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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 Congressmembers
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.
01:37And you were hopeful at that time that the ruling might not be as bad as some of us feared
01:43it'd
01:44be.
01:44Now that it's come down, what's your reaction?
01:47And 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 stop an election that was already in process.
02:25The 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.
02:43Candidates are already qualified in this election.
02:46And 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.
03:07But the Louisiana government has decided to move forward.
03:12And I think that's in poor case and I think is untimely.
03:16And lawsuits have been filed against it.
03:18Now, staying with that, Louisiana voters, Democratic candidates and lawmakers and several civil rights
03:25groups have sued your Republican governor, Jeff Landry, over his order last week to suspend
03:31Louisiana's U.S. House primaries following the ruling.
03:35Even though the ruling can be appealed and we have not seen the effects, and even though
03:41people have already voted early voting in this primary, the approaches are different, but the
03:49thrust is the same, that Landry overstepped his authority under state law.
03:54One of the suits was brought by Democrats in the Louisiana legislature, including members of the
04:01state's legislative black caucus.
04:03Since it's your district that's at state, has your office been in touch with them or any of
04:10the other plaintiffs in any of these lawsuits?
04:14Oh, absolutely.
04:15We've been in touch with, in fact, all of the parties in terms of those who have filed lawsuits.
04:23In fact, we have joined one of the lawsuits as recent as today.
04:28I mean, listen, you just can't disenfranchise people from voting in Louisiana.
04:34You know, people have already voted and it's just atrocity to just take away, think you
04:40have the right to just take away their right to vote.
04:42And that was the biggest argument about this lawsuit to begin with.
04:46You know, voters brought this lawsuit saying that they were disenfranchised under the 14th
04:52Amendment of the Constitution, which was not the case.
04:55You know, Louisiana's minority population, as you know, Reverend Sharpton, is over 33 percent
05:01black.
05:02You 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.
05:11And I mean, look, you can't appeal the Supreme Court's ruling.
05:16Obviously, it's the final say of the court.
05:18But the Supreme Court has rules.
05:21And 44.1 says, you know, it's not a final ruling until the time delays pass.
05:27And we've got 25 days since the day of the ruling to file for a rehearing.
05:32And the state decided to just halt the election.
05:36And I think that was, you know, unconscionable, un-American.
05:39You know, I mean, it was just the wrong thing to do.
05:42And I would hope that we prevail in that from that perspective.
05:46And they're halting the election, even though some people have already voted.
05:50But several states, both blue and red, have taken up this redistricting in the last year.
05:57But many of them have gone through a voter referendum, putting the question before the
06:03people, even in some states led by Republicans.
06:06What do you take from Landry trying to do this through executive order versus a ballot measurement?
06:13And will it stand, Congressman?
06:16I don't think it will.
06:18I really don't.
06:19I really don't think it will stand because people had already started voting.
06:23First of all, candidates had already qualified to vote.
06:28People had already received their early voting ballots.
06:31Many people in Louisiana had already turned in their early voting ballots.
06:36Military people, personnel who lives outside of the country, overseas, had sent some of their
06:43ballots in.
06:44Over 100,000 people had already received their ballots.
06:48The election started Saturday, yesterday.
06:52And there was just no reason to halt it.
06:54The Supreme Court did not say that the election couldn't be held under this voting map this term.
07:03And it was too late to change it, quite frankly.
07:06But the state chose to do it, halt the election anyway.
07:10And I think it was wrong.
07:11I think it was untimely.
07:13And 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 officials
07:24like yourself and others, whose districts are now endangered.
07:29Because while Democrats could possibly redraw a blue state map to make up for Republican gains
07:36in a red state like Louisiana, there's no guarantee that it would go to a black lawmaker.
07:42It and I, it'll still do nothing to grow black representation in the former Confederacy.
07:50What does this mean for our country's future if we can't stop this somehow?
07:56I mean, it's like a post-Reconstruction, quite frankly.
07:59I mean, it's Reconstruction all over again.
08:02It's taken away a privilege, a right that African-Americans and other minorities have had,
08:10you know, since the passage of the 14th, I mean, 15th Amendment of the Constitution.
08:14And then, 60 years ago, the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
08:18We don't have Subsection 5, which is something we always depended on as litigants, as lawmakers.
08:26We depended on the federal government coming to our defense when states like Louisiana, Mississippi,
08:32Alabama passed laws that disenfranchised our vote.
08:36We can't depend on that anymore.
