Black leaders across the country are hailing Thursday’s Supreme Court decision to uphold a key voting rights law in Alabama as a major victory while also expressing cautious optimism about what comes next.
The case, Allen v. Milligan, is largely seen as a ruling in favor of Black voters after the Supreme Court sided with a district court’s previous decision to redraw Alabama’s Republican-heavy congressional district map in an effort to abide by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Voting rights advocates feared the conservative-leaning Supreme Court’s ruling would reflect the ongoing assault on Black voting power in pockets of the U.S. before Thursday’s unexpected decision.