For Immediate Release
Oct. 30, 2023
ATLANTA – On Thursday, October 26, U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones declared that Georgia’s current maps violated the Voting Rights Act and must be redrawn by Dec. 8. Gov. Brian Kemp ordered a special session on Nov. 29 to begin the map-drawing process. The Black Southern Women’s Collaborative, which includes founder Phyllis Hill; Kendra Cotton, CEO of the New Georgia Project; Nsombi Lambright-Haynes, executive director of One Voice; Tameka Greer, executive director of Memphis Artists for Change; Rev. Rhonda Thomas, executive director of Faith in Florida; and Ashley K. Shelton, president and founder of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice, released the following statement:
“For years, Black women have been organizing against unfair and inequitable redistricting maps,” Cotton said. “We have done this even as we have gone to great lengths to educate our communities on how they could engage in the process. The federal court ruling in Georgia, and the Supreme Court rulings in Alabama and Louisiana affirm what we’ve said all along, the state and congressional districting lines in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana disproportionately harmed Black voters.”
“We have repeatedly urged elected officials to create fair maps while also educating voters on how they could engage in the redistricting process,” Shelton said. “In Louisiana, we launched a tour where we went city by city to explain the process in accessible terms. We, along with partners and allies, also filed a legal challenge to Louisiana’s maps which diluted the voting power of Black voters. Our work has shown that when Black women organize, Black communities benefit. It is imperative that donors and foundations continue to get resources to Black women who have time and time again proven to be defenders of democracy.”
The victory for Black voters in Georgia follows similar wins in Louisiana and Alabama where the Supreme Court ruled those states’ maps violated Black voters’ ability to elect candidates of choice. Ohio advocates are also preparing to put a measure on the ballot that would allow ordinary citizens as opposed to politicians to draw state legislative lines.
“The right to vote is sacred,” Hill said. “And from coast to coast, Black women organizers have been pushing back on attacks that undermine the right to vote and democracy itself. From experience, we know that when we fight, we will win.”
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