For the first time in Mississippi history, three Black women will serve on Hinds County’s circuit court.
Hinds County District Attorney Faye Peterson and State Representative Adrienne Wooten were declared the winners of Tuesday’s runoff election, reports WAPT. Incumbent Chief Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green was re-elected on November 6.
The results mean every judge on the Hinds County Circuit Court will be Black, according to The Clarion-Ledger. Circuit Judge Winston Kidd ran unopposed.
The judges will serve more than 200,000 Mississippi citizens. The county includes the state's capital, Jackson, and according to the United States Census Bureau, has a Black majority, with 72 percent of its residents identifying as Black.
Peterson said she wants the historic victories to be an example for young Black women.
“You can do what you want to do — and I am not trying to slight our men; I have a son — but to young women to envision the possibilities that you can get past political barriers, that you can rise in your profession and you don’t have to leave Mississippi to do it,” she said.
Wooten said she hopes this win is a sign of progress.
“All I can say to that is that maybe the citizens are no longer looking at gender but they’re looking strictly at qualifications,” Wooten told WAPT.
Making these victories even more monumental are the ballot issues voters had in Hinds County.
According to WJTV, an unknown number of residents did not receive their absentee ballots in the mail due to late printing and a slow mail system. The county also had problems with its voting machines; poll workers reported they were forced to turn some would-be voters away on Election Day due to malfunctioning booths.
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