"Tennessee's Republican-dominated legislature passed redistricting maps on Thursday, eliminating the state's one Democratic, Black-majority congressional district as GOP lawmakers scramble to improve their fortunes ahead of the November midterms. The new map splits Shelby County, the home of Memphis, a majority-Black city that played a critical role in the civil rights movement, into three separate Republican-leaning districts. The majority-Black district being eliminated in the Memphis area has long been represented by Rep. Steve Cohen, the state's lone Democratic congressional representative."
"All nine of Tennessee's congressional districts are now Republican-leaning. Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton claimed that the new districts were drawn based on population and politics, not racial data. Democrats dismissed these claims and have argued that dividing up Memphis effectively deprives the Black community of representation in Congress. These maps are racist tools of white supremacy at the behest of the most powerful white supremacist in the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, said state Rep. Justin Pearson."
"Democrats say the redistricting effort, which prompted fierce protests, was a cynical attack on the hard-fought gains for equal representation won in the civil rights movement in a state that was forged by slavery and segregation. The redraw comes as Republican-led southern states scramble to enact new maps in the wake of last week's landmark Callais v Landry decision supreme court ruling, which invalidated swaths of the Voting Rights Act which had restrained state governments from drawing congressional districts that left Black voters at a political disadvantage."
Tennessee’s Republican-dominated legislature passed redistricting maps that removed the state’s one Democratic, Black-majority congressional district. The new map divides Shelby County, including Memphis, into three Republican-leaning districts. The eliminated district had been represented by Rep. Steve Cohen. After the change, all nine Tennessee congressional districts are Republican-leaning. GOP leaders said the districts were drawn using population and politics rather than racial data. Democrats argued the Memphis split reduces Black representation and called the maps racist tools of white supremacy. The redraw follows a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated parts of the Voting Rights Act that had limited states from drawing districts disadvantaging Black voters.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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