A person holds a sign saying "No New Map" at a rally against redistricting at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama on May 4, 2026. Protests are planned in Selma and Montgomery on Saturday in opposition to Alabama's efforts to use maps that critics say dilute Black voting power. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
At least two protests are planned for Saturday in response to efforts by the state to revert to congressional maps previously ruled racially discriminatory.
An event in Selma on Saturday will include faith leaders who will pray for participants. A second is scheduled on Saturday afternoon in Montgomery, featuring speakers discussing the status of voting rights in the U.S. and the impact of the special primary election bills signed by Gov. Kay Ivey last week.
Eric Hall, a cofounder of Black Lives Matter and is one of the members on the committee organizing the event, said in an interview Tuesday the gatherings aim to educate voters; make people aware of what critics call efforts to disenfranchise voters and to mobilize people to vote in the coming elections scheduled for the year.
“We soon realized that there were swift actions being taken by the Legislature and the courts to undermine progress,” he said. “This rally, or what we are doing on Saturday, is simply a call to action as we are bringing everyone from across the south from several states to convene in Montgomery, Alabama.”
The U.S. Supreme Court last month significantly weakened Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in a case known as Louisiana v. Callais, ruling that plaintiffs challenging legislative maps for racial discrimination must prove intention to discriminate, a significantly high bar.
Citing Callais, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday reversed a 2023 injunction against the use of a congressional map it had deemed racially discriminatory under Callais. Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday set special primary elections in Alabama’s 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th congressional districts under the map, invoking two laws passed by the Legislature last week.
“I am very disappointed in the decision,” said Clyde Jones Jr., a Democratic candidate for Alabama’s 1st Congressional District. “I think the Legislature is going to disenfranchise so many Black voters. We are trying to go back in time, but we are not going to go back in time.”
The event in Selma will occur at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the site of “Bloody Sunday” in 1965, when law enforcement attacked peaceful civil rights protestors crossing the bridge. Faith-based and religious leaders will pray for safety and “against hate” to change the course of the country, according to Hall.
Hall said organizers expect between 5,000 to 8,000 to attend the rally in Montgomery.
“It is going to be more educational awareness,” Hall said. “There will be various speakers, there will be dignitaries there, security will be strictly enforced.”
Organizers say they aim to mobilize people against the Legislature’s actions.
“It is time for us to come together and flex our collective muscle,” said Cara McClure, who will participate in the event. “It is a way of saying, ‘You may be messing with our maps but you won’t be taking away our power.’”
From Alabama Reflector Post Url: Visit
Author: Ralph Chapoco