We made a difficult decision to forgo further litigation, but this is not a retreat by any means," said President Gloria Sweet-Love of the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP. "We know we will soon drive out the discrimination and racist practices that silence the voices of too many of us in Tennessee at the ballot box. That is why I urge every eligible voter in Tennessee to make a plan for how they will cast their ballot this November and every election so that our voices and our calls for a just democracy will be heard.
The case was closed Wednesday by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee despite evidence detailing how Tennessee lawmakers created racially discriminatory voting maps by packing and cracking communities of Black voters in the Nashville and Memphis areas.
Under new, substantial and unjust standards to prove racial gerrymandering outlined in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last May, the three-judge panel ultimately determined Aug. 21, that the case should not continue to trial.
Tennesseans deserve the opportunity to elect representatives of their choice," said Debby Gould.
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