In 1993, Willie Simmons (Flemming Fellow `99) entered the Mississippi State Senate with a strong desire to improve the lives of those living in the Mississippi Delta. As a local community activist, and former Deputy Commissioner for Corrections he was a leader long before his election. His activism goes back to his days as a Head Start parent and his efforts to expand the Head Start Program in Mississippi.
Senator Simmons exemplifies the new type of African-American state legislator elected in the early nineties, one with a business, or administrative background, rather than a civil rights background, and interested in moving an empowerment agenda. Simmons is a leader who leads by values and his participation as a member of CPA’s Southeast Policy leaders Forum and the Flemming Fellows has helped him articulate these values and use them to build bridges to unlikely allies.
Simmons represents a portion of the Mississippi Delta that is one of the poorest parts of the country and offers little economic opportunities. That’s why he has made revitalizing the Delta and other underdeveloped parts of the state a priority. He is
working on legislation that would create state funded community development corporations in underdeveloped parts of Mississippi. As a member of the Public Health and Welfare Committee, he supported a House Bill eliminating the six-month waiting period for those who move from private insurance to the Children Health Insurance Program.
Simmons also sponsored a bill requiring the Department of Human Services to collect and report all data in connection with federally funded or assisted welfare programs and making this information available to the public which is of great concern to Black Caucus members and the community at large.
Simmons is working with the Black Caucus to empower African-Americans in the state by
holding regional meetings and developing a people’s budget. In December 1999, he helped organize the Caucus Community Forum and presentation of the People’s 2000 Budget that resulted in more than 200 people asking questions of the Governor elect, Lt. Governor elect and the Speaker of the House. At the forum the Governor-elect expressed support for several items listed in the budget. During the legislative session, members outside the Black Caucus have led the way on several other policy issues outlined in the Caucus budget. Senator Willie Simmon’s principles and values are empowering for others and make him a leader in Mississippi and within the CPA family.
