By Bill Fletcher Jr., ZNetwork —
The US Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v Callais is the latest and probably most decisive blow to the Voting Rights Act since the attacks went full force in the aftermath of the election of President Obama. The attacks, well-orchestrated and following a path that had been advanced by the Redeemer (white supremacist) movement of the 19th century, has worked to use the words of the Constitution and Voting Rights Act as a way to destroy the intent behind the Voting Rights Act.
The Louisiana v Callais decision revolves around a Congressional district that was created in Louisiana to address the need for Black political power in the state. Continuous efforts by racist Republicans have aimed to eliminate Black political power and cripple the Democrats. The Court decided that too much attention had been paid to race in the creation of this district. The clear intent of this decision is to eliminate race as a category to which attention should be paid in the creation of Congressional districts.
Let’s be clear about a few things. First, this matter of “race.” “Race” is not a descriptive term, contrary to the interpretation that is continually offered by Justice Roberts. It is about history. The history of this country has involved the oppression and marginalization, if not outright suppression of political representation and power for particular populations, most especially African Americans, Chicanos/Mexican Americans, Native Americans, (pre-1965) Asians, and Puerto Ricans. Continuous efforts have been undertaken by forces on the Right to disenfranchise these populations, but rarely in the name of “race.” In fact, if one looks at the 19th and early 20th centuries, supposedly race neutral language was frequently used in order to suppress communities of color.
In today’s situation, Justice Roberts, et.al. would have use believe that racist marginalization is no longer a significant problem and, therefore, attention to “race” in the construction of Congressional districts is somehow inappropriate. This is a classic example of how the Right wishes us to ignore history and pretend as if we can all march off into the future holding hands and sing “We HAVE overcome.”
Second, the destruction of the Voting Rights Act is part and parcel of an effort to further destroy democracy. It is important that we view this in relationship to Trump’s call to the state of Texas to redistrict as a way of gaining more Republican seats in the House of Representatives, an effort subsequently attempted by several other Republican-led states and then countered by Democrats. MAGA wishes to secure long-term, if not permanent, minority rule by the 30% of the population that is entranced with MAGA, supports the super-rich, and seeks a return to the 19th century, with all that entails.
Third, MAGA wishes to eliminate all Congressional districts that have a majority people of color population. Despite the periodic MAGA voices of color that are pulled onto the stage to claim that MAGA is not white supremacist, the reality that MAGA understands is that most majority voters of color districts favor Democrats. Therefore, suppressing the Voting Rights Act and eliminating majority voters of color districts aims at…you guessed it…suppressing Democrats.
One of the tremendous mistakes made by too many supporters of the Voting Rights Act has been to assume that the defense of the Voting Rights Act was assured—in part because for years there was a bi-partisan consensus—and that any defense need only take place in the courts or on the floor of Congress. As the rightwing mobilized, first into the Tea Party and later into MAGA, it should have been clear that a full-scale assault was underway against democracy. What we are seeing now is only one further step towards rightwing authoritarian rule. This cannot happen.
What we need immediately, and have needed for years, is a mass voting rights movement that links litigation and lobbying with grassroots organizing and mobilization. The Voting Rights Act was the result of people in the streets who put immense pressure on Congress. We need that once again, along with new and creative tactics. Let’s consider a few.
We need a new way of drawing Congressional districts that factor in matters such as the long history of racist marginalization.
We need to consider the use of ballot initiatives that force states to change the manner and content of voting districts. Consider the Florida ballot initiative that was used to re-enfranchise thousands of formerly incarcerated citizens. The ballot succeeded only to be undermined by Republicans in the Florida legislature. Knowing what we know now, ballot initiatives must be worded in such a way that nefarious forces cannot undercut them.
We need to prepare for November 2026. MAGA has given every indication that they aim to grab our voting rights. We cannot let that happen. We must vote early and vote in huge numbers against anti-democratic forces. We must start planning now, in our local communities and with a broad array of groups, regarding how to respond to anti-democratic attacks on voting. We must prepare our friends, neighbors and family for the sorts of disinformation that will flow and will be aimed at suppressing our vote.
All of this can and must be done. The Supreme Court decision is a horrible development and there is no way to dress it up and pretend otherwise. What we can do, however, is neutralize its impact by our own organizing, mobilizing, and sheer numbers. Indeed, we must openly challenge those who wish to strip our rights and ensure dominance for the rich and infamous.
Source: This article was originally published by ZNetwork and republished here with permission.
Featured image: Protect the Voting Rights Act rally at the SCOTUS (February 27, 2013) / Washington, DC / Photo by David Sachs/SEIU / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
