George Floyd 6 Years Later. Redistricting War in The South. Talarico Senate Campaign

Congressman Glenn Ivy is reintroducing the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act to address ongoing issues of police misconduct and excessive force, including cases involving ICE and border patrol. Despite Republican control of Congress, the reintroduction aims to keep the issue on record and force accountability.

Congressman Glenn Ivy states, 'We want to keep pushing it. I think it's needed now more than ever. Certainly, the issues that led to George Floyd's death are still here.' He also mentions pushing for the Department of Justice to release evidence in other police shooting cases and forcing Republicans to be on record regarding their opposition.

Across the South, Republican-led states are actively redrawing congressional maps to dilute Black voting power, often targeting historically Black districts. This is seen as a deliberate strategy to reduce Black representation and influence, exacerbated by recent Supreme Court decisions.

Roland Martin states, 'Alabama back in federal court after Republicans moved to revive a congressional map... unconstitutional for discriminating against black voters.' Congressman Emanuel Clever details how his Missouri district was gerrymandered, and Congressman Jim Clyburn discusses similar efforts in South Carolina, noting it's 'the largest attack on black political power since reconstruction.'

The Supreme Court's decisions, particularly in cases like Clay v. Louisiana, are viewed as actively gutting Voting Rights Act protections. Critics argue the Court is acting as a 'judicial activist' body, creating law to serve Republican political interests and enabling racial discrimination in redistricting.

Matt Manning states, 'once you have a case like Klay coming down from the highest court in the land, the district court is going to feel it's bound to follow that decision.' Congressman Jim Clyburn equates recent Supreme Court decisions (Citizens United, Shelby v. Holder, Clay v. Louisiana) to 'Jim Crow 2.0,' stating, 'they were taking these steps in order to get to where they want to go and this seems to be the last step on this journey.'

The NAACP is calling for Black athletes to boycott public universities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. This strategy aims to use the economic power of collegiate athletics to pressure state lawmakers to reverse anti-Black policies, drawing parallels to historical civil rights movements where young people made significant sacrifices.

Roland Martin explains, 'The NAACP in their out-of-bounds campaign, they are targeting public universities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.' He cites the example of a Mississippi State player's protest leading to a flag change in 10 days, demonstrating the potential impact of athlete action.

Engaging and mobilizing young Black voters (18-39) is identified as crucial for countering anti-Black agendas and achieving significant political change. Despite being the largest demographic, their turnout is consistently the lowest, which older politicians and activists emphasize must change.

Congressman Emanuel Clever's children advised him, 'your online presence has to change. This is not going to be the 50 year olds up upward in this race who are going to pick the next member of Congress and they they say it's going to be us.' Congressman Jim Clyburn laments that 18-39 year olds represented only 9% of the turnout in the Georgia primary, stating, 'you aren't going to do it if you only vote 9%'.