Tennessee Republicans scored a political win that could set a stunning precedent in the redistricting war enacted by the Trump administration. In short, Tennessee Republicans managed to snatch the one Democratic Party seat by passing a new congressional map on Thursday (May 7).
As reported by NPR, Tennessee Republicans barreled through a vote at the state house level after the U.S. Supreme Court upended the Voting Rights Act’s racial discrimination protections in redistricting in the past week.
The effort was mandated by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who called the special session aimed at breaking apart the 9th Congressional District, currently represented by Democrat Steve Cohen. Amid protests at the state’s Capitol and online opposition, the Tennessee legislature went ahead with the vote, with some accounts online stating some Republicans were rejoicing when the final tally was made known.
Tennessee State Rep. Justin Pearson, a Democrat, called the new maps “racist tools of white supremacy.” Other groups, such as the NAACP, have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the elimination of the seat.
“It is a direct attack on our democracy and our Constitution to dismantle majority-Black districts. A democracy without Black representation is not a democracy,” said Kristen Clarke, NAACP General Counsel. “Black communities in Tennessee have been silenced and brutalized for centuries. This is where the KKK was born and where MLK was assassinated. Black residents were faced with racial violence and legal suppression every single day. And to vote, they were met with poll taxes and literacy tests designed to keep them silent. We’re outraged that the State, rather than seeking a more just and fair system, is seeking to roll Tennessee back to a time when many of us didn’t have equal rights. We will fight this map, tooth and nail.”
As of now, eight Republicans and one Democrat represent Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives. According to the outlet, the Tennessee Republicans are defending the new map and plan to send a delegation to Washington.
On social media, X in particular, reactions to the new Tennessee congressional map have cropped up, and we’ve got some reactions below.
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Photo: Getty
