State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) criticized Tennessee’s efforts to redraw its congressional map.
The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Louisiana v. Callais that the Voting Rights Act does not mandate states to create extra majority-minority congressional districts.
After the Court’s decision, Governor Bill Lee called a special session for Tuesday to review the state’s congressional map.
Pearson, who is running in the Democratic primary for the state’s 9th Congressional District, told MS Now on Sunday that state Democrats were fighting back against “what is most likely to be one of the most racist actions taken by the Legislature.”
“We don’t need to change our maps,” Pearson said.
Referring to the 9th Congressional District, the congressional candidate told the news channel that it is the only “black majority” district in Tennessee.
“We know why they are doing this, and we’re going to fight with everything we’ve got against it,” he said.
Pearson said Memphis, which is in the 9th Congressional District, is “being targeted because it’s a majority black city.”
“This is an attempt to stop majority black communities from being able to elect representatives who look like them,” Pearson said.
“It’s very intentional,” he added.
Pearson noted Tennessee’s effort to redraw its congressional map is “not accidental or coincidental.”
Besides Memphis, Pearson said other communities will be “deeply impacted,” noting they will not have “representation in the ways that they should based on our state Constitution and United States Constitution.”
Pearson’s opponent, Representative Steve Cohen (R-TN-09), said, “Donald Trump’s Jim Crow Supreme Court has emasculated the Voting Rights Act,” which he called the “last line of defense in protecting fair representation in Congress for majority Black communities like Memphis.”
“The Voting Rights Act was the crowning jewel of legislation passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson, fought for by civil rights leaders like MLK and John Lewis,” he said. “They’ve been dismantling it for years, and with this decision they want to put it to rest. It’s the greatest setback to civil rights since Plessy v. Ferguson in the Jim Crow era.”
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who is running for governor, also called on the state to redraw its congressional map.
“I urge our state legislature to reconvene to redistrict another Republican seat in Memphis,” Blackburn said. “It’s essential to cement [President Donald Trump]’s agenda and the Golden Age of America.”
Besides Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida are also looking at redrawing their congressional maps after the Supreme Court’s decision.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
Photo “Justin Pearson” by Justin Pearson.
