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PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton - Season 2026 Episode 32
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00:06Tonight we look to a very different America for millions of voters, specifically black
00:13voters, who just watched our conservative Supreme Court eviscerate the Voting Rights
00:19Act with last week's ruling against Louisiana voting maps.
00:24That ruling, calling the maps an illegal racial gerrymander, has unleashed Republican state
00:31lawmakers across the South to fast-track redistricting at President Trump's demand.
00:38And legal combat from both sides have followed in Louisiana, where voters and voter advocates
00:45have sued the state over the suspension of its U.S. House primaries following the court's
00:52decision.
00:53Early voting in that election began this weekend, and the expected chaos seemed like a prelude
01:00to what we can expect six months out from a midterm election that will determine not just
01:07the nation's direction, but whether black and brown representation isn't stamped out across
01:14the country.
01:15Joining me now, Congressman Cleo Fields, one of the two Democrats, Democratic Congress members
01:22serving in the state of Louisiana.
01:25Congressman Fields, we appreciate you joining us again.
01:28You were with us here on the show last weekend ahead of the court decision on the K-Lay, and
01:38you were hopeful at that time that the ruling might not be as bad as some of us feared it'd
01:44be.
01:44Now that it's come down, what's your reaction?
01:48And have you seen what's followed from Republicans in just the past few days?
01:55Well, first of all, let me thank you, Reverend Al Sharpton, for having me today.
01:59And you're absolutely right.
02:00I was much more optimistic than many members in the civil rights community.
02:05I was wrong.
02:06They were right.
02:07I just had hope.
02:08I had hope that the Supreme Court would rule the right way, and they did not.
02:13The aftermath is just unconscionable.
02:16I mean, the secretary of state here in Louisiana has decided to just toss out ballots, decided
02:22to, you know, stop an election that was already in process.
02:26The Supreme Court never said that the election should not go forward.
02:31The secretary of state, along with the governor, decided to halt the election, even after sending
02:36100,000 ballots to people, many overseas.
02:40Many people have already voted in this election.
02:42Candidates are already qualified in this election.
02:45And to halt it at the last minute before you even give the litigants their last say, because
02:52according to the Supreme Court own rules, 44.1, the adverse party has 25 days to file for
03:00rehearings.
03:01So, I mean, there's really technically no final judgment from the Supreme Court yet.
03:07And but the Louisiana government has decided to move forward.
03:12And that's I think that's in poor case and I think it's untimely.
03:16And lawsuits have been filed against it.
03:18Now, now, staying with that, Louisiana voters, Democratic candidates and lawmakers and several
03:24civil rights groups have sued your Republican governor, Jeff Landry, over his order last
03:30week to suspend Louisiana's U.S.
03:33House primaries following the ruling, even though the ruling can be appealed and and we have not
03:39seen the effects.
03:40And even though people have already voted early voting in this primary, this the approaches are
03:48different. But the thrust is the same that Landry overstepped his authority under state law.
03:54One of the suits were was brought by Democrats in the Louisiana legislature, including members of the
04:01state's legislative black caucus. Since it's your district that's at state, has your office been in
04:09touch with them or any of the other plaintiffs in any of these lawsuits?
04:14Oh, absolutely. We've been in touch with, in fact, all of the the parties in terms of those who
04:22have filed lawsuits. In fact, we have joined one of the lawsuits as recent as today. I mean, listen,
04:29you just can't disenfranchise people from voting in Louisiana. You know, people have already voted
04:36and it's just atrocity to just take away. Think you have the right to just take away their right to
04:42vote. And that was the biggest argument about this lawsuit to begin with. You know, voters brought
04:48this lawsuit saying that they were disenfranchised under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution,
04:53which was not the case. You know, Louisiana's minority population, as you know, Reverend Sharpton,
04:59is over 33 percent black. You know, there were other ways the district could have been created.
