Lead
Sisters
Vote
Our Vote.
Still
Matters.
Today’s ruling changes the legal landscape. It does not change who we are, what we’ve built, or what we will do next.
Louisiana v. Callais — Decided April 29, 2026 — 6–3
Sisters,
Today, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that will reshape the landscape of Black political power in this country. The decision in Louisiana v. Callais arrived in the language of legal frameworks and statutory interpretations. But do not let the language fool you.
What happened today was a direct attack on our ability to elect leaders who represent us. You deserve to know exactly what was done, why it matters, and what we are going to do about it.
The Court Changed the Rules
For forty years, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act gave communities like ours a legal tool to challenge redistricting maps that diluted our votes — that packed us into one district or cracked us across five so our voices would count for nothing. You did not have to prove that legislators sat in a back room and said “let’s harm Black voters.” You only had to show that the result was a system that gave us less opportunity than our white neighbors to elect the people we chose.
Today’s 6-3 majority effectively ended that protection. Under the Court’s new rules, a state can now draw maps designed to weaken Black political representation — and walk away clean — simply by saying the goal was partisan, not racial. And in states where Black voters and Democratic voters are largely the same people, that defense is almost always available.
“Participation is not the same as power. Black women vote at extraordinary rates not because the system works for us — but because we know exactly what is at stake when it doesn’t.”
— holli holliday, President, Sisters Lead Sisters Vote
This Is About Black Women Specifically
We are the most reliable voters in American democracy. We show up — in primaries, in runoffs, in off-year elections most people skip. And we have paid for that loyalty with decades of underrepresentation in the very offices our votes help fill.
Majority-minority districts have been one of the most important pathways for Black women to run, to win, and to build the political infrastructure that eventually opens doors everywhere. Today’s ruling makes those pathways more precarious. Here is what this looks like on the ground:
As Voters
Our ballots can still be cast — but they can be engineered to count for less. When a community is cracked across multiple districts where we are always outnumbered, we lose our ability to elect anyone who truly answers to us.
As Candidates
Black women candidates depend on fair district configurations to build viable paths to office. When those districts are dismantled, the pipeline shrinks — and so does the next generation’s belief that a seat at the table is possible.
As Organizers
The Court has now invited state legislatures to use partisan gerrymandering as cover for racial vote dilution. Our organizing terrain just got harder — and more important.
We Have Been Here Before.
We Know What to Do.
In 1980, the Supreme Court made a nearly identical move — limiting the Voting Rights Act to only cases of intentional discrimination. Civil rights advocates organized. They lobbied. They built coalitions. And in 1982, Congress reversed the Court’s decision and restored the law. It has been done before. It will be done again.
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Stay informed and inform others. Share this update. Our plain-language explainer arrives in 48 hours — use it to talk to your community about what this means in real terms, not legal ones.
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Focus on your state. Federal law has been weakened, but state-level voting rights laws and state courts can still offer protection. Know who controls your state legislature and redistricting process.
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Be a circle leader. More registered voters. More engaged voters. One Million Black Voters Rising. More candidates from our communities. The answer to dilution is depth. The Court cannot gerrymander a movement.
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Demand congressional action. Congress has the authority to restore Section 2. Contact your members of Congress — this week, not eventually.
Justice Kagan closed her dissent today with words first written by Justice Thurgood Marshall after the last time a Court tried to gut the Voting Rights Act:
“In the absence of proof of intentional discrimination, the right to vote gives minority citizens nothing more than the right to cast meaningless ballots.”
— Justice Marshall, 1980 · Quoted in Kagan Dissent, 2026
Congress heard those words in 1980 and responded. We are going to make sure Congress hears them again.
Our votes are not meaningless.
Our voices are not done. And neither are we.
National Organizing Team · April 29, 2026