BREAKING: YES! The NAACP files a massive lawsuit against Tennessee Republicans' gerrymandered congressional map because it blatantly discriminates based on race.
This fight is far from over....
“The Tennessee Legislature instituted an opaque and rushed process that lacked transparency and precluded opportunities for deliberation, to prevent meaningful debate, and to silence any voices of dissent,” the lawsuit reads.
“Furthermore, legislators passed HB 7003 without any meaningful consideration given to testimony provided by lawmakers and members of the public, and without opportunity for presentation or consideration of any alternative plans that may have addressed the discriminatory intent animating the plans,” it states.
The suit argues that the new map violates the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution and the evidence is damning. The new lines intentionally eliminate the state's only majority-Black district, creating yet another red district. The balance is now 9-0 for Republicans.
This blatant attack on democracy comes as part of a nationwide gerrymandering campaign that's designed to help Trump maintain control of the U.S. House despite his record low approval.
The NAACP — which is the largest civil rights group in the country with the legal and financial firepower that comes with such a distinction — has requested that a panel of judges hear its arguments against the new map. At the same time, the organization has filed an emergency petition to block the efforts to eradicate that lone Black district.
“Tennessee lawmakers made a deliberate choice to silence Black voters by dismantling a district that has long ensured representation for one of the state’s largest Black populations. We are at the dawn of a new Jim Crow era,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson.
“People fought and died for the representation that lawmakers across the South are so casually eroding. The NAACP will not stand by while elected officials manipulate district lines to take away our political power and silence our voices,” he added.
Are you ready to keep fighting?
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