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| Voting Rights Act of 1965 |
Shelby County took its challenge of the Voting Rights Act to the U.S. Supreme Court today, asking the justices to declare part of the 1965 law an unfair burden on states such as Alabama where the federal government still oversees elections for evidence of racial discrimination.
Shelby County is appealing two lower court decisions that upheld the constitutionality of the landmark civil rights-era law. If the Supreme Court justices agree to accept the case, they'll schedule it for oral arguments sometime after they return in October, and it would be one of the highest-profile cases of the court's 2012-13 term.
"This case presents the Supreme Court with an opportunity to strike down an outdated and unnecessary portion of the Voting Rights Act that punishes some states for voting transgressions that are long gone," said Edward Blum, director of the Project on Fair Representation. "It makes no sense today that Alabama, Virginia, and Arizona are subject to federal oversight regarding elections while Arkansas, West Virginia, and New Mexico are not."
Shelby County originally sued the Justice Department two years ago, and Blum's nonprofit is paying the legal bills on the county's behalf.
While the Voting Rights Act outlaws discrimination against minority voters across the country, only 16 states are required to have all of their election procedures reviewed by the U.S. Justice Department, meaning they can't move a polling place or change a district line without permission. It is this section of the law that Shelby County is challenging as unconstitutional, as well as the formula Congress used to determine which states are subject to the extra scrutiny.
Per the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the state of Alabama needs special approval for changes in elections -- being the losers of the Civil Rights struggle and all. How'd freedom work out for Birmingham again? Never mind. Having a discussion on the consequences of enacting freedom and handing over the keys of political power to some of America's greatest cities isn't permitted in proper, polite society.
It's outside the realm of acceptable political discourse. The state of Birmingham in 2012 is the fault of... the fault of........ the fault of............. gosh, in polite, proper society, we only talk about Birmingham in a pre-1965 manner. Eerily, post-1965 Birmingham and the world of the South after the Civil Rights movement successfully swept every last vestige of hate impeding Black progress and Black integration into society is.... isn't worthy of discussion.
At all.
But it's that pre-1965 world that must continually be brought up as justification for stopping any action in 2012 Occupied America, shaming white people from ever uniting in defending their interests. The Birmingham News reported (Alabama Legislative Black Caucus files lawsuit over redistricting plans;August 10,2012;Kym Chandler):
The Legislative Black Caucus and other black Alabama office holders filed a lawsuit in federal court this morning to try to block implementation of new legislative redistricting plan.Only in a world where the Department of Justice (currently led by Attorney General Eric "My People" Holder) gets final say over the political destiny of 16 states and the people who reside in them, could the "Legislative Black Caucus" be able to hold court and complain of potential discrimination.
The lawsuit claims that the Alabama House of Representatives and Senate redistricting plans dilute minority voting strength, violate the principle of "one person, one vote" and unnecessarily and illegally split Alabama counties among multiple legislative district.
"The lawsuits asks the federal court to declare these two plans unconstitutional and order the Legislature to start over," said James Blacksher, a lawyer representing plaintiffs.
Blacksher said the plans together split 49 of the 67 counties in Alabama.
The lawsuit echoes complaints during the legislative session that the Republican majority was "stacking and packing" minority districts with more and more black voters and thereby reducing black voters' influence outside of minority districts.
"Sadly they were more concerned with segregating the parties and drawing plans that are racially gerrymandered instead of drawing constitutional plans," said Caucus co-chairman Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro.
The Association of Black County Officials and several black county commissioners are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Blacksher said they are seeking to have the lawsuit certified as a class action on behalf of all voters, regardless of race, in split counties.
"We hope that the federal court will recognize that the plans which the Republicans passed aimed to pack and stack African-American voters into minority districts while drastically reducing minority influence in other districts," said Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery."
"In this day, in this time, it is sad that people must still go to court to get justice for all citizens in our state," Knight said.
Only in a world where a candidate for state senate in Missouri - Jamilah Nasheed - could tell a newspaper, "I'm black before I'm a Democrat," and still win easily are you able to understand why the Voting Rights Act still ensures that so many people live under absolute despotism.
That tyranny is none other than Black-Run America (BRA).
What happened to Birmingham post-1965? What about Selma? What about Montgomery? This is the story that must be told, instead of constantly changing the discussion and talking about what happened in these cities prior to the "great" Civil Rights Movements.
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