Black residents worry new congressional district could be lost in Supreme Court case

By Sara Cline, Associated Press

Black residents in a newly created Louisiana congressional district fear they could lose their representation under a case being heard before the U.S. Supreme Court

BATON ROUGE, La. — BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — For nearly three decades, the small town of Mansfield was represented in Louisiana’s congressional delegation by white Republicans, even though its population is about 80% Black and leans heavily Democratic.

That changed with the election last year of U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, a Black Democrat who was able to win after a newly drawn political map carved out a second Black majority congressional district in the state.

Mansfield Mayor Thomas Jones Jr. said he and others finally feel as if their communities are being represented in the nation’s capital.

“We feel connected, like we have somebody that’s helping us,” he said.

Fields’ seat, and what Jones describes as the benefits of having him in Washington, might disappear depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court rules in a case it will hear Wednesday.

The district Fields represents is the result of a hard-fought battle by civil rights groups representing Black voters in the state. Leaders in predominantly Black communities across the 218-mile-long (350-kilometer-long) district said they feel he finally gives them a voice to represent their needs.

But opponents say the district was unconstitutionally gerrymandered based on race. If the court eventually rules in favor of the plaintiffs, the decision could have a ripple effect far beyond this one district in Louisiana. It potentially will kick out the last major pillar of the 60-year-old Voting Rights Act and prevent Black voters from challenging political maps that dilute their influence.

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Fields is aware of criticism about the district’s snakelike shape that helped make it majority Black, but he argues that it’s contiguous and said all the state’s congressional districts are geographically large, representing both urban and rural areas. More importantly, he said, the district gives “people of color an opportunity, not a guarantee, to elect a candidate of their choice.”

Read on about the controversial borders of Louisiana’s newest district.

Learn about the fight for black voting rights.

Explore more Breaking News.