an incoming freshman at North Carolina A&T State University and recent graduate of Murrah High School – has organized protests.
Through her work as the youth program director at the Institute for Democratic Education America and a volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club in Jackson, Brown has become a beacon for change in her community.
PROTEST: ‘IT WAS ALL COMING FULL CIRCLE FOR ME’
As Brown watched a video of the last moments of George Floyd’s life, it impelled her to take action once again.
“At that moment, I realized that this was bad, and Mississippi had to do something about it. It was all coming full circle for me,” she said.
Brown served as the lead organizer and youngest speaker for the Black Lives Matter Mississippi protest on June 6 in downtown Jackson. Brown expected a couple hundred people to attend. When she arrived an hour before the protest, people were already waiting for organizers, ready to make donations.
As chants of “No justice, no peace” echoed through a diverse crowd and hundreds of protesters marched downtown, Brown said, “I remember looking out in the crowd and I almost started shaking. I’ve never had stage fright, but something came over me.”
In that moment, Brown realized the people were eager for something to change and now had the momentum to create the change they wanted.
“John Lewis was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington, and I was the youngest speaker at the protest,” Brown said. “There is no blueprint to being a leader or activist. You take the initiative and create the change you are looking for.”
When protesters stood in silence to honor Floyd, Brown said it was a ‘beautiful feeling” but also a reminder of the deeper issues affecting society.
“This protest alone was not just about Floyd, it was a buildup of a lot of things stemming from white supremacy in society,” Brown said. “We can’t have a conversation about dismantling that if we still have symbols that represent the prominence of white supremacy.”
What Brown believes needs to happen in Jackson:
- Brown believes several measures need to be taken to create change in the city of Jackson:
- Establish a better connection between people in leadership and their constituents.
- Create better educational opportunities for Black students, specifically in the Jackson Public School District.
- Bring more jobs to keep people in the city.
- Find/create more leisure activities for children to keep them off the streets.
- Incorporate action behind the words: true community engagement with citizens.
- Create a program that provides and informs citizens on policies that will affect the city.
EDUCATION, VOTING ARE CRITICAL TO EFFECTING CHANGE
Mississippi’s flag with its Confederate battle emblem was removed this summer. But for Brown, removing the flag was simply the start to the change-making process.
Brown believes people need to become more critical and analytical thinkers.
“The way to keep a race in society down is making sure they are not educated,” she said. “Education is not the exact way to prevent officers from killing Black and brown men and women, but it is a way for them to advocate for themselves in times of injustice.”
Brown is working with a small group of young Black leaders to create a digital campaign to get people to vote. “The protests, the flag, none of these matter if we do not get out and vote in November. In the past, people have tried to make voting as something only the elite do.”
Brown hopes her diligence in helping people vote brings about change.
“We’re going to see a shift in Mississippi,” Brown said. “We thought the flag coming down was farfetched, but it came down.
“It is really important to realize that nothing can be changed if it isn’t faced.”
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This story was first published on Aug. 21, 2020. It was updated on Aug. 24, 2020 to correct the spelling of an activist’s name. Her name is Maisie Brown, not Misie Brown.
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