The NAACP escalated its legal battle against Tennessee's Republican-drawn congressional map on Wednesday, filing a federal lawsuit that accuses state lawmakers of intentionally discriminating on the basis of race. The civil rights group argues the map, which dismantles the state's sole majority-Black district in Memphis, violates the 14th and 15th Amendments.
The legal action follows the legislature's decision to split the 9th Congressional District—represented by Democrat Steve Cohen—into three separate districts, all of which lean heavily Republican. The move threatens to oust the only Democrat in Tennessee's nine-member House delegation and dilutes the voting power of Black residents in the Memphis area.
The NAACP's lawsuit contends that the redistricting process was deliberately opaque and rushed. “The Tennessee Legislature instituted an opaque and rushed process that lacked transparency and precluded opportunities for deliberation, to prevent meaningful debate, and to silence any voices of dissent,” the complaint states. It also alleges that lawmakers passed HB 7003 “without any meaningful consideration given to testimony provided by lawmakers and members of the public.”
Racial Intent Alleged
The lawsuit is the latest volley in a broader redistricting fight across the South, where several states have moved to redraw congressional maps following a Supreme Court ruling that weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. That provision has long been a key tool for protecting minority voting power, but the high court's decision has emboldened Republican-led legislatures to push maps that critics say are racially gerrymandered.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson did not mince words. “Tennessee lawmakers made a deliberate choice to silence Black voters by dismantling a district that has long ensured representation for one of the state’s largest Black populations,” he said in a statement. “We are at the dawn of a new Jim Crow era. People fought and died for the representation that lawmakers across the South are so casually eroding.”
Legal Heavyweight Joins Fight
The NAACP is being represented by Kristen Clarke, the former assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice under President Biden. Clarke now serves as the group's general counsel. “This is not just about lines on a map—it is about whether Black voters will have a fair and equal voice in our electoral system,” she said.
The group is asking for a three-judge panel to hear the case. Last week, the NAACP filed an emergency petition to block the map from taking effect, arguing that it would irreparably harm Black voters ahead of the 2024 elections.
Tennessee's map is part of a broader push by Republican governors in the South to redraw districts after the Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act ruling. Critics see it as a coordinated effort to entrench GOP power by diluting minority voting blocs.
The NAACP's lawsuit underscores the high stakes of the redistricting battle, which could shape control of Congress for the next decade. With Democrats already fighting to hold their slim House majority, the loss of Tennessee's sole Democratic seat would be a significant blow.
