In a fiery response to Tennessee's newly signed congressional map, Democratic state Representative Antonio Parkinson called for Memphis to break away from the state, accusing Republicans of systematically dismantling Black political power. The map, approved Thursday by the GOP-controlled legislature and signed into law by Governor Bill Lee, carves up the state's sole majority-Black district in Memphis, putting the last remaining Democrat in Tennessee's nine-member U.S. House delegation at risk.
“Let Memphis secede from the state of Tennessee,” Parkinson said, as reported by The Tennessean. “Let my people go. I’m dead-ass serious. If you’re constantly beating on us, let us out.” The lawmaker, who represents part of Shelby County including Memphis, argued that the redistricting goes beyond simple map-drawing. “This is about whether Memphis, a majority-Black economic engine for this state, is expected to continue contributing billions in tax revenue, culture, labor and commerce while being systematically stripped of political power,” he told local outlet WMC-TV.
Parkinson’s call for secession isn’t new—he made a similar demand in 2018 after accusing the state of targeting Memphis with budget cuts as retaliation for removing Confederate statues. But Thursday’s remarks carry heightened urgency as the new map dismantles the 9th Congressional District, held by Democrat Steve Cohen since 2007. The district, which has a Black majority, will now be split into three separate districts, diluting the voting strength of Memphis’s predominantly Black population. Nashville, meanwhile, will be divided into five districts, further concentrating GOP influence.
The map’s passage came swiftly after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana’s map, which created a second majority-Black district, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. That decision, cheered by President Donald Trump and GOP leaders, opened the door for Tennessee to redraw its lines. Trump claimed on social media that he had a “very good conversation” with Governor Lee about crafting a response “to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee.”
Cohen, the state’s lone House Democrat, denounced the new map as “shameful” and promised legal action. “And just like that, the TN GOP voted to enforce a racial gerrymander of Memphis and strip our city of effective representation for decades,” he wrote on X. The map’s approval follows a broader pattern of Republican-led redistricting efforts that have drawn scrutiny—including a GOP plan to split Memphis and oust Cohen, and similar moves in South Carolina where Representative Jim Clyburn has fought Trump-backed efforts to redraw his district.
Parkinson warned that if state leaders no longer believe “the people of Memphis deserve the ability to choose a representative who reflects their community, then at least have the courage to say it plainly. Do not hide behind maps and procedure.” His call for secession, while largely symbolic, underscores the deepening partisan and racial tensions over redistricting in Tennessee and beyond.
