Baton Rouge, LA – On May 12th, Louisiana residents gathered at the Louisiana State Capitol to condemn the state Senate’s new redistricting plans. This comes after Governor Jeff Landry illegally declared a state of emergency to stop the elections after the Louisiana v. Callais decision.

The Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs meeting, which was supposed to take place on May 13, was moved to May 12, a last-minute blatant attempt to reduce attendance. They tried to silence the people, but the people would not be silenced. The crowds stayed for the entire session, spanning from 7 p.m. to 4:30 a.m., with many arriving hours beforehand. Testimony after testimony was put forward condemning the racist redistricting plan and affirming the need for representation of Black voters.

Under the previous map, there were four majority-white districts and two majority-Black districts. SB 407, written by Senator Ed Price, proposed maintaining a 4-2 map. Hundreds of people came out to testify in support of SB 407, staying for hours to make sure their voices were heard.

Checo Yancy from Voice of the Experienced addressed the committee, saying: “Here we are in 2026 and Jim Crow is still hanging around. This is unacceptable.” He continued, “Some people have never had equal rights, equal treatment, equal opportunities, and now you don’t want us to have two Black districts.”

Senator Jay Morris submitted SB 121, a racist bill proposing five majority-white districts and only one majority-Black district. Ziad Eissa from Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke against SB 121, saying, “The only motivation I can think of to support this kind of gerrymandered districting, like the kind put forward in 121, is subservience to Jeff Landry, to conservative politicians, and to billionaires.”

The committee voted 4-3 in favor of SB 121, bringing it to a vote by the full Senate. The people of Louisiana came and showed that they would not accept any racist repression by the legislature. In the face of racist attacks, they showed their ability to mobilize to defend their rights.

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