A Louisiana Senate committee heard public testimony Friday on four proposed congressional maps, with a vote scheduled for Wednesday.
One map (SB-407), proposed by a Democrat, would preserve both majority Black congressional districts in the state. Three other maps, proposed by a Republican, would eliminate one (SB- 121 and 130) or both (SB-116) of those majority Black districts.
State Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democrat from New Orleans, supports the map that preserves both majority Black districts. He said it is up to lawmakers to maintain progress rather than reverse it.
"Right now our state is 1/3 African American, and there is an effort underway to get rid of representation that we fought very hard for to get," Duplessis said.
Duplessis said events in Tennessee on Thursday added to his concern about the proposed maps.
"The only Democratic majority Black seat in Memphis in Shelby County was eliminated, so now people have no voice, no matter what race you are. If you're a Democrat in Tennessee, the state of Tennessee, you have no representation," Duplessis said.
Friday's hearing came after Gov. Jeff Landry suspended all U.S. House races in the May 16 election until July, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to throw out the current congressional maps.
Duplessis said supporters of the majority Black districts will continue to push for their preservation.
"We're going to keep showing up, we're going to keep fighting. You see all the people that are here, all the folks that are showing up, we're not going to stop. The Voting Rights Act wasn't passed because it was easy. People demanded it, and eventually justice was delivered, and that we're going to have to do the same thing again," Duplessis said.
The committee is scheduled to vote on the four maps Wednesday.
