Politics reporter for Mississippi Today, reporting from Jackson.
Terry Rogers II, 21, a senior studying political science at the historically Black Tougaloo College, spent Tuesday driving students in a college van between government offices to check on their ballots as the race remained uncalled. A day later, he was scrolling CNN when he saw the network called the race for Colom. He and a friend took a moment to cry.
“This is what we’ve been praying for, for years, for generations,” Rogers said. “This makes me want to continue to be a Mississippian. This makes me love my state even more than I already did.”
Many college-educated residents of Mississippi have fled the state over the years to seek jobs and more progressive environments in other states. Rogers said Colom’s triumph could help improve the state’s national image.
As Rogers spoke to The New York Times, a fellow student came by and shouted at him: “He won! You see that? You see that?”
