Kansas City, Mo. (AP) – Pastor Emmanuel Cleaver III wants a second civil rights movement in response to President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans Redraw the district boundaries of council To enhance your strength in Washington.
In Missouri, GOP’s efforts come at the expense of Cleaver’s father, Democrat Emmanuel Cleaver II, and fearing many of his Kansas City members Scramble of national constituencies Black Americans reverse the profits they win 2 generations ago Leave them without any effective expressions on Capitol Hill.
“If we, people of faith, don’t step up, we’re going to go back further,” the young Cleaver told the congregation at St. James’ Church on a recent Sunday, drawing the assertion of “Amen” in the sanctuary, whose father, Sanctuary, began his first congressional bid in 2004.
Trump and fellow Republicans acknowledge their partisan intent, encouraged by the permitted Supreme Court. Gerrymander based on voter party trends. Democratically run California has I proposed my own redrawing Reduce GOP gain elsewhere.
But the new maps of Texas and Missouri, drafted in an unusual midterm rezoning effort ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, aim to enable Republicans to win by manipulating the way districts are drawn. Civil rights advocates, leaders and influenced voters say it amounts to race-based gerrymandering. supreme court They were blocked when they found that minority communities were effectively prevented from selecting representatives of their choices.
“It’s almost like a rezoning of a civil war,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson, whose organizations are suing to block plans in Texas and Missouri.
Kansas City residents are worried that they will be “cut shorter”
In Lingo rezoning, it is called “packing and cracking.” These operations are at the heart of Trump’s push for a more friendly GOP district as they try to avoid a revival in 2018. The midterm brought a majority of House Democrats It obstructed his agenda and each shot twice.
Non-white voters waste Democrats and white voters and leaning Republicans to focus certain minorities on fewer districts — packing — can reduce the number of Democrats in legislative bodies. Cracking geographically concentrated minority voters – can reduce the power of choosing lawmakers.
Elder Cleaver, who is seeking an 11th term, said the Trump-led plan promotes an atmosphere of intimidation and division, and he and fellow Kansas City residents fear the city will lose federal investment in infrastructure, police and other services.
“We’re going to be shorter,” said Meredith Sherner, a retired nurse who predicted loss of access to education and healthcare. “I just don’t think it’s good for anyone.”
The new map targets Black Legislators’ districts
The US House delegation in Missouri has six white Republicans and two Black Democrats. A new map that could require voter approval even if the referendum petition is successful will set the GOP to a 7-1 advantage.
Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe says the new map better represents Missouri’s conservative values. Sponsors from Rep. Dirk Deaton said they would split fewer counties and municipalities than they currently have.
“This is a great map,” the Republican lawmaker said.
Cleaver’s current District 5 is not a majority, but includes the majority of Kansas City’s black population, creating a coalition that elected him for ten terms. The new line carves black districts into multiple districts. The new District 5 is far beyond the city, making it difficult for 80-year-old Cleaver and other Democrats to win in 2026.
Ashley Sadowski, a mother of 7 and 11, is white, but splicing means that she simply means that she will take her child to school.
“Politicians are denying children the unified voice worthy of DC,” she said. “This puts the ability to access the federal resources needed to succeed. Anyone who draws this map may understand political calculations, but do you really think it’s fair to children?”
The lawmaker agreed.
“If someone is chosen to represent a district’s area and is heterogeneous with the attitudes and goals of those who live there and attend the Kansas School District, they probably won’t be of any use,” he said.
In Texas, Abbott claims racism is not involved
The new Texas map, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law, is designed to send five more Republicans to Washington, expanding the party’s 25-13 advantage to 30-8.
On the old map there were 22 districts where the majority of voters were identified as white alone. Seven were Hispanic majority, while nine were Union districts, meaning that racial or ethnic groups had no majority. By redistribution of voters, the new map includes 24 White Majority Districts, 8 Hispanic majority districts, 2 Black Majority Districts, and four Union Districts.
White voters in Texas are firmly leaning Republicans. The Texans elect Latino Republicans and Democrats, but the coalition of minority districts is heading towards Democrats. Abbott argues that new boundaries will produce more Latinx representation. But they will reduce the number of black lawmakers by scrambling the coalition district that currently sends Black Democrats to Washington.
Democrat Al Greene is planning to be pulled out of his district and move to seek another term. On the house floor, black lawmakers call another chapter of Texas’ “sinful history” GOP Gerrymandering, making it difficult for non-whites to vote or vote important. He said it would waddle up Voting Rights Act 1965 “If Texas wins these maps and the president can remove five just because they say that they belong to me.”
NAACP intervenes in lawsuits
The NAACP asked federal court to block Texas’ plans. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act broadly prohibits districts and other election laws that restrict minority representation.
Johnson suggested that Republicans are playing ward games.
“Was this done for partisan reasons? Was it done for race? Or is it a way to cover your racial animus and the consequences you are pursuing?” he asked.
Existing laws and precedents will help Congress better reflect U.S. voters, Johnson said: “The sum of individual experiences should… be on the table.”
In fact, Greene said there were 15 non-white members in Congress when Democrat Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. After the 2024 election, he counted at least 150.
In Kansas City, worry about “scary” backslides
In Missouri, the NAACP sued in state court under rules governing when the governor can call special sessions. Essentially, Kehoe argues he is not facing an extension that justifies the rezoning sessions that were normally held 10 years after the federal census.
People in the Cleaver area say race encourages debate.
Bishop Donna Simon of the Kansas City-based American Evangelical Lutheran Church is a brave attempt to deprive people of color, poor voters, voters from immigrant communities, voters and voters of their rights. “We’ve already lost a lot over the past few years as the gap between workers and those at the top of the economic ladder has grown more widely,” Simon said.
Sandra Powell, a 77-year-old retired teacher, surrounded the rezoning efforts as a backslide.
She recalls her as a first-year student who hasn’t been able to attend all the white schools, three blocks away from her home. She changed schools only after the Supreme Court declared segregated schools unconstitutional in 1954.
“It seems worse than it was (now),” Powell said.
Her ancestors added that Jim Crow South left for more rights and a better life.
“And now, when people aren’t taking it seriously,” she said, “it can be taken away.”
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Barrow was reported from Atlanta. Associated Press Reporter John Hannah contributed from Kang’s Topeka.