08:37And now they have taken away Section 2, for the most part, you know, which is vote dilution.
08:43So we really, in my view, don't have a Voting Rights Act anymore.
08:47We got to pass a new one, and we got to make it clear and unambiguous, and we need to
08:52make,
08:53you know, make sure that the court leaves nothing, leave nothing for the court's interpretation.
08:59It's that black voters, minority voters back centuries in this country.
09:06And it is absolutely terrible.
09:09And I say to people all the time, the issue is not,
09:11whether or not I serve another day in Congress.
09:14That's not the issue.
09:15The issue is, will a person like me, who looks like me, have the opportunity to serve in Congress?
09:24And not just Congress.
09:25In the state legislatures, they're next.
09:28City councils, local school boards, all over this country are now, you know, free season.
09:35They are under attack.
09:36I mean, they have no protections from the federal government,
09:41which is something we have always had the benefit of.
09:44You 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,
09:59state the preammer to the Constitution.
10:01And that's why they passed the Voting Rights Act, to give minorities that real right to vote,
10:08and it shouldn't be unimpeded, shouldn't be impeded at all.
10:12And now we don't have the protection of the Voting Rights Act.
10:15And it's a very terrible thing, particularly for people who live in the southern part of our country.
10:22All right.
10:23Thank you, Congressman Cleo Fields, for being with us.
10:26The Supreme Court's latest blow to the Voting Rights Act is raising urgent questions about
10:31black political power and who gets a fair chance to represent their communities.
10:37Make no mistake.
10:39This is a huge setback.
10:41On the other hand, black candidates and black women in particular have already proven they
10:47can win far beyond majority black districts.
10:50Only about a dozen of the 60 current CBC, Congressional Black Caucus members, represent
10:57majority black districts.
10:59And the number of women in the caucus now, the black caucus, now stands at 31.
11:05To continue the conversation, we're joined by Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Presley
11:11and California Congresswoman Sidney Kamlaga-Dove.
11:16Thank you both for being with us.
11:18Congresswoman Kamlaga-Dove, how does this ruling impact black representation in Congress?
11:26And what should be done about it?
11:29Well, first of all, Reverend Sharpton, I just want to say how important your voice is in
11:35this moment, given your history in the movement.
11:40As Representative Fields said, this is a devastating blow to black voters, to minority voters.
11:47That is why the Congressional Black Caucus is going to be making its way down to Louisiana
11:52to remind voters that they still have an obligation to fight and that we are going to meet this
11:58moment in the courts as well as in the streets.
12:01You know, Clarence Thomas hopefully should find a piece of his black self and come on
12:05down to Louisiana with us.
12:07But it is important to note that many of us that are African Americans in Congress do not
12:13represent majority, minority seats.
12:16We are doing the work of all of the people, Republicans, Democrats, black folks, white folks,
12:22Asian folks, brown folks.
12:24And when we do our jobs, we are fighting for everyone and that the tide rises for all of
12:31the boats.
12:31And so we still have an obligation to remind folks that, yes, you have you, your power is
12:38in your vote.
12:39And if you level the playing field, if you allow it to be equal, then let the candidate, let
12:45all of the candidates run and leave it to the voters to decide who is going to represent
12:50them the best.
12:51That's what I have had to do in all of my time in elected office.
12:55I've been honored to represent districts that are incredibly diverse, but I am serving all
13:01of the people, not just black people.
13:03This suggests that the court either only wants us to serve black people or don't want us to
13:09serve anyone.
13:10And either way you slice it, it is wrong and unconstitutional.
13:15Congresswoman Presley, same question to you.
13:17How should we be reacting to this?
13:21Well, it is a devastating ruling.
13:23And it's just important to bear in mind that when the Voting Rights Act was passed, the
13:28whole point was to right a wrong.
13:30Dr.
13:31Martin Luther King Jr.
13:32Said that it was a victory for black America, but it would enrich the lives of all Americans.
13:37So this is a devastating blow.
13:39That being said, you know, Rev, it is in many ways predictable.
13:44And as black people, we have pattern recognition here.
13:47The Trump administration and their hostilities and their anti-black agenda have been unrelenting
13:55and coordinated in their attacks on black workers, on black bodies, on black voters, on black power,
14:03black progress.
14:04I mean, 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.
14:20And let's just remember, even with the Operation Surge in Minneapolis, with aggressive ICE enforcement
14:29and loss of life, in the midst of that, Donald Trump said, we'll pull back if you give us the
14:35roles.
