Thompson, Bennie, 1948-

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, he has been the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security since 2019, previously holding the position from 2007 to 2011. Thompson is the dean of Mississippi's congressional delegation. Since 2011, he has been the only Democrat in Mississippi's congressional delegation.

Thompson began his grassroots political activism being a civil rights champion through the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) while a student at Tougaloo College – a private historically black college in Jackson, Mississippi. He organized voter registration drives for African-Americans throughout the Mississippi Delta on behalf of the organization before graduating and following in the footsteps of his mother by becoming a school teacher. During his tenure educating the youth of Mississippi, a fire inside of Thompson was ignited pushing him to be a voice to the voiceless through elected office.

From 1969 to 1972, Thompson served as alderman of his hometown, Bolton, before serving as the city’s mayor from 1973 to 1980. During his time as mayor, Thompson improved the city’s infrastructure by paving roads, fixing the water and sewer systems, repairing and renovating dilapidated houses; all while spearheading the construction of city hall and re-evaluating the town’s real estate. His record of effective problem solving and coalition building served as the bedrock for his election to the Congress in 1993, representing Mississippi’s largest Congressional District composed of the state’s capital city, Jackson, and the Mississippi Delta.