Republicans Erase Black District – Outrage Erupts!

Tennessee Republicans just dismantled the state’s only majority-Black congressional district, sparking fury from Democrats and civil rights leaders who warn the move resurrects Jim Crow-era voting suppression tactics.

Story Overview

Tennessee House passed a new congressional map 64–25–3 on Thursday that splits Memphis, a majority-Black city, into three separate Republican-leaning districts [1]
The redistricting eliminates the state’s sole Democratic-held U.S. House seat, giving Republicans a clean 9–0 delegation sweep [1]
The move follows a Supreme Court ruling that gutted the Voting Rights Act, allowing states to dismantle minority-protection districts [1]
Governor Bill Lee called the special session under pressure from the Trump administration to redraw the map in the GOP’s favor [1]

Republicans Seize Opportunity After Supreme Court Ruling

Tennessee Republicans wasted no time exploiting last week’s Supreme Court decision that severely weakened the landmark Voting Rights Act. The high court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais provided legal grounds for Republican-controlled states to eliminate majority-Black districts that have consistently elected Democrats [4]. Tennessee’s GOP leadership, emboldened by this shift, moved swiftly to capitalize on the opportunity. Governor Bill Lee called lawmakers into a special session specifically to redraw the congressional map [4]. The House voted 64–25–3 to approve the new districts after releasing the map to the public just one day prior [1].

Dismantling a District Preserved Under Federal Law

The new map represents a dramatic reversal from 2022, when Tennessee’s Republican supermajority preserved District 9 as a majority-Black district centered on Memphis due to federal voting protections under the Voting Rights Act. That district was approximately 61 percent Black [1]. Now, the proposed redistricting splits Memphis—a majority-Black city with deep roots in the civil rights movement—into three separate Republican-leaning districts, stretching across nearly 300 miles from Memphis to the edge of Nashville [1][2]. This fracturing would effectively eliminate Democratic U.S. Representative Steve Cohen’s seat, which he has held since 2007 [2].

The Legal Mechanism: Repealing State Protections

To execute this maneuver, Tennessee Republicans repealed a 50-year-old state law that barred redistricting between census cycles. With that barrier removed, the GOP passed House Bill 7003 with minimal Democratic support, setting the stage for the map’s implementation [1]. The Senate later approved the measure 25–5, with every Democrat voting against it [1]. Governor Lee is expected to sign the map into law, cementing the change.

Tennessee Republicans approved a new congressional map dismantling a majority-Black US House district centered on Memphis, as several other Southern states seek to leverage last week's Supreme Court decision that severely weakened the Voting Rights Act https://t.co/B5Rm8awnay pic.twitter.com/feGiw9THnm

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 8, 2026

Protests Erupt as Critics Invoke Jim Crow Comparisons

The move sparked immediate backlash from Democrats, civil rights leaders, and protesters who gathered at the Tennessee State Capitol. State Senator Raumesh Akbari declared, “There’s no way to sugarcoat eliminating a district that is 61 percent Black and breaking it up into three different districts. You are deliberately trying to silence the voices of a community. You cannot call it anything but racism” [1]. Protesters chanted “shame” and “We will not go back,” invoking fears of a return to Jim Crow-era voting suppression [1]. Critics argue the redistricting directly contradicts the original purpose of the Voting Rights Act, which was enacted to prevent precisely this type of racial vote dilution.

The Trump Administration Connection

The timing and execution of Tennessee’s redistricting effort reveals the influence of the Trump administration on state-level Republican actions. Governor Lee called the special session under pressure from Trump, signaling the administration’s active role in encouraging GOP-controlled states to exploit the Supreme Court’s weakened Voting Rights Act protections [4]. This coordinated effort across multiple Southern states to dismantle majority-minority districts reflects a broader strategy to consolidate Republican electoral power while the legal landscape permits it.