{"id":11021,"date":"2026-05-01T02:33:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T21:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/the-supreme-court-gutted-the-voting-rights-act-black-churches-know-exactly-what-to-do\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T02:33:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T21:03:57","slug":"the-supreme-court-gutted-the-voting-rights-act-black-churches-know-exactly-what-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/the-supreme-court-gutted-the-voting-rights-act-black-churches-know-exactly-what-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"The Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. Black churches know exactly what to do."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p><iframe title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_maqp6tBjZJK?ui_title_intro=Listen+now%3A&amp;client=wp&amp;client_version=3.1.5\" width=\"100%\" height=\"136px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">(RNS) \u2014 The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on Wednesday (April 29) that struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, making it nearly impossible to challenge racially discriminatory voting maps without proving intentional discrimination. Hours after the ruling, Florida\u2019s Legislature approved a new congressional map, skewed in Republicans\u2019 favor, and many experts are predicting a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/04\/30\/nx-s1-5805050\/supreme-court-voting-rights-congressional-black-caucus\">historic drop in Black representation<\/a> in Congress \u2014 and <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">much longer lines for Black voters<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\"> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">None of this is surprising. The history of civil rights in America is one in which there is progress followed by retrenchment, expansion followed by restriction. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0In 1870, the 15th Amendment promised that the right to vote could not be denied on account of race. Within a generation, that promise was hollowed out by poll taxes, literacy tests and racial terror. Nearly a century later, there was the Voting Rights Act of 1965 \u2014 recognizing that discrimination in voting was systemic and required federal oversight of states with histories of disenfranchisement. Black voter registration surged. Representation followed. And then, again, the retrenchment. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In 2013, the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in Shelby County v. Holder invalidated the formula that determined which jurisdictions needed federal preclearance before changing voting laws.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Now,\u00a0we have\u00a0a further stripping away\u00a0of\u00a0the Voting Rights Act.\u00a0For Black voters, it will mean longer lines at the polls, fewer accessible locations, more bureaucratic\u00a0hurdles\u00a0and a greater risk that their lawful vote will not be counted.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This is the cycle.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3856711\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 750px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3856711\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620-427x304.jpg 427w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620-807x575.jpg 807w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620-768x547.jpg 768w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620-500x356.jpg 500w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620-800x570.jpg 800w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620-1280x912.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620-1536x1094.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620-624x445.jpg 624w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/webRNS-Early-Voting1-101620-600x428.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">Hundreds of people wait in line for early voting in Marietta, Ga., on Oct. 12, 2020. (AP Photo\/Ron Harris, File)<\/span><span class=\"credit\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What we are\u00a0witnessing\u00a0is not simply a legal debate. It is a recurring struggle over the meaning of democracy itself.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But let\u2019s be clear: Black voters will persist. They always have. And churches have always been critical and will be today.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Black church was forged from faith in a vision of freedom that was not yet realized. Our <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">faith still lives in the tension of \u201cwhat shall be\u201d and \u201cwhat has not yet come to pass.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">After Reconstruction, restrictions were justified in the language of \u201cstate authority\u201d and \u201celection integrity.\u201d After the Civil Rights Movement, resistance came cloaked in claims of \u201cneutral rules\u201d and \u201cadministrative efficiency.\u201d Today, similar arguments reappear updated, reframed, but rooted in the same tension: who gets full access to the ballot, and who must fight harder for it.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Resistance must\u00a0operate\u00a0on three fronts simultaneously: spiritual (moral clarity and motivation); structural (organized systems of turnout); and adaptive (responding in real time to suppression tactics). And in this season, preaching and teaching still\u00a0matter \u2014 not partisan messaging, but theological framing of voting as moral agency.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There is a lot that can be done \u2014 and is being done. Establish monthly \u201ccheck your registration\u201d Sundays as a faithful act of witness. Instead of concentrating turnout on Election Day, churches push early voting and encourage designated voting days, with transportation, to reduce vulnerability to last-minute disruptions. Some churches are already partnering with civil rights attorneys and election protection coalitions to create rapid-response systems when voters are challenged.\u00a0 <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If the strategy is to exhaust voters, then the counterstrategy is to sustain them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Faith-based coalitions, such as\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.turnoutsunday.com\/press\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Faiths United to Save Democracy,<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> already have an initiative to recruit faith leaders across religious traditions to serve as poll chaplains. Organizations like Operation Push provide legal literacy sessions on rights at the polls. Networks like Black Voters Matter, Higher Heights, Win with Black Women, Black Church Freedom Fund and Faith in Action are galvanizing voter registration and other civic efforts that are decentralized and harder to suppress.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We\u00a0have, quite literally, been here before, and each time the Black church did not simply encourage participation. We enabled\u00a0it.\u00a0The\u00a0question\u00a0is not whether Black voters will respond.\u00a0The question is whether the church will fully remember who it has always been.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Every generation faces moments that test the meaning of citizenship. For Black Americans, those moments have often centered on the ballot. And yet, the story has never ended with setbacks. We have moved forward before. The struggle for a truly representative democracy does not end at the court. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It continues \u2014 organized, vigilant and unyielding.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>(The Rev. Traci D. Blackmon is the founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.faithoutloud.org\/\">Faith Out Loud!,<\/a> an ecosystem working to turn faith into public action<span>, advocating for justice, community empowerment and prophetic witness rooted in the Black church. She previously was <\/span><span>associate general minister in the United Church of Christ and is based in St. Louis. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily represent those of Religion News Service.)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n        <\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/04\/30\/the-supreme-court-gutted-the-voting-rights-act-black-churches-know-exactly-what-to-do\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(RNS) \u2014 The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on Wednesday (April 29) that struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, making it nearly impossible to challenge racially discriminatory voting maps without proving intentional discrimination. Hours after the ruling, Florida\u2019s Legislature approved a new congressional map, skewed in Republicans\u2019 favor, and many [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}