Lawyers’ Committee, NAACP, LDF, And Memphis Urban League Expand Challenge To Tennessee Congressional Map
By Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Photos: Wikimedia Commons WASHINGTON — Wednesday, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Legal Defense Fund, and Memphis Urban League filed a motion for preliminary injunction in federal court challenging Tennessee’s redistricting plan proposing new congressional maps that unlawfully dilute Black voting power and deny Black Tennesseans an equal opportunity to participate in elections. This follows an amended complaint filed last Friday, following the original complaint which was filed on the heels of the introduction of House Bill 7003 that eliminated the only majority Black district in the state of Tennessee, Congressional District 9. The amended complaint expands the groups challenging the map to include Legal Defense Fund and Memphis Urban League, and also incorporates additional factual allegations and expert analysis demonstrating the racially discriminatory impact of the map. “Tennessee’s congressional map continues a troubling pattern of stifling Black political power and fracturing communities that have long organized to make their voices heard,” said Shaylyn Cochran, deputy executive director at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Our complaint underscores the serious and ongoing harm voters face under this map, and we will continue to fight until Black voters in Tennessee are both able and empowered to make their voices heard. This is not a ‘nice to have.’ It is the cornerstone of our democracy.” The plaintiffs allege that Tennessee’s congressional map violates federal law by diminishing the voting power of Black communities and undermining their ability to elect candidates of their choice. The plaintiffs also filed a motion for preliminary injunction asking the court to halt the use of the challenged map while the litigation proceeds. “Black voters in Tennessee deserve an equal opportunity to participate in our democracy and to have their votes count,” said Jennifer Nwachukwu, senior counsel with the Voting Rights Project. “The evidence is clear that this map weakens the political voice of Black communities and denies them fair representation. The attacks we’ve seen on voting rights and the redistricting battles taking place across the country are concerning, shameful, and simply un-American. The Lawyers’ Committee remains committed to protecting and expanding the right to vote.” “Let’s be clear: this map is not about fairness, it’s about fear,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP. “Tennessee lawmakers saw Black political power and made a calculated decision to dismantle it. They rigged the system and diluted our community’s voting power. We will not allow officials to cheat and silence our voices. We’ll fight this injustice in every courtroom necessary.” “Make no mistake, what we are seeing in Tennessee and across the South is an undeniable effort to strip Black voters of their power and their voice,” said Kristen Clarke, General Counsel of the NAACP. “The evidence here shows a calculated and intentional effort to dismantle a longstanding majority-Black district through a rushed, opaque process. A preliminary injunction ahead of elections is necessary to ensure that elections proceed under a lawful and constitutional map.” The amended complaint may be found here.
Black News 
By Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Photos: Wikimedia Commons
WASHINGTON — Wednesday, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Legal Defense Fund, and Memphis Urban League filed a motion for preliminary injunction in federal court challenging Tennessee’s redistricting plan proposing new congressional maps that unlawfully dilute Black voting power and deny Black Tennesseans an equal opportunity to participate in elections. This follows an amended complaint filed last Friday, following the original complaint which was filed on the heels of the introduction of House Bill 7003 that eliminated the only majority Black district in the state of Tennessee, Congressional District 9.
The amended complaint expands the groups challenging the map to include Legal Defense Fund and Memphis Urban League, and also incorporates additional factual allegations and expert analysis demonstrating the racially discriminatory impact of the map.
“Tennessee’s congressional map continues a troubling pattern of stifling Black political power and fracturing communities that have long organized to make their voices heard,” said Shaylyn Cochran, deputy executive director at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Our complaint underscores the serious and ongoing harm voters face under this map, and we will continue to fight until Black voters in Tennessee are both able and empowered to make their voices heard. This is not a ‘nice to have.’ It is the cornerstone of our democracy.”
The plaintiffs allege that Tennessee’s congressional map violates federal law by diminishing the voting power of Black communities and undermining their ability to elect candidates of their choice. The plaintiffs also filed a motion for preliminary injunction asking the court to halt the use of the challenged map while the litigation proceeds.
“Black voters in Tennessee deserve an equal opportunity to participate in our democracy and to have their votes count,” said Jennifer Nwachukwu, senior counsel with the Voting Rights Project. “The evidence is clear that this map weakens the political voice of Black communities and denies them fair representation. The attacks we’ve seen on voting rights and the redistricting battles taking place across the country are concerning, shameful, and simply un-American. The Lawyers’ Committee remains committed to protecting and expanding the right to vote.”
“Let’s be clear: this map is not about fairness, it’s about fear,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP. “Tennessee lawmakers saw Black political power and made a calculated decision to dismantle it. They rigged the system and diluted our community’s voting power. We will not allow officials to cheat and silence our voices. We’ll fight this injustice in every courtroom necessary.”
“Make no mistake, what we are seeing in Tennessee and across the South is an undeniable effort to strip Black voters of their power and their voice,” said Kristen Clarke, General Counsel of the NAACP. “The evidence here shows a calculated and intentional effort to dismantle a longstanding majority-Black district through a rushed, opaque process. A preliminary injunction ahead of elections is necessary to ensure that elections proceed under a lawful and constitutional map.”
The amended complaint may be found here.
