NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Republicans on Friday approved a new congressional map that erodes Black voting power in the state — eliminating a majority-Black district established in 2024 that gave residents there an opportunity to elect the candidate of their choice. Friday’s move comes one month after the U.S. Supreme Court found that the lines of […]
Voting
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Black Women Are Turning the Supreme Court Ruling Into a Battle Cry
The flurry of direct attacks on voting rights in the South has thrust voters, candidates, and organizers into a state of chaos and confusion in the midst of an election season. It’s a result of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which weakened protections under the Voting Rights Act. It allowed several states, including Alabama, […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Vote That Was About Representation and Power
ARLINGTON, Virginia — The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down the state’s April 21 redistricting ballot measure that voters had approved and that would have helped Democrats to pick up four additional seats and bolstered Black political power in Congress. The 4-3 ruling comes just two days after the FBI raided the offices of Democratic […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Black Elders Without Birth Records Could Lose Vote Under SAVE America Act
When Courtney Patterson was born on his family’s farm in Lenoir County, North Carolina, 80 years ago, he was fortunate that a country doctor recorded his birth, ensuring that he would have a document later. “But many other people who grew up with me didn’t even have that,” Patterson recalled. Babies were usually delivered at […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
‘Jim Crow 2.0’: Civil Rights Leaders Sound Alarm on SAVE America Act
Despite facing long odds, Senate Republicans on Tuesday voted to begin debate on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. The bill, also known as the SAVE America Act, is a deeply controversial proposal that civil rights groups say could disenfranchise millions — particularly Black Americans — by creating new barriers to the ballot box. The […]
Posted inHBCUs, Voting
HBCU Students Walk Miles to the Polls After Campus Sites Are Cut
Dozens of North Carolina A&T State University students recently walked more than 30 minutes to a nearby polling site, holding signs that said “Aggie Votes Matter,” “Use Your Vote or Lose Your Vote,” and other signs after they found out there was no early voting site on campus. In January, the North Carolina State Board […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues, Voting
Sapelo Island’s Gullah Geechee Community Fights Back and Wins
In a win for Gullah Geechee residents on Georgia’s sea islands, voters this week rejected an ordinance that doubled the allowed square footage for homes in Sapelo Island’s Hog Hammock district. Many Black residents feared the change would lead to higher property taxes, gentrification, and displacement. Unofficial results on Tuesday showed 19% of 10,000 registered […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
‘We Don’t Want Voices Silenced’: Black Voting Power at Risk in Redistricting Battle
When Marsha Mitchell’s racial solidarity organization, Community Coalition, participated in Day of the Dead celebrations this month, she honored her grandparents. They were born in the Jim Crow South, in Arkansas, and didn’t enjoy the same rights that she grew up with, like the right to vote. Mitchell, who lives in South Los Angeles, wanted […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Supreme Court Case Threatens Mail-in Ballots for Black Voters
For Mississippians, there’s been no escaping the attempts to dilute Black political power. Two Black Democrats won special elections on Nov. 4 to break the Republican supermajority in the Mississippi Senate. Then, six days later, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a Republican-led challenge to mail-in voting. Johnny DuPree and Theresa Gillespie Isom both […]
Posted inEducation, HBCUs, Higher Education, Voting
Inside Blexit’s Bid to Win Over Young Black Voters at HBCUs
BOWIE, Maryland — On one of the last stops on the Educate to Liberate tour, conservative influencer Siaka Massaquoi and other supporters stood behind the student center on Bowie State’s campus for nearly four hours asking students about their ideologies and thoughts on being Black. “It was a surprising, on-the-spot type of thing,” said Daniel […]