Exactly one week after the Supreme Court gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, Republicans in Tennessee decided to pass racist congressional maps eliminating the ONLY majority-Black district in the state — all to appease the rotting, deranged man in the Oval Office. What a damn shame.  

Since Donald Trump took office, he has been laser-focused on suppressing Black voters. Let’s stop pretending this is about “fair maps” or “election integrity.” This is racism. Full stop. This is white supremacy operating exactly as it was designed to — minimizing Black voices, weakening Black political power, and silencing opposition from communities they do not want represented. 

We are watching a coordinated attack on Black progress happen in real time. From attacks on voting rights, to attacks on DEI and affirmative action, to the removal of qualified Black leaders from positions they earned — the goal is the same: erase us, silence us, and strip us of power and opportunity without consequence. 

Nothing about this is surprising or shocking, we’ve seen their playbook before — we saw it in Texas, we saw it in Louisiana, and now we are seeing it in Tennessee. 

Poll taxes, literacy tests, intimidation, beatings, firebombings, and lynchings – they were all tools of white supremacy designed to keep Black people politically powerless. Black people were murdered for trying to register to vote, for organizing their communities, and for demanding a seat at the table.  

The Voting Rights Act was enacted because this country had already proven, over generations, that racism would always find a way to weaponize the law against Black people. 

This should not be a partisan issue. No matter your party, every American should be able to agree that racism, voter suppression, and the deliberate silencing of Black communities have no place in our democracy. 

But here is what they have yet to realize: Black people in this country have never stopped fighting for democracy. Racism will not stop or silence a people whose ancestors shed blood for the right to vote. They can try, but they will not win. We will not be moved.