Disgraceful
SCOTUS gutted our democracy. Alabama can fight back.
Folks,
I’m disappointed and angry—but not surprised—by today’s Supreme Court decision.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act protected Black representation in the South for decades. It was a pillar of our country’s march toward progress, and our democracy.
It’s why we saw the late Rep. John Lewis and other Civil Rights heroes get beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. It was the product of generations of freedom fighters.
Justice Kagan said it better than I can:
“The Voting Rights Act is—or, now more accurately, was—‘one of the most consequential, efficacious, and amply justified exercises of federal legislative power in our Nation’s history,’”
“It was born of the literal blood of Union soldiers and civil rights marchers. It ushered in awe-inspiring change, bringing this Nation closer to fulfilling the ideals of democracy and racial equality. And it has been repeatedly, and overwhelmingly, reauthorized by the people’s representatives in Congress. Only they have the right to say it is no longer needed—not the Members of this Court.”
Now, state governments will become even more critical in the fight to protect our right to vote.
Here’s what I mean. If there’s not a break of one-party rule in Montgomery, this could be Alabama’s new Congressional map.
Currently, there are almost no checks in our state government to prevent this from happening.
You don’t have to know where folks live in Alabama to know that a map like this will result in no minority representation in Congress from our state. I’m running for Governor to change that.
Folks, it’s up to us to continue the fight for equality, no matter what this court throws at us.
And Tommy Tuberville is on record supporting all of this. He said that the GOP should try to make 15 new seats across the South in response to this ruling.
It’s on us to change course. Alabama has been ground zero for the fight for voting rights, and we need to lead again.
Thank you,
-Doug