14:35So this is democracy and disenfranchising the most marginalized because we are the supermajority
14:45and that bothers them.
14:47But black folks are going to do what we've always done, what Bob Moses did, what Fannie Lou Hamer did.
14:52We're going to litigate, legislate, agitate, organize, and mobilize for our full rights and citizenship.
15:02And we are going to force a vote, the Congressional Black Caucus.
15:05We will force a House vote on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
15:10These folks across the aisle, Rav, they quote John Lewis all the time.
15:13They quote Dr. King all the time.
15:15And they work actively to degrade their legacy and their work by trying to erase black history,
15:21to erase black voters, to erase black progress, to erase black people.
15:26But you cannot erase us.
15:27Congresswoman Kamalaga Dove, this voting rights case is not the only major matter before this
15:36conservative Supreme Court.
15:37Since Friday's access to the Mephistophon by mail has been blocked after a federal appeals
15:49court ruling, and now the drug makers are asking the Supreme Court to step in for women across
15:57this country, especially poor women and women in states hostile to abortion rights, what does
16:03it mean when the courts are not only rolling back voting rights, but also reaching into decisions
16:10about reproductive health care?
16:13So this is also, Rev, you know, the same Supreme Court that delivered the Dobbs decision of the
16:20reversal of Roe v. Wade and the basically obliterating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
16:26I have zero confidence in this Supreme Court, and the majority of American people have zero
16:32confidence in this Supreme Court.
16:34There's supposed to be a court that protects the rights of Americans and not takes away the
16:39rights of Americans.
16:40You are seeing this with this recent decision from the Fifth Circuit, which basically says
16:46that now you are no longer able to mail Mifepristone to a patient.
16:50The patient will have to come in person to receive that kind of medication.
16:55Studies show that telehealth medicine works, and in states that are inhospitable to women who
17:03need reproductive care, this is going to be devastating.
17:07I am co-chair of Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles, and we are going to fight this in the courts.
17:12We are definitely going to appeal it, but we are also going to continue to make sure that
17:17we meet patients where they are and deliver them the care that they need so that these women,
17:23when they are searching for reproductive health care, when they are managing through a miscarriage
17:29and need medical support, that they have the reproductive health care that they need,
17:35that 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
17:54country.
17:54You are chair of the Haiti caucus.
17:57What is at stake for Haitian families if this court allows protections to be stripped away,
18:03and what should Congress be doing right now?
18:06We're out of time, but I had to bring up this Haitian question.
18:10Thank you, Rev.
18:11Let me just say, whether you're talking about extending temporary protective status for 360,000
18:16Haitian nationals that call this country home, who are here legally, or whether you're talking about
18:22denying health care access to millions of women with this Trump-stacked extremist court,
18:30we need to reform the Supreme Court.
18:33We need to expand the court.
18:34We need ethics reform.
18:35We need term limits.
18:37They are a clear and present danger to much of the progress that has been made in this country,
18:41whether you're talking about voting rights, reproductive freedom, or the 1.3 million people
18:47here in this country on temporary protected status.
18:50The 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.
18:59These 360,000 Haitian nationals make incredible contributions to our health care industries,
19:05to construction, to hospitality, to civic life, and to our communities.
19:09And when my mother was dying, Rev, it was Haitian nurses, like so many in nursing homes and hospitals
19:15and home health care throughout this country, that prayed over her, that oiled her scalp,
19:20that lovingly braided her hair.
19:22So this is true for millions of people, and that's why I've been fighting in defense of our Haitian neighbors.
19:27I represent the third largest Haitian diaspora in the country.
19:30All right, Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Congresswoman Sydney Kanelaga-Dove.
19:38Thank you both for being with us.
19:39Just ahead, how the Supreme Court's historic decision on voting rights is impacting Florida.
19:46Stay tuned.
19:47You're watching Politics Nation on MS Now.
19:59Welcome back to Politics Nation on MS Now.
20:03Let's turn now to Florida, the latest state to join the redistricting fight ahead of November's
20:10midterm elections, which will redetermine the balance of power on Capitol Hill.
20:17On Wednesday, Florida passed a new map that could help the GOP pick up four more congressional seats,
20:26just hours after the Supreme Court delivered a major blow to the Voting Rights Act,
20:31opening the door to even more aggressive political gerrymandering.
20:36Joining me now is Nikki Freed, chair of Florida's Democratic Party.
20:40To start, the Democrats are calling this map illegal as it runs counter to voter-approved
20:47anti-gerrymandering standards in Florida.
