We Forgot What It Took to Gain Freedom

A Supreme Court decision striking down a Black-majority congressional district is presented as part of a long pattern in which those in power rig electoral rules to avoid accountability. After the ruling, Tennessee Republicans are described as carving up a majority-Black district in Memphis to weaken Black political power, while Alabama and Louisiana lawmakers are said to be advancing racial gerrymandering to dilute fair representation. Voter suppression laws are described as making participation harder for working people, seniors, students, and communities of color. The resulting lack of representation is linked to broader harms, including environmental injustice, mass unemployment, high infant mortality, and crushing costs, with consequences spreading beyond the targeted communities.

"The Supreme Court's recent decision striking down Louisiana's Black-majority congressional district did not happen in isolation. This story is as old as our nation: those in power rig the rules to protect themselves from accountability. And when entire communities are politically silenced, the avarice fueling environmental injustice, mass unemployment, high infant mortality, and crushing costs goes unchecked."

"Within hours, Tennessee Republicans carved up a majority-Black district in Memphis in a deliberate effort to weaken Black political power. In Alabama and Louisiana, lawmakers continue advancing racial gerrymandering efforts designed to dilute fair representation. Across the country, voter suppression laws are making it harder for working people, seniors, students, and communities of color to fully participate in our democracy."

"And when politicians like Donald Trump and the Republicans who bow to him see working people rejecting their failed agenda, they do what powerful interests have done throughout our history: rig the rules instead of answering to the people they've hurt."

"These attacks never stop with one community. When any community is denied full representation, the consequences ripple far beyond that community. This is not simply another political fight; it is an act of war on democracy itself."

Read at The Nation