PERSON: Bennie Thompson

U.S. House of Representatives

Member of Congress

Bennie Gordon Thompson (born January 28, 1948) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Mississippi’s 2nd congressional district since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Thompson served as the chair of the Committee on Homeland Security from 2007 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2023. He was both the first Democrat and the first African American to chair the committee. He is the Dean of Mississippi’s congressional delegation.

Since 2011, Thompson has been the only Democrat in Mississippi’s congressional delegation. His district includes most of Jackson and is the only majority-black district in the state. It is about 275 miles (443 km) long, 180 miles (290 km) wide, and borders the Mississippi River. The Mississippi Delta comprises the vast majority of the district.

Thompson was born in Bolton, Mississippi, the son of Will Thompson and Annie (Lauris) Thompson. He attended Hinds County public schools and graduated from Hinds County Agricultural High School. He then attended Tougaloo College, from which he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1968. He earned a Master of Science in educational administration from Jackson State University in 1972. Thompson was a schoolteacher in Madison, Mississippi. He served as an alderman (1969–1973) and then mayor of Bolton (1973–1980) before being elected to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, on which he served from 1980 to 1993.

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