Every vote must count.
Politicians across the country are redrawing maps mid-decade to hold onto power. Memphis is the latest.
It won't be the last.
It started in Texas. Then North Carolina. Then Tennessee.
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In state after state, politicians are calling special sessions, redrawing congressional maps, and eliminating districts that give Black and brown voters a real voice. They are doing it in broad daylight. They are doing it because the Supreme Court told them they could.
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Memphis just lost its only Black congressional seat. A majority-Black city, carved into three Republican districts in three days.
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This is not a glitch. This is a strategy.
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Congressional candidates from across the country are gathering in Memphis on June 12 — not because Memphis is the only place this is happening, but because Memphis has always been where America is forced to look at itself.
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We are signing the Memphis Declaration. We are standing with the voters whose voices are being erased. And we are committing to fight for fair representation when we get to Congress.
The Memphis Coalition Demands Fair Representation For All
Democracy is under attack.
Across the country, politicians and partisan courts are manipulating district lines, weakening voting protections, and choosing which voters count and which voters do not. The result is a system that intentionally disenfranchises Black voters and undermines the stability of our democracy for all Americans.
This is not how democracy is supposed to work. In America, voters are supposed to choose their representatives. Representatives are not supposed to choose their voters.
Fair representation is a moral issue. It is a constitutional issue. It is an American issue.
We reject efforts to dilute the political power of communities through racial or partisan manipulation of district maps. We reject the idea that democracy can survive when politicians redraw districts whenever power feels threatened. We reject a politics that treats voters as obstacles to be managed instead of citizens to be represented.
And we affirm the following principles:
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Every voter deserves equal representation.
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Every community deserves a meaningful voice.
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Congressional districts should reflect people, not political schemes.
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Race must never be used to weaken the political voice of communities.
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Democracy works best when participation is expanded, not restricted.
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The right to vote includes the right to fair representation.
Therefore, when we are elected to Congress, we will fight for:
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Restoration and strengthening of Voting Rights Act protections
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A national independent redistricting commission
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A ban on mid-decade congressional redistricting undertaken for partisan advantage
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Federal protections against racial and partisan gerrymandering
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Greater transparency and public accountability in the redistricting process
We call on elected officials, candidates, clergy, organizers, and citizens across the country to defend representative democracy before further damage is done.
This moment is bigger than any one party, state, or election cycle.
The question before the nation is simple: Will the people choose their government? Or will the government choose its people?
We choose democracy for all.
Memphis Coalition Partners
