Tennessee Carved Up Its Only Black District in 8 Days. Other States Are Next.

Eight Days

Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District covered Memphis and had sent a Black representative to Congress for over 50 years. On May 7, 2026, the state legislature carved it into three pieces, diluting Black voting power across three white-majority districts. The NAACP filed suit within hours.

That speed tells you what the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision actually did. The ruling came down April 29. Tennessee moved eight days later. No hearings on community impact. No public comment period that mattered. Just a map, a vote, and a district gone.

What the Court Changed

On April 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act no longer covers maps that produce discriminatory outcomes. Writing for the majority, Justice Alito held that plaintiffs must now prove intentional discrimination — that the people who drew the lines did so because of race, not just that the result dilutes minority voting power.

That standard is functionally impossible to meet. Legislators do not write “we did this to reduce Black representation” into the legislative record. They cite compactness, communities of interest, partisan advantage. The intent standard lets them do whatever they want as long as they do not say why.

Justice Kagan dissented from the bench. She read portions of her opinion aloud and dropped the customary “respectfully” — a deliberate signal.

“The majority’s rule renders Section 2 all but a dead letter.”

— Justice Elena Kagan, dissenting

States Moving Now

State	What happened	Status
Tennessee	Eliminated its only Black-majority district (9th CD, Memphis split into 3)	New map signed into law. NAACP lawsuit filed.
Louisiana	Lost its 2nd Black-majority congressional district — the case that started all of this	Map in effect. No legal path remains under the new standard.
Alabama	Court-ordered map vacated during active elections	Legislature expected to redraw. Candidates already filing under the old map.
Georgia	Special legislative session called for June 17 to redraw maps	Black-majority districts in Atlanta metro at risk.
North Carolina	Watching Georgia’s outcome before moving	Legislature has signaled interest in revisiting maps.

The Pattern

Every state in the table has a Republican-controlled legislature. Every district at risk is majority-Black. The ruling gave them legal cover, and the fastest movers proved how little friction remains.

Before Callais, a state that drew a map diluting minority voting power could be challenged on the results alone. A plaintiff could show that the map cracked or packed a minority community, and a court could order a new one. That tool is gone. The only claims that survive are ones where someone can prove what was in a legislator’s head when they voted.

What You Can Do

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore the effects test and add federal preclearance for states with a track record of discriminatory maps. It has been introduced in every Congress since 2019. It has never received a Senate floor vote.

Tell your senators to pass the John Lewis VRA. Send the letter through Resistbot.
Follow the lawsuits. The NAACP challenge to Tennessee’s map will be the first test of whether any path remains under the new standard.
Watch Georgia. The June 17 special session will show whether Callais creates a cascade or whether public pressure slows it down.

This brief is part of our Civil Rights and Racial Justice coverage. For state-specific updates, see Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana.