I'm so sorry.

The Black community, past, present and future deserves SO much better.

I’m sorry.

I’m so sorry.

I’m sorry to the Black activists that fought for this with their lives in the civil rights era. Those who are still alive are literally watching their life’s work be dismantled today.

And I’m sorry to the current Black and Latino activists and the entire Black and Latino communities watching us go back in time to a time where they didn’t have a voice or representation in this country at all.

This is not a hopeless post, but I had to start here, because no matter how hard we fight back and how much we are able to hopefully succeed, these feelings aren’t going to go away and we can’t just sweep them under the rug because there are still calls to action.

Secondly, for the most part, what SCOTUS put into motion will not be implemented in time for the midterms. Most states where the candidate filing period either hasn’t started or is still open are blue states and/or at-large states (meaning there’s only one House rep for the whole state.)

There are probably going to be some Republican states that try to do this before their primaries anyway, and they’ll probably be shot down because their filing period is very much over.

This is not to say we are out of the woods for the midterms, but those big numbers you’re seeing are not happening right now.

Also there is potential that Dem states could use this to their advantage, though I don’t know specifically if any of the states where the filing period is still open or hasn’t opened yet would qualify.

And I want to be very clear. No matter how much malicious compliance we end up being able to do, that doesn’t make this a positive. It is still the country, specifically six Republican justices, telling Black and Latino voters that their voice must be silenced. There’s no way to twist that into being a good thing, so, for the love of everything, don’t fucking try.

Okay, now, I promised this wouldn’t be hopeless right? Here’s the hope:

First, our main goal HAS to be reforming the court.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Act is great and very necessary, but, codifying it into law doesn’t mean anything with this court. The VRA was codified.

We also need to be very aware that Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas are old. There is a very good chance the next Senate will be tasked with replacing one or both. This is not the time to find the perfect candidate. This is not the time to sit out the election because your perfect candidate doesn’t get to the general. Whoever it is, you have to vote for the Democrat, period.

We must get a trifecta in 2028, and building the framework to make that possible starts now.

But, in reality, that’s not the main priority. The main priority is the State Legislatures across the country.

The SCOTUS decision was ONLY about Louisiana. That means ONLY Louisiana has to redo their maps. For every other state it’s their decision (before the 2030 census, that is). We need to get as many Democrats in as many state legislatures as possible so that this becomes less likely.

That is our main priority right now. As usual, it all comes down to elections.

I always say this, but it matters now more than ever. Your vote is your voice and that voice is your superpower. This MUST be your mantra right now.