Looming: The Voting Rights Act, Gutter. The biggest loss to Black political power since Reconstruction

The conservative majority on the Supreme Court seems poised to gut the last remaining parts of the Voting Rights Act.

What has Justice  Clarence Thomas proposed?  The high court will consider in October whether it is wrong to stop openly racist tactics in drawing congressional districts.

Who could be at risk? Several Black Democrats in Congress, such as Reps. Cleo Fields (D-La.), Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).

Thomas makes the case that attention to “race-based” construction of congressional districts is out of touch with recent history. He argues that “specific identified instances” of racial bias, including violent voter suppression, are now distant and amount to relics of the nation’s past.

Last week, a federal appeals court disagreed. The Fifth Circuit ruled that Louisiana’s congressional district map “packed” and “cracked” Black populations to limit their political power. The ruling stated that there are “decades of binding precedent” under the 15th Amendment that allow Congress to challenge racial bias in redistricting.

The 1965 Voting Rights Act was written in response to the nation’s long history of keeping political power in white hands. Even after Black men gained the right to vote, it was common for that vote to be suppressed through violence.

For perspective, South Carolina is 26 percent Black and 67 percent white. But white-majority Republican congressional districts are 86 percent of South Carolina’s seven congressional districts. Only one of seven districts has a majority of Democrats and Black voters — Clyburn’s district.

The Supreme Court plans to hear arguments on racial redistricting on Oct. 15 — early enough for a decision that could affect the 2026 midterms.