VOICES: 'This is not democracy. This is cowardice.'

On May 6, 2026, former Georgia state representative and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams testified before the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee in opposition to the state's newly-redrawn congressional map, which would eliminate Tennessee's only Black-majority district. State lawmakers moved quickly to redraw district lines in the wake of Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court's landmark ruling that gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and dealt a major blow to the political power and representation of Black communities across the South. As Justice Elena Kagan wrote in dissent, "[t]oday's decision renders Section 2 all but a dead letter" in the vast majority of cases, a warning that is already being borne out in statehouses from Mississippi to South Carolina to Tennessee.

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Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee. Good morning. My name is Stacey Abrams. I am a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, where I served six terms, including seven years as Minority Leader.

I am also the founder of the 10 Steps Campaign and of Fair Fight. I come before you today though as a daughter of the South because we are yoked together by geography and destiny. I did not travel to Tennessee today to weigh in on a policy debate or a political fight.

The question before you is whether America will continue the long, unfinished work of building a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-generational democracy that belongs to all of us—or whether we will tear down the very protections that made that democracy finally possible. This body is being asked to dismantle the protections that helped bury the abomination of Jim Crow. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) did that. It turned a promise on paper into power in practice. Until last week, when the Supreme Court eviscerated Section 2 and the VRA.

The fallout from the cynical and cruel ruling is sadly predictable. Florida has already redrawn its congressional districts to silence voters of color, and Mississippi and Alabama are moving fast to keep up. And right here in Tennessee, Republicans seek to fracture the political voice of Memphis, to silence the citizens who have but one place in the state to seek representation and redress.

The ruling in Callais told millions of Black and brown Americans and their White neighbors that it is open season on their ability to be heard. But this committee, like the radical Republicans that championed the 15th Amendment, can ignore the political frenzy and remember this legislature’s obligation to govern on behalf of every citizen of Tennessee. It was back then that Democrats abandoned their faith to punish differences. Today, we can learn our lessons and do what is right — right now.

Democracy is an action — one that says I will share my power with those I disagree with because it is the only way to guarantee our common future. Backsliding into authoritarianism, where one party and one race holds dominion is unworthy of the Volunteer State. Whether by consequence or intention, it is wrong. It is unworthy of a nation that revolted when power was held by the few — a truth we celebrate 250 years hence.

Rigged maps that decide elections before a single vote is cast — and politicians who rig elections so it’s impossible for them to lose. This is not democracy. This is cowardice. In the South, we believe in fair contests and government of, by, and for the people. Tennessee can be led by Republicans without returning to a terrible, vicious past. I am here today because I have faith in the South, and in Tennessee, to do what’s right.

Thank you for your time.