On Wednesday’s broadcast of MS NOW’s “All In,” failed Georgia Democratic political candidate Stacey Abrams said that with redistricting, Republicans are “intentionally eroding black voting power.”
Host Chris Hayes said, “Stacey, let me just start by by what the scene was like in Tennessee today. We saw lots of protests. We see people sort of marshaling collective, resistance to this, but they are being steamrolled right now, it seems, by a supermajority of Republicans in the state.”
Abrams said, “Absolutely. So, Chris, we were in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. No one was allowed in except for those of us who were testifying. And the members of the committee outside. You could hear chants. You could see people who desperately wanted to be a part of the conversation, but were denied the right and inside the leader, the minority leader, Ramesh Akbari, had to ask where the bill was. And what they said is, well, we don’t have the legislation yet. We just have a map. So basically they were considering a picture. They didn’t even they move so quickly. They didn’t even have the text of the bill. And having served in the legislature for 11 years, I’m here to tell you I don’t remember voting on a bill that didn’t actually exist.”
She added, “61% of the ninth Congressional District is African-American. 64% of Memphis is black. And with this decision, they have managed to divide that number so that they’re 33% of the black population in three different districts. They did this intentionally. In fact, one of in fact, the author of the legislation said, we’re a conservative state and we should have all conservative districts. They know that they are intentionally eroding black voting power. They are removing the last remaining opportunity for black voters and for brown voters, and for white neighbors to have a voice simply because one out of nine is too many. This is not just about partizanship. This is about deciding that there are voters in America. There are citizens in America who they do not value.”
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