Dear friend,
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the voting power of millions of Black Americans, suffered a monumental loss at the hands of the Supreme Court this month. While the decision directly affects Black and brown voters, its impacts will radiate out, disproportionately impacting poor and low income voters nationwide. This issue needs national attention and immediate action. That’s why this week’s newsletter is dedicated to explaining Louisiana v. Callais and why all roads lead to Selma and Montgomery this weekend, where we’re calling on everyone who can to turn out.
On May 16th, our friends at the Black Power War Room / Faith Out Loud are holding a national day of action, with a convening in Montgomery, AL at 1pm. Please share, sign on, host a satelite event, engage, and show up if you can!LEARN MORE, SIGN UP, SHOW OUT!
How did we get here?
Louisiana v. Callais is the latest step in a decades-long coordinated attack on the voting rights of people of color led by state governments and federal courts. In fact, the 2004 and 2008 elections were the first and last times that voter turnout rates by race were roughly equal—with 2008 bringing out the most diverse electorate in recent history. These numbers are largely thanks to the broad coalition of voters that Barack Obama’s campaign was able to mobilize. It is also attributable to the protections written into the 1965 Voting Rights Act that have since been erased.
In response to the mobilization of this coalition of Americans, states began to pass voter suppression laws creating new barriers to voting just ahead of the 2008 election, from purging voter rolls to changing ID requirements.
This assault on voting rights continued in the courts. In 2013, the Supreme Court decided Shelby County v. Holder, which made Sections 4 and 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act unusable. These sections had forced former Jim Crow states (and specific areas in the North) to seek permission—or “pre-clearance”—from the federal government each time they wanted to change their voting rules.
After the Shelby decision, it was a matter of days before these same states began passing voting laws to limit the voting power of people of color. While the primary targets for these laws were Black and brown voters, they also impacted poor and low-income voters across race.
In the decade since Shelby, racial disparities in voting have doubled, growing from an 8% gap between Black and White voter turnout to 16%, with the low-income voting rate regularly 20 points lower than higher-income voters. These trends have been enabled by more court decisions that strip voting protections—see Brnovich v. D.N.C and Rucho v. Common Cause—as well as state legislatures eager to further disenfranchise voters. This is the landscape in which we must viewLouisiana v. Callais.
What does the Louisiana v. Callais decision mean?
Although it does not officially “overturn” any part of the law, the decision makes Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act unusable for remedying racial voter discrimination. The ruling says race can no longer be used as a factor to create fair representation for Black voters on voting maps. Further, states may no longer consider race when fixing old maps that have been shown to be racist.
In the 1980s, Congress made it clear that voting rules and maps were illegal if they had racist effects, even if no one admitted racist intent. Louisiana v. Callais changes that standard. Now, people challenging unfair voting maps must prove racist intent. Already, state legislatures are furiously redrawing maps, dismantling existing districts and creating new ones that clearly impact Black representation and voting power. And yet, proving racist intent may still be legally impossible. Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Alabama have already moved to institute new maps, and others will follow suit.
What can we do?
In some ways, it is 1964 again and basic voting rights are not guaranteed. Amid widespread and growing economic insecurity, record domestic military spending, pending cuts to health care, and social welfare programs, the fight to participate in democracy and hold our government accountable is a matter of survival. This begins by fighting to secure the rights of Black voters, whose rights are immediately compromised by Callais, and continues by building broad, diverse coalitions to organize for all of our rights, here and now. We must commit to fighting these attacks on our democratic power, not because we are weak but because we are strong and getting stronger.
In This Letter:
- Upcoming Events: All Roads Lead To The South, Spirit of Place Applications, and Faith or Force Discussion
- Announcements: Congratulations, Steff Reed!
In heart and struggle,
The Kairos Team
May 15th Spirit of Place, Spirit of Earth
Members of all faiths and spiritual traditions are encouraged to apply to the Center for Earth Ethics’ faith, spirituality and climate training in June at the Ashokan Center. This program will address climate science and policy, bioregionalism, environmental and climate justice, spiritual and religious perspectives on ecological belonging, and the power of collective action and moral courage. Applications due May 15th.Learn More!Apply!
May 17th Faith or Force
Christian Nationalism is one of the most urgent threats facing American democracy — fusing extreme politics with religion to undermine pluralism and consolidate power. Join Aaron Scott and Noam Sandweiss-Back for a timely conversation on what it is, why it matters, and how we can respond.Learn More / Register
Congratulations, Steff!!
We are proud to celebrate Steff on the completion of his STM at Union Theological Seminary! Throughout his time with Kairos and SKOR, Steff has been an invaluable part of our work to raise up generations of leaders committed to building a broad social movement for these times. He brings a powerful combination of deep intellectual curiosity, creative vision, and an infectious spirit that strengthens every space he enters. We give thanks for all he has poured into this work and look forward with excitement to continuing to organize, create, and build alongside him in the years ahead.