Alabama has a long, dark history of silencing Black voters. It’s the type of history that can be told with multiple first chapters, and anything I write to you in 600 words will not capture the full story of this precise and intentional discrimination.

So, for the purposes of today, I will start in 2021. And on Monday, I will be back in your inbox with more.

Alabama has been intent on disenfranchising Black voters. So much so that it has taken a trip to the Supreme Court three times. First to adopt a new congressional map after the 2020 census that only included one majority-Black congressional district out of seven — in a state where Black people are over a quarter of the population. After the Supreme Court ruled that the map violated the Voting Rights Act, Alabama doubled down, returning to the Supreme Court in 2023 with another racist map.

The high court rejected Alabama again, and a new map was ordered with a second majority-Black district, sending Rep. Shomari Figures to Congress.

Yet, that was not the end of the story. In the wake of Callais, Alabama asked the Supreme Court to vacate the lower court’s injunction blocking the 2023 map.

And this week, in an unsigned order, the Supreme Court brazenly reversed its own decision and greenlit a never-before-used, racist Alabama congressional map. To put it bluntly: The conservative majority signed off on legalizing discrimination against Black voters.

If Callais was the coffin, this ruling was the final nail.

The legal ramifications of the Supreme Court’s decision are devastating. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent: “Just as Alabama doubled down on racial discrimination, the Court today doubles down on chaos.” While the media tried to downplay the Callais ruling as a “weakening” or “watering down” of the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court’s shadow docket ruling makes the majority’s intentions crystal clear. The Voting Rights Act is a dead law walking, and discrimination will now be the norm.

And Black Alabamians — who are now left with one majority-Black district — will see the real-life consequences of the Supreme Court’s disregard for the rule of law. Their votes will be suppressed. Their voices will be deliberately silenced. As Democracy Docket has written, their interests, wants and needs will be drowned out and ignored by a representative who does not represent them.

This is intentional. This is purposeful. This is the fight we are up against.

What worried me this week

If you’re a close reader of my notes, you know that I have talked a lot about the Department of Justice’s voter roll grab and its threat to our privacy. I am concerned that the DOJ — under the leadership of sycophants like Todd Blanche — will use this data to kick voters off the rolls, target Democrats and even detain United States citizens.

However, a civil rights coalition highlighted another concern this week — and I agree with them. The United Black Agenda warned that the DOJ’s request for voter data is a modern-day poll tax intent on intimidating Black voters. On its face, this may not be obvious. But with a closer look, the DOJ’s intentions are clear.

The government has a long history of using data collection to retaliate against, intimidate and suppress Black voters. This data grab echoes those old tactics, and with the threat of government surveillance looming over their heads, voters of color may be deterred from registering or showing up on Election Day.

That’s exactly what Republicans want. As the UBA wrote, “Poll taxes and literacy tests may be gone. But while the means of intimidation may change, the ends stay the same.”

What I’m watching in the courts

What gave me hope this week

Yesterday, we had another victory for student voting. In a major win for college students in Virginia, a federal court approved a settlement agreement between the NAACP Virginia State Conference and the state elections board that will make it easier for college students to register to vote.

As part of the settlement, voter registration applications submitted by eligible college students will not be rejected for missing small details like their dorm name, room number or mailbox number. And before the 2026 election, Virginia election officials must issue statewide guidance and resources for universities.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Young people face some of the most vulnerable targets for voter suppression. When their applications are rejected and their ballots are sent back, young people become disillusioned with the system. They don’t get into the habit of voting. It becomes a chore instead of an exciting milestone.

With this win, thousands of college students in Virginia will no longer face those challenges. I’m excited for them to vote this year — and I’m motivated by this victory.