I think we should follow European football & adopt promotion/relegation with regard to states. Every census we review quality of life metrics & the 3 worst states get relegated & the 3 best territories get promoted.
Mississippi is always in the relegation zone.
It’s always cheerful to hear that the state with the highest percentage of Black folks is so easily disregarded. The MS Free Press has an amazing series about voter suppression and the actual obstacles we in MS face to change our circumstances.