Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church is seen in downtown Montgomery, Alabama on Nov. 14, 2025. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. pastored the church from 1954 to 1960, and it held several mass meetings during the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Thousands of protestors are expected to attend rallies in Selma and Montgomery on Saturday against the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais , which substantially weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The court’s decision set off a frenzy of redistricting throughout the South, targeting Black members of Congress. In Alabama, the Supreme Court on Monday gave the state permission to use a 2023 congressional map it previously ruled racially discriminatory. Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday set special primary elections in four congressional districts under the new lines, which will likely cause Alabama to lose at least one Black member of Congress. As of Friday afternoon, litigation in the...
Sens. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville (left) and Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia (right) speak next to a lithograph of the first Black members of Congress during Reconstruction on May 8, 2026 in the Alabama Senate. The Alabama Legislature Friday approved two bills that would allow the state to set new primary dates should federal courts allow Alabama to use congressional and legislative maps previously declared discriminatory by federal courts. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Republicans who are excited about how Alabama’s redistricting fight is playing out might want to hold that thought. Their party’s swift maneuvers to gain more power might feel like they’re yielding a tasty victory. But there’s rot at its core that’s going to make us all sick. While representative democracy can be aggravating, healthy opposition is an essential ingredient. Don’t believe me? Remember this: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Elected officials have to work much harder to represent their constituents when the...