20:51Democrats are also hoping to win a few seats in Florida in this year's midterms.
20:57How would Florida's proposed map impact those plans, and is this going to turn out in DeSantis' favor?
21:06Well, first of all, thanks, Fred, for having me on today to discuss this very important issue
21:10that's happening here in the state of Florida.
21:11And just to level set for anybody who's watching, in 2010, Floridians in our state
21:16passed what we call the Fair District's Amendment by almost 70 percent of Floridians.
21:21And that was to protect, to make sure that this moment didn't happen in Florida,
21:24that the maps were drawn in nonpartisan way.
21:27And what Ron DeSantis did is he went on Fox News Monday morning and unveiled this new map
21:33that even the legislators who are in charge of the responsibility of drawing maps
21:36went on to Fox News, showed a map that was very color-coded, red and blue seats,
21:43and also talked about what a registration difference is in between Republicans and Democrats.
21:47That 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.
21:59So I do believe that not only has Florida been overperforming the national average,
22:04moving left 17 points since 2025, we've also flipped 29 seats throughout the entire state,
22:10getting the first Democrat elected to the city of Miami mayor, to Boca.
22:14We flipped Mar-a-Lago.
22:15We flipped Hillsborough County.
22:16We flipped Escambia County.
22:18So there's a lot of things that I would have not advised DeSantis to do this.
22:22And polling today still shows that almost 89 percent of Floridians will vote against legislators
22:29who actually voted for these maps.
22:31So we're pretty bullish that not only are we going to reelect all eight of our members
22:35of the Democratic congressional delegation, but we are going to flip seats.
22:39Florida has become the number one unaffordable state in the nation.
22:42People are frustrated.
22:44They're frustrated with what's happening in Tallahassee.
22:46They're aggravated and at dismay of what's happening in Washington, D.C.
22:50They can't put gas in their tanks.
22:51They can't pay for their health care.
22:53They can't pay for their rent.
22:54The list goes on and on and on.
22:56This is why we are so confident that with the right candidates that we have all around
23:00our state, that we're going to not only protect our eight, but also bring some more Democrats
23:04to D.C.
23:06Now, Republicans are trying to claim that black majority districts across the country are
23:10racially discriminatory.
23:12Yet Florida's governor this week has been out mocking House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries
23:18using an offensive accent.
23:21What do you make of the GOP's racist rhetoric right now at the same time they're dismantling
23:28civil rights protections that have been an important part of our democracy for decades now?
23:34Remember, this has been DeSantis' M.O.
23:38You know, just a couple of years ago, he got rid of black history in our school system.
23:43Back in 2022, he actually vetoed the maps from the legislature during the actual redistricting
23:50period of time so that he can draw his own maps to dismantle one of our black elected
23:56congressional seats in the panhandle.
23:59So this is what Ron DeSantis has consistently been doing, you know, the Stop Woke Act, the
24:03DEI attacks.
24:04And so I'm not surprised that DeSantis continues to stoop lower and lower and lower when it comes
24:10to his rhetoric and protecting all 23 million Floridians that are here in our state.
24:16He is charged with that responsibility as a governor for all 23 million.
24:19He continues to be derelict in that responsibility.
24:22And of course, but this is the culture that has been created the last 10 years by Donald Trump,
24:27you know, that we mock our elected officials.
24:29We try to dehumanize them.
24:31This is not what we want to be teaching our children of how to interact in a civilized society.
24:36And fortunately, Ron DeSantis has been leading the way of trying to dismantle that type of
24:41human decency in our state, making it more and more dangerous and the rhetoric continuing
24:46to increase.
24:47And we saw that on his attacks of Leader Jeffries this week.
24:51Now, on Friday, Trump was in villages in Florida trying to sell seniors on what he's calling
24:57the golden age for their golden years.
25:00He also spent a lot of time rambling on about malfunctioning microphones and the village people.
25:07Nikki, as party leader, you helped organize counter-demonstrations during Trump's visit.
25:13How are Floridians reacting to the president's midterm message?
25:20I was there on Friday talking to so many of our seniors that live in the villages, and they
25:25are angry.
25:26They are angry at what is happening to Washington, D.C., whether it is their attacks on the economy
25:32here in our state and across the country.
25:35A lot of our seniors are veterans.
25:37They've seen the attacks on their health care system, on the VA.
25:41And a lot of them are seeing that we have a commander-in-chief that doesn't have a human
25:46decency to protect the men and women of our military, both here at home and overseas.
