Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Black leaders across the South have expressed a visceral shock in the wake of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision gutting the Voting Rights Act. But as the surprise wears off, a sense of isolation has begun to set in among some.<\/p>\n
Black lawmakers and activists across the Deep South argue they have been abandoned by the Democratic Party to fight an existential crisis on their own. They say they’ve been let down by nearly all corners of the party: would be-presidential hopefuls who have flocked to early and swing states but don’t bring their megaphones elsewhere; congressional leadership focused on majority-making battlegrounds while safe Black seats are drawn out; and years of chronic underfunding that has allowed local party apparatus to wither away.<\/p>\n
\u201cFolks who lead our party go to swing states like North Carolina and Georgia, but states like Mississippi and Tennessee and Alabama and South Carolina are really neglected and are really forgotten and are really treated as if it is inevitable that we’ll always stay in such systems of what I call apartheid type of politics,” said Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones.<\/p>\n
The feeling of neglect is compounding what the lawmakers called a crisis for Black representation already underway in the wake of Louisiana v. Callais, the April Supreme Court decision that took aim at the VRA<\/a>. <\/p>\n While Black Southern lawmakers sound the alarm<\/a> on the long-term consequences for their congressional delegations and legislatures, Republican leaders in several Southern strongholds have already signaled plans to redraw district lines ahead of 2028.<\/p>\n Florida state House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said that between the Supreme Court, the White House and GOP-controlled statehouses, there is a \u201cconcerted effort to suppress Black votes\u201d \u2014 a refrain many Black leaders have been shouting recently.<\/p>\n \u201cRepublicans in the Legislature and the Supreme Court have said that it’s okay to turn back the clock and reverse civil rights progress in this country,\u201d Driskell said. \u201cThey’re basically giving these Southern states what they have consistently and persistently wanted, which is to suppress Black voices.\u201d<\/p>\n Though many Black leaders said they ultimately hold Republicans responsible for the Callais decision \u2014 andthe subsequent redistricting efforts<\/a> \u2014 a sense of frustration at congressional Democrats is also palpable, especially among younger Black Americans.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Democrats sort of allowed for this behavior to regularly happen,\u201d said Yolanda Renee King, the granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., noting that the party fumbled its chance<\/a> to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act during the Biden administration. \u201cI think that there could have been an opportunity before this second surge in MAGA. As of right now, I’m not sure if we necessarily have the infrastructure for that.”<\/p>\n Black elected officials and activists who spoke to POLITICO did not call out particular party leaders by name, with Jones\u2019 team arguing it is a broader problem in a “political system that continually abandons Black voters.”<\/p>\n \u201cThis crisis of multiracial democracy is bigger than any one person\u2019s failing, and will require a unified movement if we are going to stop the largest assault on Black representation since the end of Reconstruction,\u201d Chandler Quaile, Jones\u2019 chief of staff, said in a later statement.<\/p>\n But it comes at a time when the party’s three most prominent leaders \u2014 Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer<\/a>, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries<\/a> and DNC Chair Ken Martin \u2014 face discontent from various wings of the party.<\/p>\n The DNC defended its work with Black communities and voters, saying it has been providing some tools to Southern states \u2014 such as training and staffing for those in need of infrastructure, including a 10-week training for states without a voter protection director. And since the start of the year, Martin has traveled to cities including Atlanta; Selma, Alabama; and Memphis, Tennessee.<\/p>\n \u201cThe DNC will use every tool at our disposal to protect the right to vote and to fight against the dilution of Black political power as a result of the disastrous Callais decision,\u201d said Angelo Fern\u00e1ndez Hern\u00e1ndez, spokesperson for the DNC, in a statement.<\/p>\n And Republicans rejected Democrats\u2019 characterization of their post-decision redistricting scramble. In a statement, White House spokesperson Allison Schuster said the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling ended \u201cthe unlawful practice of drawing congressional districts on the basis of race\u201d and was \u201ca win for all Americans and our colorblind constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n But Black Democrats say it\u2019s hard to build a defense when party leaders are clashing over what their offensive strategy should be<\/a>. Some have called for redrawing maps in blue states to favor Democratic candidates, while others are relying on lawsuits challenging new GOP maps. <\/p>\n Some have called for both.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t need anybody to hold my hand, but what I need is strategy,\u201d Driskell said. \u201cI need us to be thoughtful, and I think that that is what is missing.\u201d <\/p>\n Like Jones, Driskell didn\u2019t direct her frustrations at any one specific party leader, but added that Black leaders across the South \u201cdefinitely understand\u201d the potential repercussions Callais could have on their communities \u2014 and that “it would be great for the national dialogue to pick up on that.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeffries\u2019 office did not respond to a request for comment, and a spokesperson for Schumer declined to comment, instead directing questions to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.<\/p>\n Jessica Knight Henry, deputy executive director for the DSCC, said in a statement that Democrats are working to meet Republican-led attacks on voters through the courts and investments.<\/p>\n \u201cDemocrats have worked to meet these attacks head on in court, in campaigns, and we will continue to invest strategically in states that offer opportunities for Democrats to flip seats and take back majorities so we can fight to pass legislation that advances voter protections and rights, like the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act,\u201d Knight Henry said.<\/p>\n Still, over the last year, the party\u2019s main focus has been on winning back the House and Senate. Even the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, the campaigning arm of the entirely Democratic 62-member caucus, said in a previous interview that its focus remains taking back Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cThe PAC has always been focused on electing Democrats in tough seats so that we can reclaim the majority. That goal, that focus, has not changed,\u201d Rep. Gregory Meeks<\/a> (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO in May, shortly after the Callais ruling came down.<\/p>\n The fight over redistricting could dramatically weaken Black representation, both in Congress and in state governments; CBC leadership has projected that roughly a third of their members could see their seats erased with redistricting efforts.<\/p>\n