The Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais invalidating Louisiana’s congressional map that gave Black voters fair representation is a devastating blow to civil rights and democracy. As Justice Kagan noted in her historic dissent, the Court’s ruling is the latest chapter in the majority’s now completed demolition of the Voting Rights Act.
Callais opened the floodgates for Republican-led states to redraw electoral maps to neutralize voters of color. Tennessee was the first state to finalize a new congressional map. Louisiana is expected to unveil its new map after suspending an election already in progress, and Republicans in South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama are ramping up the same schemes.
The Supreme Court has imperiled the voting rights of Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous people across the country. It dishonors the generations after generations that sacrificed life and limb to win and protect the most fundamental of our rights.
The Equal Justice Society is firmly in this fight, and we are speaking out as part of the national movement against this voting rights assault.
EJS President Lisa Holder was among a handful of national leaders briefing California’s Black media on May 1, saying: “As monumental a regression as this is in the centuries-old struggle for freedom and the fair vote, we have been here before, and we know that we have no choice but to regather and press onward as a multiracial multitude marching in lockstep to protect and advance our civil rights.” Watch more.
On April 27, Lisa and EJS advisory board member Ernest Crim III were guests on the Jesse Jackson Jr. Show to discuss how EJS is tackling a wide range of racial justice issues and what that means in today’s oppressive environment.
As one of more than 200 members of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, EJS works to amplify the efforts of the coalition and our allies in the impacted states. While Callais narrows our paths, it does not close them. We must pursue every available avenue—in state and federal courts—to defend voters of color’s freedom to vote nationwide.
Our fights for justice must be bolder than ever.
Click here to learn what specific actions you can take, especially related to the National Day of Action on May 16 in Alabama. And please consider the Equal Justice Society if you can give in support of our continued efforts.
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