Ala. (mocobizscene) – On Thursday, members of the Congressional Black Caucus voiced strong criticism against the newly established congressional map in Alabama. They described it as a blatant effort to undermine the electoral rights of the state’s Black community.
“At a time when many are trying to erase our history and roll back our progress, this is a reminder that old battles have become new again,” said Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), the state’s only Black representative in Congress.
The predominantly Republican legislature of Alabama recently redefined the state’s map in response to a directive from the U.S. Supreme Court. The court had asserted that the state’s Black residents were unjustly underrepresented. However, the solutions offered by state lawmakers have sparked extensive controversy.
The implications of the case in Alabama, alongside a similar case in Louisiana, carry considerable weight. This is specifically true at a time when Democrats would need to win just an extra five U.S. House seats in the 2024 elections to wrest control of the chamber from the Republicans.
Last month’s Supreme Court ruling pressed Alabama legislators to create an additional Congressional district where Blacks constituted the majority. Alabama has seven total House seats.
Although Black residents comprise 27% of Alabama’s total population, under the previous map, nearly one-third of these residents were packed into one district, currently represented by Sewell.
The redesigned state map proposed by lawmakers would still uphold a single district with a Black majority. The remaining six districts would have Black populations varying between 7.2% and 42.5%. This would also result in a reduced percentage of Black residents in the district represented by Sewell.
The move, according to Congressional Black Caucus chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), is a failure to obey the Supreme Court judgment — and the latest example of Republican lawmakers attempting to curtail Black Americans’ political power.
“In America, black people are being targeted… Our fundamental rights are being violated… “But we will not sit back and watch this happen quietly,” Horsford stated.
“This map violates the Supreme Court’s order and is an insult to Black voters across the country,” Sewell stated. “I fully expect that it will be rejected by the courts.”
Gov. Kay Ivey (R-Ala.) defended the revised plan and rebuffed suggestions that a three-judge panel reject it when it meets on Aug. 14 to decide whether to approve the map or have a court-appointed panel draft a new one.
“The Legislature knows our state, our people, and our districts better than federal courts or activist groups, and I am pleased that they answered the call, remained focused, and produced new districts ahead of the court deadline,” she said in a statement.
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