The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Wednesday in Louisiana v. Callais that racially gerrymandered congressional districts are impermissible.
The decision may have unintentionally echoed a phrase penned by Thomas Jefferson, written nearly 250 years ago.
Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican and constitutional scholar, noted the ruling was grounded in “the 14th Amendment ensuring equal protection of the laws for all persons in the United States and the 15th Amendment protecting the right to vote regardless of race.”
Former President Barack Obama criticized the decision: “Today’s Supreme Court decision effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities — so long as they do it under the guise of partisanship rather than explicit racial bias.”
Chief Justice John Roberts characterized the Louisiana congressional district as a “snake” connecting Black neighborhoods in Shreveport, Alexandria, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge. In the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito stated: “That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander.”
Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat and pastor, condemned the ruling by referencing civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Trump’s Supreme Court has gutted the protections that Dr. King marched for.” He added: “This is a devastating and profound step backwards for American Democracy.”
The article clarified that it is not “Trump’s Supreme Court” but America’s. While Trump appointed three justices, two (Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Comey Barrett) have become swing votes rather than true conservatives. Additionally, as pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, Warnock should know that Dr. King sought equal treatment for all people, not special treatment for minorities.
The article noted that in his “I Have a Dream” speech, King declared: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” King advocated for a color-blind society, while Democrats support a color-conscious approach.
The Supreme Court’s ruling established that racial gerrymandering violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence with its famous line: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
But Democrats now seek to return America to a time when Americans were treated unequally.
