The Republican project isn’t to win in November. It’s to make November cease to matter | Jamil Smith
Summary
Republican-controlled state legislatures are redrawing voting districts in ways that split and reduce Black voters' influence, especially in southern states like Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. These changes follow a recent Supreme Court decision that weakened protections under the Voting Rights Act for Black political representation.Key Facts
- Tennessee’s Republican-led legislature redrew Memphis’s ninth district, splitting Black voters and reducing their political power.
- The Tennessee legislature passed a law to keep a Confederate flag on Williamson County’s seal, despite a court ruling allowing its removal.
- The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais limited the Voting Rights Act’s power to protect Black-majority districts.
- Louisiana plans to eliminate one of its two Black-majority districts following the ruling, and Alabama has already erased one.
- In Mississippi, the Republican governor and legislators are targeting Bennie Thompson’s district, the only Black congressional district in the state.
- The Congressional Black Caucus chair said nearly one-third of its members are at risk of losing their seats by 2028.
- African American representation in Congress grew from 13 members in 1971 to 62 today, but current redistricting threatens this progress.
- Historical examples show racial political power has been reduced through legal and administrative means without direct public declarations.
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