Friend,

Voting rights advocates in the Gulf Coast city of Mobile, Alabama, won a historic victory last August when the city council adopted a redistricting map that could give voters the opportunity to elect a majority-Black council for the first time.

But a proposal by the city’s mayor to annex predominantly white areas west of the city could bring in 26,000 new residents, once again diluting Black voting strength and undoing the progress made toward a city council map that fairly reflects the demographics of this majority-Black city.

“Naturally, adding more white voters and fewer Black voters would reduce the proportion of Black voters in the city, making it more difficult for Black voters to elect their candidates of choice,” said Jack Genberg, senior staff attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Voting Rights Practice Group. The SPLC’s advocacy led to the map that better reflects the city’s diversity.

“The irony, of course, is that white people have left Mobile over the decades,” said Jim Flowers, 67, director of All Saints Episcopal Church, who has been heavily involved with the redistricting process. “Regarding redistricting, annexation could hurt the racial balance that we’ve already achieved – and the mayor is hell-bent on annexing West Mobile.”

The council could vote next month on whether to allow a special election for the plan in March. If the proposal, which still hasn’t been released publicly, is passed, it would swell the population to 213,000 people, making it the state’s second-largest city.

It could also potentially change the course of the city’s elections. The recently adopted redistricting plan creates four majority-Black districts. Currently, three of the seven council members are Black.

“Now the water has gotten muddied,” Flowers said. “I’m not against annexation, but I am against annexing our way out of a majority-Black city. The white city council members consistently say that it’s not about race. But if you’re in the public life in the U.S., it is always about race – always.”

READ MORE

In solidarity,

Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center

The SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.

Friend, will you make a gift to help the SPLC fight for justice and equity in courts and combat white supremacy?