05:05Politics drove the creation of this district, made it look the way it looked. And, and, and I mean,
05:13and look, you can't appeal the Supreme Court's ruling. Obviously, it's the final say of the court,
05:18but the Supreme Court has rules. And 44.1 says, you know, it's not a final ruling until the time
05:26delays pass. And we got 25 days since the day of the ruling to file for a rehearing. And, and
05:33the state
05:34decided to just halt the election. And I think that was, you know, unconscionable, un-American,
05:39you know, I mean, it was just the wrong thing to do. And I would hope that we prevail in
05:44that,
05:45from that perspective. And they're halting the election, even though some people have already
05:49voted. But several states, both blue and red, have taken up this redistricting in, in the last year.
05:57But many of them have gone through a voter referendum, putting the question before the people,
06:03even in some states led by Republicans. What do you take from Landry trying to do this through
06:10executive order versus a ballot measurement? And, and, and will it stand, Congressman?
06:17I don't think it will. I really don't. I really don't think it will stand because people had already
06:21started voting. First of all, candidates had already qualified to vote. People had already received their
06:30early voting ballots. Many people in Louisiana had already turned in their early voting ballots.
06:37Military people, personnel who lives outside of the country, overseas, had sent some of their ballots in.
06:44Over a hundred thousand people had already received their ballots. The election started Saturday,
06:51yesterday. And there was just no reason to halt it. The Supreme Court did not say
06:56that the election couldn't be held under this voting map, this term. And, and, and, and, and it was too
07:04late to change it, quite frankly. But the state chose to do it, halt the election anyway. And I think
07:10it was
07:11wrong. I think it was untimely. And I think, you know, we should win on that, on those basis.
07:17I don't think it can be overstated just how existential of a crisis this is for black elected
07:24officials like yourself and others whose districts are now endangered. Because while Democrats could
07:31possibly redraw a blue state map to make up for Republican gains in a red state like Louisiana,
07:38there's no guarantee that it would go to a black lawmaker. It, and, and, and I, it'll still do
07:46nothing to grow black representation in the former Confederacy. What does this mean for our country's
07:53future if we can't stop this somehow? I mean, it's like a post-Reconstruction, quite frankly. I mean,
08:00it's Reconstruction all over again. It's, uh, it's taken away, uh, a privilege, a right that, uh,
08:07African-Americans and other minorities have had, you know, since the passage of the 14th, I mean,
08:1315th amendment of the constitution. And then 60 years ago, the passage of the voting rights act,
08:18we don't have subsection five, which is something we always depended on as, uh, litigants, as lawmakers.
08:25Uh, uh, we depended on the federal government coming to our defense when states like Louisiana,
08:31Mississippi, Alabama passed laws that disenfranchised our vote. We can't depend
08:37on that anymore. And now they've taken away section two for the most part, you know, which is
08:42vote dilution. So we really, in my view, don't have a voting rights act anymore. We got to pass a
08:48new
08:49one and we got to make it clear and unambiguous. And we need to make, uh, you know, make sure
08:54that
08:54the court leaves nothing, leave nothing for the court, uh, interpretation. Uh, it said black voters,
09:01minority voters back, uh, centuries, uh, in this country. And it is, it is absolutely terrible.
09:08And I say to people all the time, the issue is not, whether or not I serve another day in
09:13Congress.
09:14That's not the issue. The issue is, will a person like me look, who looks like me have the opportunity
09:22to serve in count, uh, Congress and not just Congress in the state legislatures, they're next
09:28city councils, local school boards, all over this country are now, you know, uh, free season.
09:35They are under attack. I mean, they have no protections, uh, from the federal government,
09:40uh, which is something we have always had the benefit of. You know, we had the right to vote,
09:46but states like Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and other Southern states prohibit us from voting by
09:52having, you know, prerequisites, literacy tests, how many bubbles in a bar of soap, you know, uh,
09:59state to preammer to the constitution. And that's, that's why they passed the voting rights act to give
10:04minorities that real right, uh, to, to vote. And it should be unimpeded, uh, shouldn't be, uh,
10:11impeded at all. And now we don't have the protection of the voting rights act. And it's a very terrible
10:17thing, uh, particularly for people who live in the Southern part of our country. All right. Thank
10:23you, Congressman Cleo Fields being with us. The Supreme court's latest blow to the voting rights
10:29act is raising urgent questions about black political power and who gets a fair chance to
10:35represent their communities. Make no mistake. This is a huge setback. On the other hand, black candidates
10:43and black women in particular have already proven they can win far beyond majority black districts.
