In this urgent episode of The Justice Briefing, Dr. Jemar Tisby breaks down the Supreme Court's latest ruling in Allen v. Milligan--a decision that allows Alabama to eliminate one of its only two majority-Black congressional districts just months before the 2026 midterm elections and while primaries are already underway.

Drawing on his training as a historian and his recent trip to Selma to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Dr. Tisby explains how the Court's selective application of the Purcell Principle exposes a legal system being weaponized to dilute Black political power rather than protect it.

He traces the historical roots of Black voting patterns from Reconstruction through the Civil Rights Movement to make the case that Black voters aren't loyal to a party--they're loyal to their survival.

Dr. Tisby also examines the Congressional Black Caucus's pointed letter to Corporate America, holding hundreds of major corporations accountable to voting rights commitments they made publicly in 2021--and demanding they prove those words still mean something before a June 9th deadline.

From the courtroom to the boardroom, Dr. Tisby asks the question that drives the entire episode: do you care?

In This Episode

• The Supreme Court's ruling in Allen v. Milligan and what it means for Black congressional representation in Alabama
• What the Purcell Principle is, where it comes from, and why the Court is applying it selectively
• How the Louisiana v. Callais decision gutted the Voting Rights Act and opened the door to rapid redistricting across the South
• Why Republicans stand to gain up to 15 additional House seats through redistricting — and what's at stake in the 2026 midterms
• The historical roots of Black voting patterns, from Reconstruction and the New Deal to LBJ's Civil Rights Act
• Governor Kay Ivey's response to the ruling — and what the language of "states' rights" has always meant in the context of Black political power
• The Congressional Black Caucus's letter to Corporate America and its June 9th deadline for action
• Justice Sotomayor's dissent — and why Dr. Tisby says every justice-minded person should be reading it

We have a lack of voices raising the alarm about voting rights in the church. If you think that work is important, you can help make it possible. Become a paid subscriber today. JemarTisby.Substack.com

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