By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) gathered on Capitol Hill Oct. 15 to sound the alarm over what they see as one of the most consequential U.S. Supreme Court cases in recent history.
CBC Chair Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.- 09) led a press conference at the U.S. Capitol and was joined by U.S. Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.-05), Al Greene (D-Texas-09), Bonnie Watson (D-N.J.-12), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.-04), Troy Carter (D-La.-2), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.-20) and Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.-04).
Rep. Clarke opened the press conference with a stark warning, saying the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision could unravel decades of civil rights progress and fundamentally alter the nation’s democratic landscape.
“This case threatens to dismantle one of the last remaining safeguards against racial discrimination in our electoral system and the stakes could not be higher,” the chairwoman told reporters. “Republicans are attempting to run the table with every dirty trick in order to cement power because their policies have failed.”
While standing on the U.S. Capitol grounds, Rep. Carter delivered an impassioned warning about what he called a looming crisis for democracy in his home state, urging the Supreme Court to protect the political voice of Louisiana’s Black voters.
“At stake is whether one-third of Louisiana’s population…will continue to have an opportunity to elect representatives of their choice,” the congressman told reporters. “If struck down Louisiana could lose its two majority Black congressional districts, silencing Black voters in Washington…. That’s not equal representation, that’s a travesty.”
On Oct. 15, the justices heard arguments in Louisiana v. Callais, a challenge that could further weaken the 1965 Voting Rights Act and reshape how states across the country draw political maps. At stake is whether Louisiana’s decision to create a second majority-Black congressional district violates the Constitution or fulfills the promise of equal representation it was meant to protect.
“Our Constitution does not tolerate this abhorrent and incoherent system, and Louisiana wants no part of it,” the state argued in court filings.
Louisiana’s Republican-led legislature reluctantly added the second Black district after a lower court struck down a map that featured only one. That change came under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a provision that for decades has required states to ensure minority voters have a fair chance to elect representatives of their choice.
Now, the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court appears ready to reconsider that very foundation. During two and a half hours of oral arguments, several justices signaled skepticism toward race-conscious redistricting, suggesting that even efforts to comply with the Voting Rights Act could run afoul of the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
A decision in Louisiana’s favor could open the door for Republican-controlled legislatures in the South to dismantle majority-Black and Latino districts that tend to elect Democrats, further entrenching partisan power and diluting minority representation.
Just two years ago, the Court, by a narrow 5-4 vote, upheld similar protections in an Alabama case, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joining the liberal justices. But, on Oct. 15, both men struck a notably different tone.
Kavanaugh pressed civil rights attorney Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense, on whether the time had come to end race-based districting entirely, asking whether the Voting Rights Act should be allowed to “extend forever.” Roberts emphasized that the Alabama ruling was limited to its facts, hinting at a narrower interpretation of the law.
The liberal justices, led by Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, reminded the Court of the law’s historical purpose, to remedy proven racial discrimination in voting.
“A specific identified, proved violation of law,” Kagan said, “is what brings us to the remedy.”
Outside the Court, advocates warned that the stakes go far beyond Louisiana.
Jonathan Miller, chief program officer of the Public Rights Project, told the AFRO that this case will determine whether “equal representation still means anything in 2025.”
“The Voting Rights Act was enacted to ensure that communities long shut out of power could finally have a voice in their government and see themselves reflected by their representatives,” he said. “The law remains as essential to our democracy today as it was 60 years ago when signed into law. Gutting the VRA will sideline Black voters in Louisiana and set a dangerous precedent for communities of color across the country.”
The high court’s decision, expected by early summer 2026, could fundamentally alter the way racial equity is weighed in drawing political maps.
U.S. Rep. McCormick warned that the ruling against the Voting Rights Act could impact the nation.
“We know what this is really about. It’s about whitewashing our votes, suppressing us as people and our voices,” said the congresswoman. “They have made the Voting Rights Act just another tool in their pocket that they want to eliminate so that they can have a free-for-all and drive us closer and closer to a dictatorship.”
Miller echoed McCormick’s warning, emphasizing that a ruling against the Voting Rights Act would have sweeping consequences far beyond Louisiana, undermining fair representation for communities of color across the country.
“Vote dilution will affect cities across the country, including at the very local level, not just at the state and federal level,” he told the AFRO. “City councils and school boards won’t have representation that accurately reflects their community. Things like funding for city services and schools will be severely impacted, and people will feel very tangible effects in their everyday lives.”
He added that before the current map was enacted, many residents had grown disillusioned, believing their votes carried little weight. Miller noted that the creation of a second majority-Black district would not only meet the legal standards of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, but would also help to “restore faith in a system that too often fails Black communities.”
Miller also cautioned that the Supreme Court’s ruling could ripple far beyond 2026.
“The rush to eliminate Black representatives in Congress in the South, and minority representation in local elected offices across the country, is likely to happen in 2028 and 2030,” he told the AFRO. “Ultimately, we risk ending up in a place where the voices of Black and other communities of color aren’t heard.”
In the meantime, the CBC said in a statement that the caucus “will not stay silent.”
“We will continue fighting in the courts, in Congress, and in our communities to protect the sacred right to vote and defend the future of our democracy,” the statement reads.