WASHINGTON (AP) – For decades, the face of American politics has become more diverse in almost every way, especially as racial minority communities have gained political representation after years of legal disenfranchisement and violent discrimination.
However, after several Supreme Court justices, expressed skepticism about key provisions of Voting Rights Act of 1965a landmark law that civil rights leaders credited with making America’s pluralistic democracy possible, and that Black lawmakers, civic leaders, and organizers also credit with making America’s pluralistic democracy possible. Fear of disfiguring the country’s elected representatives We may soon return to the previous era. Civil rights won in a fierce battle.
The justices held oral arguments Wednesday. louisiana vs currya lawsuit examining the constitutionality of Section 2, the part of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits discrimination in voting systems.
Rep. Cleo Fields, who represents the Louisiana congressional district at the center of the case, sat in the courtroom as the judge questioned attorneys on both sides of the case. He said he hopes the scope of the ruling will give judges pause about whether to water down the law.
“They know that if they repeal Title II, it will have a ripple effect throughout this country. It’s not just Congress,” Fields said in an interview with The Associated Press. He added that it’s “hard to tell” what the justices are thinking, “but I’m cautiously optimistic. I think all the justices really know what’s at stake.”
Voting Rights Act has far-reaching implications for communities of color
Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits a variety of discriminatory voting practices by states, local governments, and individuals; communities of color It has transformed a long-standing movement into direct political representation and power.
State legislatures in the Deep South, once uniformly white supremacist, now represent large minorities of blacks, Asians, and Latinos. Ten years after it was passed, the law was amended to protect the rights of “. linguistic minority” and strengthens protections for Asian American, Native American, and Latino communities across the country.
Legislators elected as a direct result of the Congressional Districts enabled by the Voting Rights Act have served to represent previously overlooked interests in state legislatures and Congress. Congressional Black CaucusFor example, for decades it served as the center of black political power and organizing in the country. VRA District Councilors: political icons and monitored political institutions that move national politics.
Minority communities in states and districts previously subject to VRA scrutiny have successfully elected mayors, police commissioners, judges, and county commissioners to lead some of the nation’s largest cities and municipalities.
Black residents of VRA district communities They gathered in front of the Supreme Court for a rally during Wednesday’s oral arguments.
Kadida Stone, Plaintiff Incidents committed by black people in Louisiana in 2023 The lawsuit, which created Fields’ district and another majority-minority district in Alabama, ties in with President Donald Trump’s call for states to redraw their congressional maps ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
“We came back because it’s clear what this administration is going to do in terms of dismantling what we now know as democracy,” Stone told The Associated Press. “That involves destroying things like the Voting Rights Act because it doesn’t align with their ideals of what America should be.”
Some lawmakers worry that progress could be reversed if the law’s protections are removed.
“When you look at the gerrymandering that’s happening in the middle of the decade, there’s a certain amount of anxiety,” Rep. Yvette Clark, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, told The Associated Press.
Clark called Republican-led redistricting efforts in states like Texas “blatant targeting” of Black lawmakers and said the cases currently before the courts “could have an impact for generations to come.”
Rep. Troy Carter, D-Louisiana, said the U.S. would become a “very weakened democracy” if the court made a sweeping decision.
“A representative form of government means that the government needs to be like the people. If you take away the elements that create opportunities for the government to become like the people, it won’t be the democracy we want it to be,” Carter warned. “It will become much weaker and ultimately lead to an oligarchy.”
Supreme Court arguments show civil rights movement’s legacy is in question
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is considered the crowning achievement of the civil rights movement. The law prohibits discriminatory voting practices such as poll taxes and literacy tests. This reaffirms the constitutional right of all citizens to vote. It established a process by which federal authorities could review how state and local governments are enacting policies and legislative maps that can disenfranchise voters.
Some of those provisions include; discontinued or restricted As in the 2013 case, the Supreme Court’s decision shelby vs holder. Voting rights advocates argue that Discriminatory practices by state and local governments are on the rise. since then. If Section 2 suffers a similar fate, black political representation could be set back several generations, they warn.
The high court’s conservative majority justices questioned the long-term impact of requiring the government to remedy Article 2 violations, which the law considers proven discrimination claims, with race-conscious solutions.
“This is a special application of this law that involves the deliberate and intentional use of race to sort people into different districts,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh told the Title II lawyers during oral arguments. “What I’m asking is, what do you think that time limit should be, or do you really think there shouldn’t be a time limit?”
The court’s liberals countered that Article II is instrumental, requiring only that districts be drawn with race in mind when racial discrimination is the issue at hand. They reasoned that the law would no longer apply once there was a proven case of discrimination.
“Section 2 itself is just the standard by which we decide that relief is necessary, so there’s no need to set a time limit, because Section 2 just points us in the direction of what we might need to do,” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said.
Lawmakers from Alabama’s Bloody Sunday district prepare for new rights fight
“It was very clear to me, sitting there and listening to the oral arguments firsthand, that the conservative justices had an end result they wanted, and they were justifying it through their questioning,” the congressman said. Terry Sewellan Alabama Democrat.
As Sewell left the courtroom and returned to the U.S. Capitol after oral arguments, she felt a strong sense that “an old battle is new again.” She represents a majority-black district in Alabama; 60 years ago, Voting rights march participants were brutally beaten by state and local police officers who were crossing the bridge to demand the right to vote in Selma. The Voting Rights Act mandates her district, which could be reassigned if the law is weakened.
But she, too, was undaunted and ready to comply, she said.
“Progress is elusive. The pendulum swings, but it doesn’t swing by itself,” Sewell said. “This is a continuing struggle, and we pass the baton to the next generation. And while the baton is in our hands, I think we need to do everything in our power to preserve our representative democracy and make sure this democracy is healthy and strong for the next generation.”
