BREAKING: Tennessee Republicans Move to Eliminate Only Black-Majority District

“You're forcing the only Black majority and Democratic majority district to be cut up and cracked up… That doesn't seem fair… To target and to devastate Black political representation and the opportunity at Black political representation in Memphis, which is one of the Blackest cities in the United States of America.”

After the far-right Supreme Court issued a ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act, Republican Governor Bill Lee arranged for a special legislative session about redistricting the state. Tennessee Republicans are set to redraw and eliminate the only majority-Black congressional district in the state today.

Prem Thakker sits down with Rep. Justin Pearson who lays out how Republicans scrambled to redraw the district he’s running in, why he’s fighting for future generations and how Democrats failed to prevent this moment.

In the conversation, Rep. Pearson details the history of racism and voter suppression in the South, noting the stakes in Tennessee and the rest of the US and how it reflects on inaction of Democrats. He also takes a moment to look back at the history that led up to this moment and why he’s pushing an effort to save Black political power in the South.

This live conversation took place last night on zeteo.com, the day before Tennessee Republicans passed a congressional map to break up the state’s only Blackmajority district. If you want early, exclusive access to this kind of independent, unfiltered journalism subscribe to our Substack here

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