politics
Tennessee Enacts New Congressional Map Carving Up Majority-Black Memphis District
Tennessee Republicans passed and Gov. Bill Lee signed a new U.S. House map that splits the state's only majority-Black district, currently held by Rep. Steve Cohen. The NAACP filed an emergency petition in state court to block the map, calling it unlawful and a violation of the Tennessee constitution. The move makes Tennessee the first state to redraw districts since a recent U.S.
May 7, 4:57 PM·3m read3 sources
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Tennessee Republicans enacted a new congressional map on May 7, 2026, that dismantles the state's only majority-Black district in Memphis, giving the GOP an opportunity to win all nine U.S. House seats in the state in the November midterm elections.
The final Senate vote occurred amid raucous protests inside the state Capitol in Nashville, where demonstrators chanted, blew air horns and disrupted proceedings in both chambers. Democratic lawmakers stood on desks holding banners, linked arms and danced in protest before Republican leadership adjourned the special session.
Gov. Bill Lee signed the map into law shortly afterward. The new map splits Rep. Steve Cohen's 9th Congressional District, which has been anchored in the majority-Black city of Memphis and held by the Democrat since 2007, into three separate districts.
One version stretches the district more than 200 miles eastward toward Nashville suburbs. Tennessee became the first state to adopt new districts following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week that limited how heavily states can rely on race when drawing maps to comply with the Voting Rights Act.
The NAACP filed an emergency petition in Davidson County Chancery Court on Thursday seeking to block implementation of the map. The organization argued the mid-decade redistricting violates the state constitution and urged Lee and the legislature not to enact it.
"It is a direct attack on our democracy and our Constitution to dismantle majority-Black districts," NAACP general counsel Kristen Clarke said in a statement. In the House chamber, Rep. Justin Jones blew an air horn while Rep. Justin J. Pearson was arrested and removed from the gallery.
Sen. " Democrats argued the map fractures Black voting power in Memphis despite Republican assertions that it was drawn based on population and partisan data rather than race. State Rep. Justin Pearson called the maps "racist tools of white supremacy" drawn at the request of President Trump.
