The three remedial plans submitted to the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Alabama by the Special Master represent a chance to restore the power of
the vote for Black Alabamians, and all Alabamians.
All three maps place the majority of the City of Mobile in a proposed Congressional
District 2. This is a clear rejection of the State’s attempts at subversion, and a rebuke of
the manner in which the legislative majority twisted our shared history into a shield for
discrimination.
Fair elections begin with fair maps. There was never a good or defensible reason that
Black voters – who represent 27% of Alabama’s population – had only 14%
representation in Congress.
One of the core tenets of our democracy is the rule of “one person, one vote.” And, for
this concept to ring true, those votes must be of one value. When we reflect on this day, I pray that these proceedings will be recounted as another step on the path toward fair
representation.
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