Eric Holder: Fair Map Empowers Alabamians to Make History by Electing Two Black Members of Congress

For Immediate Release
November 6, 2024
Contact
Madia Coleman
coleman@redistrictingfoundation.org

Washington, D.C. – Today, Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States, released the following statement in response to the election results in Alabama’s Second and Seventh Congressional Districts: 

“Alabamians have made history by electing two Black Members of Congress who truly reflect their political desires for the first time. Congratulations to my friends Shomari Figures and Terri Sewell. 

“Tonight, I’m thinking about the Alabamians who, throughout history, have sacrificed their lives and well-being for equal justice under the law—from my sister-in-law, Vivian Malone, and James Hood, who integrated the University of Alabama, to Michael Figures who took on the Ku Klux Klan. It is because of the heroism of previous generations that a tenacious group of Black Alabama voters challenged the State of Alabama in court to enforce protections enshrined in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and took that fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court—and won. 

 “The effect of Alabama’s fair map and equal representation cannot be understated in this outcome, nor can the role of the Voting Rights Act, which remains the single most effective law in the country to protect the right to vote.” 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
The National Redistricting Foundation (NRF), a 501(c)(3) affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee filed the first legal challenge against the state of Alabama’s gerrymandered map in 2021, which ultimately made its way before the U.S. Supreme Court in Allen v. Milligan. The NRF financially supported and directed the litigation on behalf of the Caster plaintiff group. The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Allen v. Milligan ultimately led the courts to force the State of Alabama to enact a new map, which gives Black voters the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice in two congressional districts. 

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