How Alabama is defying the supreme court to discriminate against Black voters

‘It’s so disingenuous. It speaks of 1950s America and not 2023 America,’ said Jonathan Cervas, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Illustration: Guardian Design/AP Photo

Just a few months ago, the US supreme court issued one of its most surprising rulings in recent memory.

In a 5-4 decision in Allen v Milligan, the court said Alabama’s congressional map violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act because it diluted the influence of Black voters, who make up about a quarter of the state’s population, but comprise a majority in just one of Alabama’s congressional districts. The justices upheld a lower court’s decision ordering Alabama to redraw its map “to include two districts in which Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close to it”.