Thousands of people are expected to gather in Montgomery, Alabama, to mobilize support for voting rights amid concerns about redistricting efforts. Organizers say states are moving to dismantle congressional districts that expanded representation opportunities. The rally will begin in Selma and move to the Alabama Capitol. Participants and veterans of past struggles warn that recent legal decisions threaten decades of progress. Leaders and activists say the moment requires renewed commitment to protecting voting rights and preserving representation gains.

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee is ending his bid for reelection. He's just the latest lawmaker to have his career upended by the redistricting battles that are sweeping the country. Republicans in Tennessee this month enacted a new U.S. House map that carves up a Cohen’s majority-Black district, reshaping it to the GOP’s advantage. It's part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to hold on to a slim Republican majority in the November midterm elections. Cohen has represented his Memphis-based district for nearly two decades. He lamented that Tennessee would likely shift to an entirely Republican delegation after the next election.

A new generation of civil rights leaders is rallying against efforts to dismantle the Voting Rights Act. NAACP President Derrick Johnson emphasizes the urgency of responding to these challenges. On Saturday, groups will gather in Alabama to honor the Civil Rights Movement and push for renewed activism. The Supreme Court's recent decision weakens the VRA, prompting activists to fight for diverse political representation. They face a conservative movement entrenched in power. Legal battles and campaigns are underway to protect Black representation. Johnson stresses that this is an American problem, not just a Black issue, and calls for unity in the fight.

New U.S. House districts in Florida are facing their first test in court. A state judge is set to hear arguments Friday on a request to block the new districts from being used in the midterm elections. Several lawsuits contend the districts violate a state constitutional provision against partisan gerrymandering. Republicans already hold 20 of the state’s 28 U.S. House seats. The new districts signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis could improve Republicans' chances to win four additional seats. Florida is one of several states to redraw congressional districts after President Donald Trump urged Republicans to do so.

State senators in Louisiana have passed a new congressional map after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the previous one. The new plan would eliminate a majority-Black district, giving Republicans a chance to win an additional seat in the November midterm elections. The plan now goes to the House for consideration. Louisiana must redraw its House map because the court ruled it illegally used race to gerrymander its districts. The court ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act has spawned a wave of redistricting efforts in Southern states. South Carolina's governor has called a special legislative session to start Friday on congressional redistricting.

A group of Black divers recently visited the site where the British slave ship Henrietta Marie sank 326 years ago. The ship, which had transported enslaved people from West Africa to Jamaica, sank near Key West, Florida. Divers said they felt a deep connection to their ancestors during the pilgrimage. It included a dive at the wreck site, a visit to the museum housing artifacts from the slave ship, and a cemetery containing the remains of African refugees who arrived at Key West on slave ships. Pilgrims said the journey was a quest to connect with their history, roots and an effort to tell historically accurate stories that will nourish future generations.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries had warned Republicans they would come to regret the congressional redistricting fight. And when Democrats counterpunched last month with a victory in Virginia, Jeffries had proved his point. But in a matter of days, back-to-back court rulings wiped out the Democratic gains in Virginia and threatened to erode Black representation by Democrats in the Deep South. The shifting political landscape has been a wake-up call for Democrats, who are favored to win back the House this November. It's also a test for Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if his party regains power.

Authorities say a man who livestreams himself saying racially derogatory statements to Black people in public settings has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse. District Attorney Robert J. Nash said in a statement Wednesday that Dalton Eatherly, known online as “Chud the Builder,” and an unidentified man were involved in a confrontation that resulted in gunfire. Police haven't provided the race of the other man. A witness who says she saw him loaded into an ambulance described him as Black. An attorney listed in court records as representing Eatherly in a separate harassment case didn't immediately return a phone message.

Republican senators in Louisiana have advanced a plan to eliminate one of two majority-Black U.S. House districts for this year's elections. Meanwhile, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced that he is calling lawmakers back to work to consider redistricting. The Georgia session in June will focus on changes for the 2028 elections for both U.S. House and state legislative districts. Georgia is the latest of several Southern states to take up redistricting after the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down a Black-majority district in Louisiana. The court said the district was an illegal racial gerrymander, significantly weakening minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act.

Republicans have gained an advantage in a national congressional redistricting battle among states ahead of the midterm elections. A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened the federal Voting Rights Act has opened the way for Republicans in Southern states to redraw Black-majority districts. Meanwhile, the Virginia Supreme Court has struck down a redistricting plan that could have helped Democrats win more seats. Voting districts typically are redrawn based on census data after the start of each decade. But an unusual spate of mid-decade redistricting broke out after President Donald Trump urged Texas Republicans to reshape U.S. House districts last year. More states have followed.