By Attorney Raven Beach
If you have turned on the television or logged onto any social media, you have likely seen the protests across the South. They’ve been hard to miss. And if you’re still unclear on what is happening; keep reading.
February 3, 1870– The 15 th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting federal and state governments from denying citizens the right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” was passed.
August 6, 1965– The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. It is a landmark federal statute enacted to enforce the 15 th Amendment.
May 8, 2025– A three-judge federal panel unanimously struck down Alabama’s 2023 congressional map ruling that it was intentionally drawn to dilute Black voting strength in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
The alternate court ordered map used in 2024 was more representative and required to be used through 2030. The U.S. Supreme Court had struck down a similar 2021 congressional map.
April 29, 2026-The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Louisiana v. Callais that Louisiana’s map violated the Constitution because race was the primary factor in creating a second majority-minority district. The ruling requires Louisiana to redraw its congressional map and effectively limits the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act historically used to fight racial vote dilution.
April 30, 2026– Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall asked the U.S. Supreme Court to use maps that the court had previously determined violated the Voting Rights Act.
May 8, 2026- Exactly one year after the federal court ruling, Governor Kay Ivey signed bills passed by the Alabama legislature during special session that would allow the state to hold special elections later this year for certain congressional and state districts voiding the May 19 primary for four races if permitted. Notably, the federal court denied the request to revert back to old maps leaving the decision to the United States Supreme Court.
And if you’re alarmed by anything you’ve just read, you should be. DO SOMETHING!
The May 19 th primaries are just around the corner. Let your voices be heard.
Raven Perry-Beach, Esq.
107 Jefferson St.
Suite 14
Huntsville, AL 35801
(256) 799-0292
* Licensed in Alabama, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and DC