By Daniel, a Refuse Fascism volunteer
A version of this talk was given recently at a meeting hosted by the New York City chapter of Refuse Fascism.
Recently, in the Louisiana v Callais et al case, the Fascist Supreme Court’s ruling effectively gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But let’s first contextualize this ruling by acknowledging the history of White Supremacy in America.
The country’s hateful history begins with the brutal enslavement of Black and Brown people 400-500 years ago. Indeed, the U.S. was built on the scarred and bloodied backs of millions of slaves.
While the Civil War did bring “formal” slavery to an end, Black rights and dignity were denied for another hundred years via lynching, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, mass incarceration, police brutality, segregation, and Jim Crow laws (e.g., poll tax) that severely limited voting for Black people.
With this critical background in mind, let’s return to the ruling, where Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is essentially shredded. Section 2 made voter discrimination by race and other identities illegal.
In the court’s opinion, it was argued, that, only when racial discrimination is deliberate or intentional can the drawing of majority-minority electoral districts be justified. This is a ridiculous standard, as MAGA representatives can argue redistricting was being done purely for partisan, not racial purposes.
Following the ruling, red states are now able to racially gerrymander districts that previously were majority-Black to ensure Black political representation. This ruling is going to severely slash Black representation and political power, and elevate White MAGA representatives who support this fascist, White Supremacist project. Broadly, this is another step to reestablish the U.S. as a White Supremacist Confederacy.
As a result, several red states are already redistricting for the mid-term elections. It’s been calculated that the GOP will gain 10-12 seats in the House as a result of this rigging (accounting for Democratic redistricting gains in California, Utah).
This ruling builds on ongoing efforts by this Trump Fascist regime to rig elections. This is a fascist regime through and through, meaning we may not be able to count on elections to remove Trump and his administration from power. This ruling provides more evidence that this is a consolidating fascist regime, meaning these elections won’t be free or fair.
And if you need another reason to not rely on elections, the Democrats broadly have failed to respond appropriately to this ruling, with many Democratic states refusing to redistrict until 2028 at the earliest… which will do nothing for the 2026 midterms that are currently being rigged. Clearly, many of them still don’t understand the scale of the threat.
The Democrats cannot save us. Voting harder isn’t an answer. We have to save ourselves and our communities by streaming out in the streets in sustained mass non-violent protest, demanding this regime’s removal. Although it’s not impossible that Democrats could win the House, how would that stop this regime? A president has never been formally removed from power via impeachment. Winning the midterms is not a solution.
Yet, protests led by Justin Pearson (Black Democratic Representative, Tennessee) and others in response to this bullshit ruling remind us that millions in this country hate this and do not want to live with a New Jim Crow 2.0! We need to mobilize them under the just demand: “TRUMP MUST GO NOW!” to drive out the white supremacists in the White House and the whole Trump fascist regime.