NAACP files emergency petition to block Tennessee's newly approved redistricting plan
Key takeaways
- Filed in Davidson County Chancery Court, the emergency petition urged Tennessee Gov.
- It is a direct attack on our democracy and our Constitution to dismantle majority-Black districts.
- NAACP President of the Tennessee Conference Gloria Sweet-Love called the new map unlawful.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
Filed in Davidson County Chancery Court, the emergency petition urged Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) and the state legislature to not enact the new congressional map. The Volunteer State s redrawn Republican-friendly map carves up the state s only majority-Black district and threatens the lone Democrat in the state s nine-member delegation.
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, NAACP general counsel Kristen Clarke said in a statement. Black communities in Tennessee have been silenced and brutalized for centuries. This is where the KKK was born and where [Martin Luther King Jr.] was assassinated. Black residents were faced with racial violence and legal suppression every single day.
NAACP President of the Tennessee Conference Gloria Sweet-Love called the new map unlawful.