10:50Only about a dozen of the 60 current CBC congressional black caucus members represent majority black
10:58districts. And the number of women in the caucus now, the black caucus now stands at 31 to continue
11:06the conversation. We're joined by Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and California
11:13Congresswoman Sydney Kamalaga Dove. Uh, thank you both for being with us. Congresswoman Kamalaga Dove. Uh,
11:22how does this ruling impact black representation in Congress and what should be dominant done about it?
11:30Well, first of all, uh, Reverend Sharpton, I just want to say how important your voice is in this moment,
11:36given your history in the movement, uh, as representative field said, this is a devastating blow, uh,
11:44to black voters, to minority voters. Uh, that is why the congressional black caucus is going to be making its
11:50way
11:50down to Louisiana to remind voters that they still have an obligation to fight and that we are going to
11:57meet this
11:58moment in the courts as well as in the streets. You know, Clarence Thomas hopefully should find a piece
12:03of his black self and come on down to Louisiana with us. But it is important to note that many
12:09of us
12:09that are African Americans in Congress do not represent majority, uh, minority seats. We are doing the work
12:18of all of the people, Republicans, Democrats, black folks, white folks, Asian folks, brown folks.
12:24And when we do our jobs, we are fighting for everyone and that the tide rises, uh, for all of
12:31the boats. And so we still have an obligation to remind folks that yes, you have, uh, you, your power
12:37is in your vote. And if you level the playing field, if you allow it to be equal, then let
12:44the candidate,
12:45let all of the candidates run and leave it to the voters to decide who is going to represent them
12:50the
12:50best. That's what I have had to do in all of my time in elected office. I've been honored to
12:56represent,
12:56uh, uh, districts that are incredibly diverse, but I am serving all of the people, not just black
13:03people. This suggests that the court either only wants us to serve black people or don't want us to
13:09serve anyone. And either way you slice it, it is wrong and unconstitutional.
13:15Congresswoman Presley, same question to you. How should we be reacting to this?
13:21Well, it is a devastating ruling and it's just important to bear in mind that, uh, when the
13:26Voting Rights Act was passed, the whole point was to right a wrong. Uh, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
13:32said that it was a victory for black America, but it would enrich the lives of all Americans. So this
13:37is a devastating blow. Um, that being said, um, you know, Rev, it is, uh, in many ways, uh, predictable
13:44and as black people, we have pattern recognition here. Uh, the Trump administration and their
13:49hostilities and their, uh, anti-black agenda have been, uh, unrelenting and coordinated in their attacks
13:56on, uh, black workers, uh, on black bodies, on black voters, on black power, black progress. I mean,
14:05uh, the secretary of war, Pete Hexas was just before the Senate and would not even agree to not
14:12deploy uniform military to our polling places, if given that directive by Donald Trump. And let's
14:21just remember, even with the, uh, operation, uh, surge in Minneapolis, um, with aggressive ice
14:28enforcement and loss of life in the midst of that, Donald Trump said, we'll, we'll pull back if you
14:34give us the roles. So this is democracy and disenfranchising the most marginalized because
14:44we are the supermajority and that bothers them. But black folks are going to do what we've always
14:49done, what Bob Moses did, what Fannie Lou Hamer did. Um, we're going to, we're going to litigate,
14:56legislate, agitate, organize, and mobilize for our full rights and citizenship. And we're going to force a
15:03vote, congressional black caucus. We will force a house vote on the John Lewis voting rights
15:09advancement act. These folks across the aisle, Rad, they quote John Lewis all the time. They
15:13quote Dr. King all the time. And they work actively to degrade their legacy and their work by trying to
15:20erase black history, to erase black voters, to erase black progress, to erase black people. But you
15:26cannot erase us. Congresswoman Kamalaga Dove, this voting rights case is not the only major matter
15:35before this conservative Supreme Court. Since Friday's access to, uh, uh, to the, uh, Mephistophon,
15:44uh, by mail has been blocked after a federal appeals court ruling. And now the drug makers are asking the
15:54Supreme Court to step in for women across this country, especially poor women and women in states
16:00hostile to abortion rights. What does it mean when the courts are not only rolling back voting rights,
16:07but also reaching into decisions about reproductive health care?
