Rodney Hall is a DeSoto County resident, attorney and former Army Infantry Officer. He was recently elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, making him the first Black Republican lawmaker in the state.
MPB’s Kobee Vance spoke with Hall about serving the public, his values, and the Republican party’s outreach to minorities.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Rodney Hall: I consider myself a soldier first. You know, I grew up wanting to be like my father, like my grandfather. They both served in the army. My dad, he retired from the Mississippi Army National Guard with just over 25 years. I joined at 17. I'm closely approaching the 20-year mark of service in the Mississippi Army National Guard. And, that's why I really gained a lot of my foundation as far as values and things of that nature that are so important to me. I lived all over the state of Mississippi, lived all over the country, of course, of my dad being active duty first. But DeSoto county is where I call home, the place where my parents were able to finally realize the American dream after working so hard their entire life, coming from humble beginnings and trying to provide for myself and my sister. And so they bought their first house ever in DeSoto County and curtilage. And that is currently where I'm with my family and where I'm representing moving forward here in January.
Kobee Vance: I think here in Mississippi, it's impossible to skip the idea of race and how that plays a role in our politics. You will be the first Black man to serve as a Republican in the state legislature. What does that mean for you and what do you think that means for other Black Mississippians who might have a conservative-leaning ideology that are considering seeking office or want to vote for someone that's like them?
RH: My win is historic in nature. And I don't take that lightly. One thing that I would like to share is that my win is not really my win alone, but it's really a coalition of efforts. And it shows just how determined and how important the Republican Party here in Mississippi and our leaders value the voices, values the input from minorities all across the state. I mean, you look at the map under the leadership of Governor Reeves and Chairman Frank Bordeaux, back last year, they launched the minority outreach committee, but that wasn't the first time that it's been done. You know, I want to say Governor Bryant — who also I sat down with and talked with early in the campaign — had always been a champion for making inroads with minority communities, people of color. I think the reason why that is, is because the Republican Party values minorities. And I believe that there is a huge cohort of minorities, not just in DeSoto County, but all across Mississippi, that share the same values as the Republican Party.
KV: I know the Republican Party in Mississippi has especially been expanding their outreach to people of color, other minorities — more thorough effort by the Republican Party to start reaching out and trying to get people that might have voted differently in the past because of their race, but might hold values that have contested with that.
RH: I think my gut feeling shows that there's a growing group of voters that share the same values as the Republican Party. And so it's not necessarily a rebranding, but yes, there is a concerted effort to reach out to minority voters and say,‘hey, these are the things that we stand on. These are the principles that we have. And I think that you share those same values and principles and vision for Mississippi. So come join us again.’ Given the history of the state, the history of our country. That's something that's not a small task that can be accomplished overnight. And for anybody to assume that this was an overnight sensation, I think that they don't pay the value or the homage to Republican leaders all across the state that have been working on this effort for quite some time.
KV: What are your policy priorities going into the session next year?
RH: My biggest thing is I want to make sure that I meet with all the leaders in DeSoto County and make sure that I'm addressing the issues for the county-wide. That's my No. 1 priority. If you look at the kind of the successes that we've had recently, I mean, the Republican Party has been doing a fine job of steering us in the right direction. Of course, there are some challenges. I mean, you look at education: graduation rates have increased, reading and math. We've had great success there. We had the largest pay raise, I want to say, ever. But we still have some challenges with teacher shortages across the state. Even if we're able to hire good quality teachers, it's hard to keep them there because you can't be a teacher and also try to achieve the American dream — house in Olive Branch or Southaven — because the market's too expensive. So we need to look for opportunities to shore up that shortage, but then also make sure that our teachers are funded and continue to do the things that they love. Public safety always. I mean, that's a foundation bedrock to our community. You're not going to have thriving businesses. You're not going to have thriving families and thriving students. They're in fear when they lay their head at night. And so I want to make sure that our law enforcement officers are equipped with every available tool that they can to keep our community safe.
KV: I also wanted to ask about your veteran background. What do you think that can mean for your qualifications going into this role? And how do you think that experience is going to help you in your time in office?
RH: One thing that we are told, and one thing that I have learned just from my time being in the service, being raised by a service member, is that nothing that you can do on your own is as great as you can [with a] coalition of a team. You really learn teamwork. You really learn hard work, dedication, sacrifice. I mean, those type of values are things that we need of our service members. Those are the kind that we need of our public servants. I understand that this election, this seat that I will be sworn into is not about me. It's about the people that I work with and the people that I work for. And so my goal is to always put the Desoto County residents’, the Fulton County voters’ priorities and principles above my own, because that's the only way that we're going to have true growth to progress when it comes to our state and our society.
KV: Rodney Hall is the representative elect for District 20, which is now in DeSoto County.