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Anger mounts aft Tennessee Republicans redraw maps to erase past Democratic, Black-majority district
Good morning, and invited to our unrecorded sum of US politics. Tennessee’s Republican-dominated legislature passed redistricting maps connected Thursday, eliminating nan state’s 1 Democratic, Black-majority legislature territory arsenic GOP lawmakers scramble to amended their fortunes up of nan November midterms.
The caller representation splits Shelby County, nan location of Memphis, a majority-Black metropolis that played a captious domiciled successful nan civilian authorities movement, into 3 abstracted Republican-leaning districts.
The majority-Black territory being eliminated successful nan Memphis area has agelong been represented by Rep. Steve Cohen, nan state’s lone Democratic legislature representative. All 9 of Tennessee’s legislature districts are now Republican-leaning.
Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton claimed that nan caller districts were drawn based connected organization and politics, not group data.
Demonstrators protestation wrong nan Tennessee authorities Capitol connected 7 May 2026. Photograph: Seth Herald/Reuters
But Democrats dismissed these claims and person based on that dividing up Memphis efficaciously deprives nan Black organization of practice successful Congress.
“These maps are racist devices of achromatic supremacy astatine nan behest of nan astir powerful achromatic supremacist successful nan United States of America, Donald J. Trump,” said authorities Rep. Justin Pearson, a Black Democrat from Memphis who is moving for nan US House.
Democrats opportunity nan redistricting effort, which prompted fierce protests, was a cynical onslaught connected nan hard-fought gains for adjacent practice won successful nan civilian authorities activity successful a authorities that was forged by slavery and segregation.
The redraw comes arsenic Republican-led confederate states scramble to enact caller maps successful nan aftermath of past week’s landmark Callais v Landry determination ultimate tribunal ruling, which invalidated swaths of nan Voting Rights Act which had restrained authorities governments from drafting legislature districts that near Black voters astatine a governmental disadvantage.
Republicans successful Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina besides person taken steps toward redistricting. Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, is reportedly owed to motion nan representation into rule imminently.