16:13So this is also rev, you know, the same, uh, Supreme Court that delivered the Dobbs decision
16:19of the reversal of Roe v. Wade, uh, and the basically obliterating section two of the Voting Rights
16:26Act. I, I have zero confidence in this Supreme Court and the majority of American people have
16:31zero confidence in this Supreme Court. This is supposed to be a court that protects the rights
16:36of Americans and not takes away the rights of Americans. You are seeing this with this recent
16:41decision from the first, from the fifth circuit, which basically says that now you're no longer able
16:48to mail Mifepristone to a patient. The patient will have to come in person to receive that kind
16:54of medication. Studies show studies show that telehealth medicine works and in states that are
17:01inhospitable to women who need reproductive care, this is going to be devastating. I am co-chair of
17:09Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles, and we are going to fight this in the courts. We are definitely going
17:13to appeal it, but we are also going to continue to make sure that we meet patients where they are
17:19and deliver them the care that they need so that these women, when they are searching for reproductive
17:25health care, when they are managing through a miscarriage and need medical support, that they
17:31have the reproductive health care that they need, that they deserve, and the health care of their choice.
17:39Congresswoman Presley, the Supreme Court is also considering the fate of Haitian TPS holders,
17:47people who have built lives here, worked here, raised families here, and contributed to this country.
17:54You are chair of the Haiti caucus. What is at stake for Haitian families if this court allows protections
18:02to be stripped away? And what should Congress be doing right now? We're out of time,
18:07but I had to bring up this Haitian question. Thank you, Rev. Let me just say whether you're
18:12talking about extending temporary protective status for 360,000 Haitian nationals that call this country
18:18home who are here legally, or whether you're talking about denying health care access to millions of
18:26women with this Trump stacked extremist court. We need to reform the Supreme Court. We need to expand
18:33the court. We need ethics reform. We need term limits. They are a clear and present danger to
18:39much of the progress that has been made in this country, whether you're talking about voting
18:43rights, reproductive freedom, or the 1.3 million people here in this country on temporary protected
18:49status. The House did pass my discharge petition, and the Senate must take that up quickly. And I'm
18:56just appealing to the Supreme Court to just uphold the law. These 360,000 Haitian nationals make
19:02incredible contributions to our health care industries, to construction, to hospitality,
19:07to civic life, and to our communities. And when my mother was dying, Rev, it was Haitian nurses,
19:12like so many in nursing homes and hospitals and home health care throughout this country that prayed
19:18over her, that oiled her scalp, that lovingly braided her hair. So this is true for millions of people.
19:24And that's why I've been fighting in defense of our Haitian neighbors. I represent the third
19:28largest Haitian diaspora in the country. All right, representatives Ayanna Pressley and
19:34Congresswoman Sydney Kanelaga Dove. Thank you both for being with us. Just ahead,
19:40how the Supreme Court's historic decision on voting rights is impacting Florida. Stay tuned.
19:47You're watching Politics Nation on MSNOW.