25:52So our seniors out here are not being fooled by what this president is doing here.
25:59They are organizing on the ground.
26:00We are organizing in all parts of our state.
26:03We started what we call the Pendulum Project, beginning part of 2025, organizing in all parts
26:08of our state.
26:09And so our seniors are feeling like this is their chance to make sure that we don't go
26:14back, that the next 250 years of our country is going to be a democracy, and they have a
26:20responsibility to organize right now and to make sure that they're having conversations.
26:23So they're pissed, and they're getting organized, and we plan on making sure that the state
26:28of Florida sees some incredible wins in this election cycle.
26:33Nikki Freed, thank you for being with us.
26:35Coming 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
26:45of the voting rights ruling.
26:53Welcome back to Politics Nation on MS Now.
26:57Last week's Supreme Court decision on Louisiana's voting map set off a flood of legal challenges
27:03in the state.
27:05But the Pelican state is just the latest in a growing effort to redraw maps on both sides
27:13of the aisle.
27:14And the ruling is expected to have lasting implications for the entire nation ahead of an election just
27:21six months away.
27:23Joining me now with more than that is Abba Khanna, political attorney with the Elias Law Group.
27:29Ms. Khanna, thank you for being with us tonight.
27:33What's your reaction?
27:34Let's start there.
27:35What's your reaction to this ruling?
27:37Good evening, Reverend.
27:38Thank you so much for having me on.
27:40I think my reaction is the same as anybody who's a litigator in this voting rights space,
27:44and frankly, any American who cares about democracy.
27:48The Voting Rights Act is a hallmark of our democratic government.
27:52It has been just a catalyst for real change and progress toward equal opportunity for black
28:00and brown voters.
28:02It has done a lot of work since the 1960s when it was first enacted, and that work is not
28:06done.
28:07And so the Supreme Court's decision to essentially defang it of its most powerful agency and ability
28:14to actually create change is devastating.
28:17It's devastating for me personally.
28:18It's devastating for all black and brown voters, and really, it should be devastating for all Americans.
28:24Now, this ruling has been cast as the most severe gutting of the Voting Rights Act in its history.
28:31To folks, to the folks watching, tell us how bad is it, and is there any daylight here, any daylight,
28:39any opportunities for pro-democracy and voting rights advocates to push back
28:44and possibly reverse the damage with help from a different Congress?
28:49Well, I think, yes, it is extremely bad what the Supreme Court has just done to the Voting Rights Act.
28:56And, yes, it is absolutely possible for a Congress that wants to make change to make real change.
29:02The Voting Rights Act is a piece of legislation that had been reauthorized time and time again by multiple Congresses,
29:08and it's certainly within the power of any Congress, including a newly elected Congress in 2026,
29:14to decide that this decision should not stand, and at the very least,
29:18the kind of 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,
29:36like Louisiana, where early voting just started.
29:39How much do you expect November to be impacted by the Supreme Court's decision,
29:44and what do you make of the court not applying the so-called Purcell principle in this case
29:53by 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,
30:10and 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.
30:26The primary in Alabama and in Louisiana are already in full swing, and under the court's jurisprudence,
30:32it should not be allowed to have any impact on those ongoing elections. It should not be allowed
30:37to upend election administration, and it certainly should not be allowed to disenfranchise voters
30:41who have already cast ballots. The Supreme Court actually hasn't said yet whether the timing of
30:47its 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
30:58and any other state that this is not a blessing to go and upend existing and ongoing elections for
31:042026. And it does not upend what you call what you 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
31:21no time in capitalizing on this. Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and of course, Louisiana,
31:27all of them taking up redistricting at the request of their governors, and ultimately President Trump
31:35at his request. Looking around the country, where else can we expect to see an immediate impact
31:40because of this ruling or not?
31:44Look, I hope that pretty soon the Supreme Court is going to come down and say no to Alabama,
31:50to Tennessee, to Louisiana, and particularly to any other state who has already conducted a primary election
31:57under its existing map or who is in the middle of an election under the existing map to say no,
32:01you cannot start from—throw out those ballots and start from scratch. It doesn't surprise me that
32:07some of these governors and legislatures have tried to weaponize this ruling, but it is certainly
32:12a far cry from what they've said in previous cases. When we won a new opportunity district for
32:18black voters in Louisiana in 2022, back in spring of 2022, Louisiana screamed and cried and said,
32:27no, it's too late. We can't possibly change the election dates at this time. We're already in full
32:32swing. 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 in
32:43electoral law operates. No matter how bad the Supreme Court ruling is on the substance as a
32:50procedural matter, we should not allow it to drive a train through ongoing elections. And I really hope
32:56that the Supreme Court is going to make that clear in the coming days to put a stop to not
33:00just those
33:01states, but any other state that's hoping to take advantage and weaponize this opportunity at the
33:06expensive voters. Bacana political attorney, thank you for being with us. Just ahead, the runway
33:14revolutionized 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
33:42Metropolitan 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,
33:57a 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 they've always been sponsors. But I also think it's important that we support Beyonce and
34:22others that are co-chairing tomorrow night, and Anna Winter, who has worked with us on diversity.
