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Erasing the Black Vote in the Deep South – Five Voting Rights Activists Fight Back

Livestream | Friday, May 15, 2026 | 11am PST

Overview

On April 29, the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s congressional map with two majority-Black districts, in a ruling that voting rights advocates say effectively guts Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the provision that prohibits voting procedures that dilute minority representation.

Within hours, state legislators across the South called for emergency redistricting sessions in what voting rights advocates see as the latest in a decades-long pattern to dismantle Black voting power.

Our speakers today, all voting rights activists from Louisiana, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia, will discuss the impact not only on Black voters but on all voters, as well as the strategies being used to fight back.

Guest Speakers

  • Mitchell Brown, Voting Rights Senior Counsel and Coordinator, Southern Leadership for Voter Engagement Network (SOLVE), a project of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Based in Durham, North Carolina.
  • Amir Badat, Voting Rights Attorney and political strategist at Fair Fight Action. Fair Fight Action was founded in 2018 by Stacey Abrams to address voter suppression in Georgia and across the United States. Based in Georgia.
  • Davante Lewis, Elected in 2022 to serve as Louisiana Public Service Commissioner for Louisiana’s Third District, which includes Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
  • Jerome Dees, Policy Director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Birmingham, Alabama.
  • Anneshia Hardy, Cultural narrative strategist and Executive Director of Alabama Values.

Presented by ACoM

Cover Image Credit: Canva Photos

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