Nearly 60 years after Dr. King stood behind President Johnson as he signed the Voting Rights Act, the U.S. Supreme Court is now asking a chilling question: Does Black representation in Congress still matter? With Section 2 of the Act under review, the Court could strip away one of the last legal protections ensuring Black voters can elect candidates who reflect their communities.
Now, the fundamental law Dr. King and many others fought for hangs in the balance. In a move reminiscent of the darkest chapters in voter suppression, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to rehear a case that could dismantle one of the last major pillars of the Voting Rights Act. This time, the battle is in Louisiana—but the implications extend well beyond state borders.
Section 2: The Last Line of Defense for Black Representation in Congress
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits any voting practice or district map that discriminates based on race or ethnicity. It’s the core legal tool used to challenge laws or redistricting plans that dilute the voting power of racial minorities—especially Black voters.
This section has been critical in protecting Black representation in Congress by ensuring that districts are drawn fairly so Black communities can elect candidates of their choice. Without it, states could legally dismantle majority-Black districts and silence Black political power.
Supreme Court Reconsiders the Rules on Race and Redistricting
The case centers on whether Louisiana, where nearly one-third of the population is Black, can justify having just one majority-Black congressional district out of six. A federal court ruled the map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting.
That court ordered the state to draw a second majority-Black district. Louisiana’s Republican-led legislature complied, reluctantly and only after the threat of court intervention. But even that wasn’t enough.
The Supreme Court is now asking a stunning question: Is it unconstitutional to intentionally create a district that allows Black voters to elect candidates of their choice?
Let that sink in.
It’s the same legal principles it upheld just two years ago in Allen v. Milligan, a case where it ordered Alabama to add a second majority-Black district. That decision was seen as a narrow but significant victory for voting rights. Now, with the Louisiana case, that precedent may be on the chopping block.
Black Congressional Seats Across the South Face New Threats
Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, told The Black Wall Street Times that Southern Republicans’ decision to consider redrawing maps mid-decade “signals that they’re continuing to do what they’ve already been doing—using the redistricting process to their advantage.”
“We’ve seen it done in several other states, even before the census. We saw it in North Carolina, for example, with that infamous decision where the court said they gerrymandered with ‘surgical precision‘. So it’s a continuation of a strategy that, honestly, has been working,” Albright told The Black Wall Street Times.
However, a broad Supreme Court ruling on Section 2 could empower Southern Republicans to redraw Black lawmakers out of Congress across several states.
In Louisiana, Rep. Troy Carter currently holds the only majority-Black seat. The second district—added under court order—could vanish if the Court rules it unconstitutional.
In Alabama, Rep. Terri Sewell could lose her seat if race can no longer be used to draw fair maps. Rep. Bennie Thompson in Mississippi also represents a district built around Black voter strength. That seat could face legal or legislative challenges.
Georgia’s Black lawmakers, Reps. Sanford Bishop, Nikema Williams, and David Scott may face redistricting threats. In Texas, Republicans are already redrawing maps. Rep. Jasmine Crockett has been targeted in a mid-decade redistricting effort. Rep. Al Green represents a majority-minority district in the Houston area that is at risk.
Florida has already removed a Black-access district formerly represented by Rep. Al Lawson. Without Section 2 protections, such changes may become the norm across the country.
From the Bench to the Bureau: A Coordinated Retreat from Voting Protections
Justices have requested new briefs, due on October 3, focusing on whether race-conscious redistricting violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause or the Fifteenth Amendment. The irony is striking. Yet the Court is now entertaining the argument that using race to remedy racism may itself be unconstitutional.
This legal gymnastics isn’t just confusing—it’s dangerous for Black Representation in the U.S. Congress. This conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to rewrite the rules, potentially gutting the very section of the Voting Rights Act it reaffirmed in 2023. If that happens, Black-majority districts across the South could vanish overnight.
“I will say this a little bit louder for the folks in the back. This is why voting rights and civil rights lawyers exist. In Texas, they need to file a lawsuit the same way Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia did. There is still power to stop gerrymandering,” Georgia NCAAP President and Civil Rights Attorney Gerald Griggs wrote in The Black Wall Street Times comment section’s Instagram post.
As Courts Stall, the DOJ Retreats from Voting Rights Enforcement
While the courts debate, the executive branch is shifting its posture. Under President Trump, the Department of Justice has already stepped back from its traditional role. It dismissed voting rights lawsuits in Georgia and Texas.
It redirected resources to a new “Election Accountability Office” focused on rooting out voter fraud, despite a complete lack of evidence of widespread wrongdoing. At the direction of President Trump, the DOJ leaders have hollowed out the Civil Rights Division, sidelined career attorneys, and shelved investigations into voter discrimination.
A Familiar Strategy: Redrawing Black Representation Out of Power in Congress
Albright says Republican gerrymandering Democratic leaning districts, especially those in majority-Black congressional districts, is “a necessary strategy for them—because at the end of the day, their policies aren’t popular, and they can’t win in an honest fight. That’s why they’re doing this. That’s why they do all of it.”
He adds, “We’ve got to keep in mind: the shift in Congress in 2022 happened after those gerrymanders. Legal cases were still pending in places like Louisiana and Alabama, but those maps were already in play. And those elections? They helped them flip control of Congress.“
“Republicans are using the very laws that were meant to protect us, Black voters, against us. Because when the Supreme Court questions whether fixing racial discrimination is itself racist, it doesn’t just break the system—it reveals it was designed that way. The question isn’t whether we’ll resist. It’s how loud, how strategic, and how urgently we act,” Albright told The Black Wall Street Times.
Albright tells The Black Wall Street Times that Black Voters Matter is continuing its efforts to support voters and districts fighting gerrymandering in Texas and nationwide, and urges everyday citizens to get involved in order to protect this nation’s democracy.
This isn’t just legal theory—it’s a coordinated plan to redraw our power out of existence.
We’re not backing down. We’re reporting the truth and rallying our communities before it’s too late.
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I love how you always manage to make your posts so relatable.