When a governor calls a special session, it usually sounds like routine business. A date change here, a policy fix there. But not this time. The special session happening right now in Baton Rouge isn’t about cleaning up the calendar. It’s about power—specifically, the power of Black voters in Louisiana.
Governor Jeff Landry and the conservative legislature are moving fast. On paper, they say the session is to adjust election deadlines. In reality, they’re preparing to erase one of Louisiana’s two Black-majority congressional districts. The goal: redraw the map the federal courts forced them to create.
What’s Section 2 and why it matters
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 protects voters of color from laws or maps that weaken their ability to elect candidates of their choice. It says that if a state draws district lines that “dilute” minority voting strength, the courts can step in and require new ones.
For decades, Section 2 has been the backbone of Black representation in the South. Without it, most majority-Black districts—from Baton Rouge to Birmingham—wouldn’t exist.
But now, in Callais v. Landry, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority is questioning how Section 2 works. Several justices asked whether the law goes too far by letting race influence district lines. Translation: they may soon make it almost impossible to prove racial discrimination in redistricting.
Why Louisiana moved so fast
That’s why this special session exists. Lawmakers want to be ready the moment the Supreme Court weakens Section 2. By changing election timelines now, they can move quickly to redraw maps once the ruling drops—likely in December.
If that happens, the new Black-majority district (Louisiana’s 6th)—the one stretching from North Baton Rouge to Shreveport—will almost certainly disappear. The long-standing New Orleans-based 2nd District will remain. And the state will go back to one Black district out of six, even though African Americans make up a third of Louisiana’s population.
Why this will last ten years
Redistricting happens only once a decade after the census. Once new lines are in place, they tend to stay. Incumbents entrench, funding follows, and challenges fade. If Section 2 is gutted, the courts will have no clear tool to fix unfair maps until 2035.
That’s the real reason for the rush. Not efficiency. Not scheduling. Control.
Related: Supreme Court Could Silence Black Voters
Representation matters
People like to say representation doesn’t matter—that good policy can come from anyone. But in Louisiana, where race has shaped politics since statehood, representation is power.
Two Black-majority districts mean two voices in Congress speaking for our communities, our schools, and our neighborhoods. Take one away, and our influence shrinks.
This isn’t just about lines on a map. It’s about whether our children grow up with leaders who understand them. It’s about whether our vote counts equally in a democracy that claims to serve us all.
The takeaway
Don’t let the quiet language of “election adjustments” fool you. This special session is a race-based maneuver designed to weaken Black political power for the next decade.
Email your legislators. Call them. Demand hearings and transparency. Ask one simple question: Why the rush?
📩 Orleans Parish
📩 Jefferson Parish
Because if we stay silent now, Louisiana’s future will be drawn without us—and it may take ten years to redraw it again.