19:59Welcome back to Politics Nation on MSNOW. Let's turn now to Florida, the latest state to join the
20:08redistricting fight ahead of November's midterm elections, which will redetermine the balance
20:15of power on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, Florida passed a new map that could help the GOP pick up
20:23four more congressional seats, just hours after the Supreme Court delivered a major blow to the Voting
20:30Rights Act, opening the door to even more aggressive political gerrymandering. Joining me now is Nikki
20:37Freed, chair of Florida's Democratic Party. To start, the Democrats are calling this map illegal as it
20:45runs counter to voter-approved anti-gerrymandering standards in Florida. Democrats are also hoping
20:52to win a few seats in Florida in this year's midterms. How would Florida's proposed map impact those plans,
21:01and is this going to turn out in DeSantis' favor? Well, first of all, thanks for having me on today
21:08to discuss this very important issue that's happening here in the state of Florida. And just to level set
21:12for anybody who's watching, in 2010, Floridians in our state passed what we call the Fair District's
21:18Amendment by almost 70 percent of Floridians. And that was to protect, to make sure that this moment didn't
21:24happen in Florida, that the maps were drawn in nonpartisan way. And what Ron DeSantis did is he
21:29went on Fox News Monday morning and unveiled this new map that even the legislators who are in charge
21:35of the responsibility of drawing maps went on to Fox News, showed a map that was very color-coded,
21:41red and blue seats, and also talked about what a registration difference is in between Republicans
21:46and Democrats. That is all absolutely unconstitutional in the state of Florida.
21:51And so what they've done is not only have they played around with the maps unconstitutionally,
21:57but they've also watered down their own red district seats. So I do believe that not only
22:01has Florida been overperforming the national average, moving left 17 points since 2025,
22:06we've also flipped 29 seats throughout the entire state, getting the first Democrat elected to the
22:12city of Miami mayor, to Boca, we flipped Mar-a-Lago, we flipped Hillsborough County,
22:17we flipped Escambia County. So there's a lot of things that I would have not advised DeSantis to do
22:22this. And polling today still shows that almost 89 percent of Floridians will vote against legislators
22:29who actually voted for these maps. So we're pretty bullish that not only are we going to reelect
22:33all eight of our members of the Democratic congressional delegation, but we are going to flip seats.
22:39Florida has become the number one unaffordable state in the nation. People are frustrated.
22:44They're frustrated with what's happening in Tallahassee. They're aggravated and at dismay of
22:48what's happening in Washington, D.C. They can't put gas in their tanks. They can't pay for their
22:52health care. They can't pay for their rent. The list goes on and on and on. This is why we
22:56are so
22:57confident that with the right candidates that we have all around our state, that we're going to not
23:01only protect our eight, but also bring some more Democrats to D.C.
23:04Now, Republicans are trying to claim that black majority districts across the country are racially
23:11discriminatory. Yet Florida's governor this week has been out mocking House Democratic leader Hakeem
23:18Jeffries using an offensive accent. What do you make of the GOP's racist rhetoric right now at the same
23:27time they're dismantling civil rights protections that have been an important part of our democracy for
23:33decades now? Remember that this has been DeSantis' MO. You know, just a couple of years ago,
23:39he got right rid of black history in our school system. Back in 2022, he actually vetoed the maps
23:48from the legislature during the actual redistricting period of time so that he can draw his own maps to
23:53dismantle one of our black elected congressional seats in the panhandle. So this is what Ron DeSantis has
24:00consistently been doing, you know, the Stop Woke Act, the DEI attacks. And so I'm not surprised
24:06that DeSantis continues to stoop lower and lower and lower when it comes to his rhetoric and protecting
24:11all 23 million Floridians that are here in our state. He is charged with that responsibility as
24:17a governor for all 23 million. He continues to be derelict in that responsibility. And of course,
24:23but this is the culture that has been created the last 10 years by Donald Trump,
24:27you know, that we mock our elected officials. We try to dehumanize them. This is not what we
24:32want to be teaching our children of how to interact in a civilized society. And fortunately,
24:37Ron DeSantis has been leading the way of trying to dismantle that type of human decency in our state,
24:43making it more and more dangerous and the rhetoric continuing to increase. And we saw that
24:48on his attacks of leader Jeffries this week. Now, on Friday, Trump was in villages in Florida,
24:54trying to sell seniors on what he's calling the golden age for their golden years. He also spent
25:01a lot of time rambling on about malfunctioning microphones and the village people. Nikki, as
25:08party leader, you helped organize counter demonstrations during Trump's visit. How are Floridians
25:15reacting to the president's midterm message? I was there on Friday talking to so many of our seniors
25:24that live in the villages, and they're angry. They are angry at what is happening to Washington,
25:29D.C., whether it is their attacks on the economy here in our state and across the country. A lot
25:35of
25:35our seniors are veterans. They've seen the attacks on their health care system, on the VA. And a lot
25:42of them are seeing that we have a commander in chief that doesn't have a human decency to protect
25:47the men and women of our of our military, both here at home and overseas. So our seniors out here
25:54are not being fooled by what this that this president is doing here. They are organizing on the ground.
