The Shadow of Jim Crow Looms Over the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear arguments in Louisiana v. Callais, a case that could topple what remains of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. At question is whether one-third of our state’s population — Black Louisianians — will continue to have an opportunity to elect representatives of their choice, or if decades of hard-won progress will disappear under the guise of “colorblind” politics.

For over a decade, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has been chipping away at this landmark civil rights legislation. Now the law’s Section 2, which prohibits voting practices that discriminate based on race, is at risk. If the court declares it unconstitutional, it is all but certain that one of our congressional districts will be dissolved, and quite possibly both districts.

Let’s be clear: Section 2 is still necessary, especially in Louisiana. Despite what some people may argue, there is no evidence to support the idea that our state’s Black voters can elect candidates of their choice without the existence of majority-Black districts.

Critics of the Voting Rights Act would have you believe that protecting the rights of minority voters is by definition redistricting by race. They argue that standards should be colorblind and that America’s strides toward greater racial equality make voting protections unnecessary.

History illustrates the farce of this argument. Grandfather clauses, poll taxes and literacy tests were all technically colorblind. Louisiana’s literacy test is cited in schools across the country as a textbook example of how purportedly neutral standards can be used for discriminatory ends.

Today’s numbers tell the same story. Approximately one-third of Louisiana is Black. In our state’s entire history, only five Black citizens have been elected to the U.S. House and served, out of 171 Louisianans sent to the House. These facts underscore the persistent racial polarization in voting patterns and the enduring need for legal protections that ensure all voices are heard, not just those of the majority.