May 7 (UPI) -- The Tennessee state legislature on Thursday passed a redistricting map that eliminates the state's last Democrat-leaning, Black-majority district. It now goes to Gov. Bill Lee, one step closer to becoming law.
Both the state House and Senate passed the plan Thursday. The move comes after a U.S. Supreme Court decision last week that weakened a key part of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, one that had helped ensure minority groups could elect their choice of candidates. The decision was expected to set off moves like the one Thursday in Tennessee.
Tennessee's sole Black-majority district (of nine) has been represented by Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat, for years, The Washington Post reported. The district is based around the city of Memphis.
The move broke the district into three parts and means that all nine of the state's districts now have a Republican majority, The Guardian reported. Protesters gathered outside and inside the legislature, and police removed some from the viewing gallery during the special session, WTVC-TV reported.
In response to the move, state Rep. Justin Jones, a Democrat, said some Republican lawmakers were "seething with racism" and called the plan "a form of Jim Crow terror," The Washington Post reported. He also called Tennessee Speaker Cameron Sexton "the grand wizard in chief."