26:00We are organizing in all parts of our state. We started what we call the pendulum product beginning
26:04part of 2025, organizing in all parts of our state. And so our seniors are feeling like this is their
26:12chance to make sure that we don't go back, that the next 250 years of our country is going to
26:18be a
26:18democracy. And they have a responsibility to organize right now and to make sure that they're having
26:23conversations. So they're pissed and they're getting organized. And we plan on making sure that the
26:28state of Florida sees some incredible wins in this election cycle.
26:32Nikki Freed, thank you for being with us. Coming up, the Supreme Court sets backs. And what's next?
26:40We'll hear from an attorney who will argue some of the appeals we're seeing as a result of the voting
26:46rights ruling.
26:53Welcome back to Politics Nation on MSNOW. Last week's Supreme Court decision on Louisiana's voting map
27:01set off a flood of legal challenges in the state. But the Pelican state is just the latest in a
27:09growing
27:10effort to redraw maps on both sides of the aisle. And the ruling is expected to have lasting
27:16implications for the entire nation ahead of an election just six months away. Joining me now
27:23with more than that is Abba Conner, political attorney with the Elias Law Group. Ms. Conner,
27:30thank you for being with us tonight. What's your reaction? Let's start there. What's your reaction to
27:36this ruling? Good evening, Reverend. Thank you so much for having me on. I think my reaction is the
27:41same as anybody who's a litigator in this voting rights space. And frankly, any American who cares about
27:46democracy, the voting rights act is a hallmark of our democratic government. It has been just a
27:55catalyst for real change and progress toward equal opportunity for black and brown voters. It has done
28:02a lot of work since the 1960s when it was first enacted, and that work is not done. And so
28:07the
28:07Supreme Court's decision to essentially defang it of its most powerful agency and ability to actually
28:14create change is devastating. It's devastating for me personally. It's devastating for all black and
28:20brown voters. And really, it should be devastating for all Americans. Now, this ruling has been cast as
28:26the most severe gutting of the voting rights act in its history to folks to the folks watching. Tell us
28:34how bad is it? And is there any daylight here, any daylight, any opportunities for pro-democracy
28:41and voting rights advocates to push back and possibly reverse the damage with help from a different
28:48Congress? Well, I think, yes, it is extremely bad what the Supreme Court has just done to the voting
28:54rights act. And yes, it is absolutely possible for a Congress that wants to make change to make real
29:02change. The voting rights act is a piece of legislation that had been reauthorized time and time again by
29:07multiple Congresses. And it's certainly within the power of any Congress, including a newly elected
29:13Congress in 2026 to decide that this decision should not stand. And at the very least, the kind
29:18of partisan warfare and open discrimination that it allows for in the name of partisan politics
29:25is just not permissible and to strike it down on a nationwide basis.
29:29Now, we have a midterm election in six months and primaries are underway in many states like
29:36Louisiana, where early voting just started. How much do you expect November to be impacted
29:42by the Supreme Court's decision? And what do you make of the court not applying the so-called
29:49Purcell principle in this case by trying to avoid changes to election law at the last minute?
29:59Look, I don't think that this ruling should make any difference when it comes to the 2026 elections.
30:05We know from this court in our Alabama Voting Rights Act case just a few years ago,
30:09when we won an injunction in January of 2022. This court, Supreme Court said that that was too late
30:16for a court ruling to have any impact on an upcoming election. That was January.
30:21And they were talking about a May primary. Here, this decision came down at the end of April.
