Meet Rodney Hall, Army Ranger and soon-to-be first Black Republican in MS House since 1894

If you ask recently elected Mississippi State Rep. Rodney Hall, he will tell you he was born and raised to be a soldier.

Hall, who is the grandson of a sharecropper and said his parents lived in "abject poverty," will become the first Black Republican in the Mississippi House since the mid-1890s when he takes office in January.

"My family didn't really have much, but my dad, he was a soldier, just like his dad was a soldier, so my lifelong dream was to be a soldier. I grew up wanting to be an airborne ranger, go to combat, that's what I thought a life of principle was," Hall said of his upbringing in a recent interview with the Clarion Ledger.

A life in politics did not cross his mind until much later in life though. He achieved those early military dreams first, becoming an airborne ranger, and he continues to serve as an Army Infantry Officer in the Mississippi National Guard. His guard connections led him to a connection with his representative in Congress, Rep. Trent Kelly, a major general with the state's national guard.

"I didn't really have a plan or a path to jump into politics until I started working for Congressman Trent Kelly up in Washington, of course he's also a guard guy," Hall said. "And so that was just kind of where my life, the paths kind of crossed. I guess at one point is where service kind of blended into public policy, and I started to gain a passion for that, working on the hill."

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Hall began working in Congress initially for former Florida Rep. Jeff Miller and later for Kelly directly. After Miller retired, Hall went back to the national guard, and to Army Ranger School. After completing ranger school, while looking for his next job in Washington D.C., Hall was faced with a decision that would put his political trajectory at odds with his lifelong dream, and his sense of duty.

A political appointment within the Pentagon, as part of the Trump Administration, was on the table, but he also had his duties as a company commander to consider.

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"I absolutely would have loved to have worked for the administration. I started the process, got accepted, and then I find out that my unit is deploying down range," Hall said.

The men that Hall commanded were to be deployed to Syria for base guarding duties and training of local forces. His dream, of commanding men in combat as a ranger would have to come first.

"I mean, I love these guys. I just got off the phone with one today," Hall said. "I had the option to stay back in Washington and work in the administration or go down range with the boys that I had been with and trained for the last three years, and it was a no-brainer."

Upon his return to DeSoto County, after time as one of Kelly's most senior advisors, Hall became more involved in state and local Republican politics. Hall would become the founding chair of the Mississippi Republican Party's Minority Outreach Committee, founded in October of last year, and would ultimately set his sights on the state Legislature.

Hall's election, which ended with the Republican primary as no Democrats or Independents qualified to challenge the seat, is a historic occasion. In 1890, the state passed a new constitution. Individual drafters of the new legal text admitted at the time that its intention was to eliminate Black political power in the state. Just four years later, in 1894, the last two Black Republican lawmakers left the House after the first election under the new constitution, according to Mississippi State University history research librarian DeeDee Baldwin.

The first Black legislator after those in 1894, Democrat Robert Clark Jr., was a Democrat elected in 1967. Every Black lawmaker elected after Clark had been a Democrat or an Independent. Hall will be the first Black Republican to return.

Politics was not often discussed during Hall's upbringing, he said.

"My mom was never very much into politics, I mean she would watch the news and stuff like that, but we never grew up having political discussions and things of that nature. My dad, by just nature of him being in the Army, most of the administrations that were pro-military were Republican," Hall said. "The conversations that we did have were my dad supporting certain presidents because of what their effects would be for our family."

Like much of the country, Mississippi's minority population overwhelming votes for Democrats. While on the campaign trail, Hall said he would sometimes be asked why he is a Republican.

"Having conversations with other Black folks, saying 'Hey, why are you a Republican,' and when we sit down and talk about our values, talk about how we think life should go, the direction we want the state to go in, most people are like, 'You know what? I need to take a look at the Republican Party,'" Hall said.

On social media and in emails, Hall said messages have at times been far nastier.

"The stuff that's on the internet, the messages I might get on Facebook, or on Twitter or in my email are totally different than the relationships and the conversations that we have face to face. Part of it is there is a little more humanity to it when you're talking to someone, looking at them in the eyes, and having an exchange of ideas," Hall said.

Despite national narratives and trends, Hall sees a potential for future growth in the ranks of Black Republicans in Mississippi.

"The crazy thing about politics now, especially up at the national level, is that they get so polarized when you get to both of the extremes, but I would say what appealed to me and what I think will appeals to the larger Black community and even the larger minority community is the bedrock foundation stuff," Hall said, specifically citing public safety, freedom, economic opportunity and hard-working self reliance. "Man, those are all ideals that are sufficiently nested within the Republican Party."

For now, Hall said his first priority is to represent all of his constituents, but that he also sees the potential to be a unique voice within the capitol.

"My entire goal is to go down there and put DeSoto County first. Those are the people that elected me and that are sending me down to Jackson," Hall said. "I plan on talking to Black folks directly and just being honest with them and saying ... this is the position that we have inside of our party, and this is how it effects you, and this is why you should consider it a good thing for you, and why you should consider supporting and voting for the Republican Party."

A second Black Republican may end up joining Hall in the House when it reconvenes in January. Felix Gines of District 115, is headed to an Aug. 29 runoff. Gines, a former Democratic a member of the Biloxi City Council became a Republican in December to fanfare from state party officials. Gines will face off against former D’Iberville police officer Zachary Grady, who led Gines in the primary but fell about 3% of the vote short of the 50% mark needed to avoid a runoff.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: See what first Black Republican Mississippi lawmaker since 1894 said