[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 10, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E414-E415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING MAISIE BROWN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 10, 2023

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
first Jackson State University student to receive the Harry S. Truman 
Scholarship Foundation Award, Miss Maisie Brown of Jackson, 
Mississippi.
  For Maisie Brown, activism started with an eight-grade Algebra 
assignment. Her class was asked to redesign the Mississippi state flag. 
That made Brown ask, ``Why are we designing a new flag? What's wrong 
with the old one?''
  At the time, the Mississippi state flag featured a Confederate flag 
as part of its design, and the more Maisie thought about it, the more 
concerned she became about the message it was sending. ``Flying [the 
flag] over our state buildings and over schools' little Black children 
are walking into . . . It was racist, and I found it really 
disrespectful for the Blackest state in the nation.''
  She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with a 
special research interest in how education and environmental policies 
affect southern black and brown communities. Since her teen years, she 
has been involved in removing Confederate memorabilia, coordinating 
clean drinking water to Jackson households, and ensuring incarcerated 
women have access to feminine hygiene products. As the ACLU of 
Mississippi's Advocacy Coordinator, she has prioritized engaging young 
people and created the organization's first-ever Leaders in Action 
training program. Maisie has contributed to media outlets such as CNN, 
MSNBC, and Essence, among others, to raise awareness of critical 
issues, especially the Jackson, MS water crisis. She plans to pursue a 
PhD in public policy and administration with a concentration in 
educational policy to ameliorate conditions she faced as a public-
school student and expand community

[[Page E415]]

resources. She is the proud mother of one year-old, D'Mari and enjoys 
reading, watching movies, and spending time with family.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing, Miss 
Maisie Brown for her dedication to improve equality within her city as 
well as her state.

                          ____________________