30:25The primary in Alabama and in Louisiana are already in full swing. And under the court's
30:31jurisprudence, it should not be allowed to have any impact on those ongoing elections. It should
30:36not be allowed to upend election administration. And it certainly should not be allowed to disenfranchise
30:41voters who have already cast ballots. The Supreme Court actually hasn't said yet whether the timing
30:47of its ruling was intended to really just throw a bomb in the middle of these elections. We have since
30:53applied to the Supreme Court to make clear and implored it to make clear to Louisiana and Alabama and any
30:59other state that this is not a blessing to go and upend existing and ongoing elections for 2026.
31:05And it does not upend what you call what you've mentioned is the Purcell principle,
31:09which is that court rulings should not interfere with upcoming and certainly not ongoing elections.
31:15Republican governors, let me follow up on that. Republican governors in the South are wasting no time
31:21in capitalizing on this. Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and of course, Louisiana, all of them taking up
31:29districting at the request of their governors and ultimately President Trump at his request.
31:36Looking around the country, where else can we expect to see an immediate impact
31:40because of this ruling or not? Look, I hope that pretty soon the Supreme Court is going to come down
31:47and say no to Alabama, to Tennessee, to Louisiana, and particularly to any other state who has already
31:55conducted a primary election under its existing map or who is in the middle of an election under the
32:00existing map to say, no, you cannot start from throw out those ballots and start from scratch.
32:05It doesn't surprise me that some of these governors and legislatures have tried to weaponize this ruling,
32:11but it is certainly a far cry from what they've said in previous cases. When we won a new opportunity
32:17district for black voters in Louisiana in 2022, back in spring of 2022, Louisiana screamed and cried and
32:27said, no, it's too late. We can't possibly change the election dates at this time. We're already in
32:32full swing. And here we have Louisiana seems all too eager to upend its entire election process,
32:38redraw statutes. That's not how this democracy was built. That's not how this judicial doctrine
32:43in electoral law operates. No matter how bad the Supreme Court ruling is on the substance,
32:50as a procedural matter, we should not allow it to drive a train through ongoing elections. And I really
32:56hope that the Supreme Court is going to make that clear in the coming days to put a stop to
33:00not
33:00just those states, but any other state that's hoping to take advantage and weaponize this opportunity
33:05at the expense of voters. Bakana, political attorney, thank you for being with us. Just ahead,
33:13the runway revolutionized how black fashion will be on display at this year's 2026 Met Gala.
33:33Welcome back to Politics Nation on MS Now. The dress code is fashion as art tomorrow night at the
33:43Metropolitan Museum of Art, and it will be hosting the biggest night in fashion, the 2026 Met Gala.
33:50And for black communities, fashion has never been just about what we wear. It has been a statement,
33:56a form of survival, a declaration of dignity from Sunday best to street wear, from protest style
34:03to high fashion. And for the third year in a row, I'll be there on the red carpet. Now,
34:09many of those that are involved, I agree with politically that there are some people we question
34:16that have always been sponsors. But I also think it's important that we support Beyonce and others that
34:23are co-chairing tomorrow night. And Anna Winter, who has worked with us on diversity. So I'll be
34:30wearing my Asia McShore gear on the red carpet to support the black art that is making it down the
34:37runway. So here to explore this with me is Jonathan Michael Square, assistant professor of black in black
34:44visual culture at Parsons school of design. Jonathan, this year's Met Gala theme is custom art
34:52with the dress code fashion is art. What does that theme say to you, especially as someone who studies
34:59black visual culture? Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, since this is intervening in a longstanding debate,
35:05is fashion art? And of course, the exhibition is arguing that fashion is indeed art. Unfortunately,
35:12this year's theme will not be focusing on blackness, but I'm looking forward to seeing
35:16all the black celebrities that will be on the red carpet.
35:19Now, the exhibit is focused on dressed body and how it is represented in art and fashion.
35:26For black communities, fashion has often been more than personal style. There's been identity,
35:31resistance, status, protection, even protests. We saw that highlighted last year when the theme was
35:39super fine, tailoring black style. How do you see that history showing up in a theme like tomorrow?
