Tennessee Republicans Push Through Racially Charged Map to Break Up Black Voting Power

Tennessee Republicans just delivered a brutal blow to Black political representation by passing a new congressional map that fractures the state’s only majority-Black district, centered in Memphis. The move is a blatant attempt to dilute Black voters’ power and flip the lone Democratic-held seat to the GOP in time for the 2026 elections.

The new map breaks up the 9th Congressional District, currently represented by Democrat Steve Cohen, and spreads Memphis’s Black voters across multiple districts—effectively weakening their collective voice in Congress. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill into law Thursday, just a day after the Supreme Court gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in a separate racial gerrymandering case in Louisiana.

The legislative session was marked by chaos and protest. Black lawmakers and activists loudly condemned the map as a racially motivated power grab. Democratic State Rep. Justin Pearson, who is running for Congress in the fractured 9th District, called the redistricting “immoral and wrong,” accusing Republicans of using the Supreme Court decision as cover to “attack, target and crack District 9 into pieces for more political and racial dominance and white supremacy.”

Protesters chanting “our house!” and “Hands off Memphis!” were forcibly removed by police from the House gallery as the vote proceeded amid shouting and tension. Rep. Cohen announced plans to sue, accusing Republicans of rigging the system to protect their majority and warning that the fight will move to the courts.

Republican state Sen. John Stevens defended the map as a reflection of Tennessee’s conservative majority and a way to maximize GOP power in Congress. But Democratic Sen. London Lamar, who is Black, called the map an assault on Memphis and Black voters, saying it “slices our city into pieces” and “does not reflect Memphis.”

This redistricting is part of a broader national GOP strategy to use mid-decade map changes to entrench their hold on power following the 2020 Census. Tennessee’s new map could help Republicans flip 14 Democratic seats nationwide, while Democrats stand to gain only a handful in states like California and Virginia.

The Tennessee map’s passage is a stark reminder that the Supreme Court’s recent rulings have opened the door for states to redraw districts with less regard for racial fairness. The fight over the Voting Rights Act’s protections is far from over, and Tennessee’s Black voters are now on the front lines of that battle.

Expect legal challenges to this map to move quickly. For now, Tennessee Republicans have made clear they will stop at nothing to consolidate power—even if it means breaking the promise of fair representation for Black communities.