One of the defining issues heading into this year’s midterms is how redistricting has rapidly reshaped electoral maps across the country. When the Supreme Court gutted much of the Voting Rights Act earlier this year, a number of states redrew maps eliminating majority-Black districts, weakening Black political power potentially for years to come.
But what does this shift feel like for someone working on the ground to expand voting access for Black communities when the promise of equal representation itself is under assault? Ask LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, a group that’s been working to increase voter participation within minority communities in the rural South, especially where turnout is low.
“There are people who are openly white supremacists that are consolidating power at record speed in such a way that they are stripping away all of the rights, opportunities, and access points for you and your family,” she says, referring to communities of color in the South. “If that don’t move you, it ain’t nothing that I can say that can move you.”
On this week’s More To The Story, Brown talks with host Al Letson about her winding path into politics, her fight against ongoing voter suppression efforts in the South, and why it’s important to mobilize Black voters now more than ever.
Find More To The Story on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, or your favorite podcast app, and don’t forget to subscribe.
Mother Jones is a nonprofit American progressive magazine that focuses on news, commentary, and investigative journalism on topics including politics, environment, human rights, health, healthcare and culture. Clara Jeffery serves as editor-in-chief of the magazine. Monika Bauerlein has been the CEO since 2015.
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