Dear Meredith C —

B.F. Lidell Elementary was shut down due to lack of funding yesterday. About 105 students and 32 staffers, a majority of them people of color, had to say goodbye to their beloved public school because our current leaders have failed them.

Students cried as they gave their final hugs to the teachers with whom they had built unforgettable relationships, and educators were left with a foggy picture of what is to come for them and their family’s futures.

I was there to lead the final “I am special” speech, and I felt anger in my stomach at the injustice of what I was witnessing. Children in underserved communities always get the short end of the stick here in Mississippi. Most of them don’t even get a chance at a proper education because tax breaks go to corporations and the top one percent instead of the people we are supposed to serve. It’s clear that our current representatives care more about paybacks for their lobbyists and corporate donors. And I’ve had it.

We need a leader in the Senate who will fight like hell for every child in this state, not just wealthy white kids who already have a leg up. We need someone who will do whatever it takes to bring more funding to help our rural schools, and I’m prepared to do exactly that.

DAVID BARIO