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A Return to Jim Crow? Ex-DOJ Civil Rights Chief Kristen Clarke Slams Gutting of Voting Rights Act

2026-05-12 News & Politics
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Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt We speak with Kristen Clarke, general counsel of the NAACP, about growing threats to democracy in the United States following the Supreme Court's gutting of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Republican lawmakers across the South are responding to the ruling by racing to redraw their congressional maps, which is expected to lead to a historic drop in the number of Black representatives in Congress. "The Supreme Court's devastating decision in the Louisiana v. Callais case has really turned our country upside down," says Clarke, who previously served as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department in the Biden administration. She says that given the history of racial discrimination in the United States, particularly in the Deep South, "it is unsurprising" to see lawmakers "race at lightning speed to eradicate the gains that have been made over the decades." Clarke also discusses President Trump's efforts to take federal control of elections in at least eight states, which Clarke says is part of his administration's goal to "lock out certain voters" and commit "mass disenfranchisement." Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe

Top Comments (10)

@ingridmallard7523 2026-05-12

Absolutely unbelievable, as a Canadian I cannot BELIEVE what is happening next door.

26 11 replies
@meanderinoranges 2026-05-12

5:57 SPLC's favorite pet project gets a mention!

23
@Ana83094 2026-05-12

Black n Brown now....theyre first, but others will be the benefactors of this, This will ultimately impact everybody or someone they are connected to in one way or the other. This will eventually be in everybodys space ....in one way or another.

19 4 replies
@theresamcmullen4841 2026-05-12

Horrendous options. Go figure.

6
@vincentbernal635 2026-05-13

Racial redistricting has been ruled for years to be unconstitutional. Plus the Virginia assembly hadn't finished instituting the referendum as people were already early voting. That's unconstitutional to state law.

4 3 replies
@elizabethobrien3902 2026-05-12

Happening right before our eyes

2 1 replies
@AnnaAgnes-g7i 2026-05-13

Hi 👋 amy.

1
@Marshae-vw1nn 2026-05-13

What upsets me is that Alabama should truly have 3 out of 7 districts if were going off fair representation based on population. Black people and non whites make up over 30% of the state. Black people reside all over but are heavily concentrated in the central regions from Birmingham to Montgomery. So even the current maps are unfair but they're still upset that the people they packed in those 2 black districts account for a majority of economic activity for the state and overwhelmingly vote against Republicans.

1
@learnrealestate123 2026-05-12

Right because in 2020 there wasn’t cardboard on voting pole stations so you couldn’t see what was going on

0
@VanessaAmous 2026-05-12

Hi everyone we all have to watch everything when it comes for people's voting for how they want and any sit cause we all want someone who will do What is right for all us Amen

0

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