34:29So I'll be wearing my Aisha McShore gear on the red carpet to support the black art that is making
34:36it
34:36down the runway. So here to explore this with me is Jonathan Michael Square, assistant professor of black,
34:43in black visual culture at Parsons School of Design. Jonathan, this year's Met Gala theme is
34:51custom art with the dress code fashion is art. What does that theme say to you, especially as someone
34:58who studies black visual culture? Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, since this is intervening in a longstanding
35:05debate, is fashion art? And of course, the exhibition is arguing that fashion is indeed art.
35:11Unfortunately, this year's theme will not be focusing on blackness, but I'm looking forward
35:15to seeing all the black celebrities that will be on the red carpet.
35:19The 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, I hope,
36:05that 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 short and those that addressed
36:15me before we even knew who the sponsors were. I've been with the Amazon crowd a long time
36:20supporting them, but I don't want to confuse.
36:26It's controversial for a number of reasons. Typically, corporations like TikTok or eBay or
36:32Instagram fund. The Met Gala, this year, it's funded by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos,
36:38which is a controversial decision.
36:40Right. Now, as you mentioned, Beyonce is one of the co-chairs. You have Beyonce and
36:46Venus Williams, both co-chair, two black women who have reshaped music, sports, beauty, and global
36:52culture. At the same time, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos are serving as honorary chairs and
37:00major backers of the event, drawing a lot of criticism. And again,
37:05Mayor Zoran Mandani is reportedly not attending. Breaking a decades-long tradition of New York City
37:12mayors attending the gala. But, as I said, some of us go because we're supporting those that have been
37:19excluded. And you and I are talking about Andre and others that fought to get us in. And I don't
37:26want to, I don't want the issue to be, oh, we left them out there and we had black chairs
37:31and black
37:31artists. Though I do not support a lot of the politics of some of the sponsors. And I have not
37:37in the last two years I've gone. But though this is a night that wants to present itself as fashion
37:44and philanthropy, is politics just inevitable, though? Is that tension part of the story of
37:51fashion itself, beauty and power occupying the same room? Absolutely. And I suspect that there
37:57will be protesters at this year's Met Gala, if not in person, then online. Absolutely. I mean,
38:04this is a very political event. Like you said, politicians often aren't in attendance. But
38:09I think there's room for celebrating black ingenuity, creativity, and our presence. At the
38:15same time, not supporting the politics are the supporters of the funders of this event.
38:20And you could say your politics as you do it. I remember AOC went and wore an outfit. And I
38:29feel that
38:30we have a responsibility, though, as we break through, particularly when we've had the issue
38:36in fashions for black artists and black stylists, that we support them. Jonathan Michael Square,
38:44assistant professor in black visual culture at Parsons. Thank you for being with us. Up next,
38:49my final thoughts. Stay with us.
39:05Today, I remember my close friend, father figure, and mentor, James Brown, the godfather of soul. It
39:13would 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
39:35Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that Mrs. King was leading the drive that eventually happened. James Brown taught
39:42me the importance of getting in the fight and never giving up, which brings me to this. In 1901,
39:50North Carolina Representative George Henry White. George Henry White announced he was retiring
39:56as the last reconstruction era black lawmaker in Washington. In his final address, he said,
40:02this is perhaps the Negro's temporary farewell to the American Congress. But let me say, Phoenix-like,
40:11we will rise up someday and come again. No black person would serve in Congress after that for almost 30
40:19years following the brief flurry of representation in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Blacks
40:27never again held congressional seats in significant numbers until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
40:34The current Congress started with a record high of 66 black members. And yet, after the Supreme Court,
40:44Calais' case, Calais' decision, the future is very uncertain. The one thing I can say for sure
40:53is 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.
41:32It is 6 p.m. here in New York. I'm Ayman Mohyedin along with Elise Jordan, Catherine Rampal, Antonia.
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