35:45Yeah. Last year's theme was really groundbreaking. I mean, just think about four black male co-chairs
35:51for the Met Gala. That was revolutionary. This year, it won't be focused on blackness. However,
35:59Beyonce is a co-chair and I'm excited to see her and what she's wearing. I suspect,
36:04I hope that she'll be announcing the third act of the trilogy. And Venus Williams. I mean,
36:10that's what I'm saying. I agree to go and, as I said, they should be sure those that addressed me
36:15before we even knew who the sponsors were. I've been with the Amazon crowd,
36:19a long time supporting them, but I don't want to confuse.
36:26It's controversial for a number of reasons. Typically, corporations like TikTok or eBay or Instagram
36:33fund the Met Gala. This year, it's funded by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos, which is a
36:39controversial decision. Right. Now, as you mentioned,
36:42Beyonce is one of the co-chairs. You have Beyonce and Venus Williams, both co-chairing two black women
36:49who have reshaped music, sports, beauty and global culture. At the same time, Jeff Bezos and Lauren
36:57Sanchez Bezos are serving as honorary chairs and major backers of the event, drawing a lot of
37:04criticism. And again, Mayor Zoran Mandani is reportedly not attending, breaking a decades-long
37:10tradition of New York City mayors attending the gala. But as I said, some of us go because we're
37:18supporting those that have been excluded. And you and I are talking about Andre and others that fought to
37:24get us in. And I don't want it. I don't want the issue to be, oh, we left them out
37:29there. We had
37:30black old chairs and black artists, though I do not support a lot of the politics of some of the
37:36sponsors. And I have not in the last two years I've gone. But though this is a night
37:42that wants to present itself as fashion and philanthropy, is politics just inevitable,
37:48though? Is that tension part of the story of fashion itself, beauty and power occupying the same
37:54room? Absolutely. And I suspect that there will be protesters at this year's Met Gala,
38:00if not in person, then online. Absolutely. I mean, this is a very political event. Like you said,
38:06politicians often aren't in attendance. But I think there's room for celebrating black ingenuity,
38:12creativity and our presence. At the same time, not supporting the politics are the supporters of
38:19the funders of this event. And you could say your politics as you do it. I remember AOC went
38:26and wore an outfit. And I feel that we have a responsibility, though, as we break through,
38:33particularly when we've had the issue in fashions for black artists and black
38:40stylists, that we support them. Jonathan Michael Square, assistant professor in black visual culture
38:46at Parsons. Thank you for being with us. Up next, my final thoughts. Stay with us.
39:05Today, I remember my close friend, father figure and mentor, James Brown, the godfather of soul,
39:12what would have been his 93rd birthday. James Brown took me under his wing as a teenager preacher
39:19and showed me my place in the world from the stage to the White House, where in 1982,
39:27he and I met with then President Ronald Reagan and Vice President Bush to lobby for a holiday in honor
39:35of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that Mrs. King was leading the drive that eventually happened.
39:41James Brown taught me the importance of getting in the fight and never giving up, which brings me to this.
39:47In 1901, North Carolina Representative George Henry White, George Henry White announced he was retiring
39:55as the last Reconstruction-era black lawmaker in Washington. In his final address, he said,
40:03this is perhaps the Negro's temporary farewell to the American Congress. But let me say,
40:09Phoenix-like, we will rise up someday and come again. No black person would serve in Congress after that
40:17for almost 30 years following the brief flurry of representation in the immediate aftermath of the
40:25Civil War. Blacks never again held congressional seats in significant numbers until the passage of the
40:32Voting Rights Act of 1965. The current Congress started with a record high of 66 black members. And yet,
40:42after the Supreme Court Kalaya's case, Kalaya's decision, the future is very uncertain. The one thing I can say,
40:52for sure, is that event, if there are setbacks, we will overcome and we will rise again and bigger and
41:02stronger than ever before. This movement has come too far and fought too hard to turn back now.
41:10That does it for me. Thanks for watching. I'll see you back here next weekend at 5 p.m. Eastern.
41:16The weekend primetime starts right here on MSNOW at the top of the hour.
41:32It is 6 p.m. here in New York. I'm Ayman Mohyedin along with Elise Jordan, Catherine Rampal, Antonia.
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