MEMPHIS — The Tennessee State Conference NAACP held a Community Town Hall on Saturday morning at Mt. Olive Cathedral CME Church to discuss civic engagement strategies following the state's redistricting. In May, Tennessee lawmakers approved a new congressional map that splits Memphis and Shelby County among three districts.

The new congressional map eliminated Tennessee's only majority-Black district. Civil rights groups, including the Tennessee State Conference NAACP, challenged the map in state and federal court, alleging it intentionally diluted Black voting power. A state court challenge to the congressional map was dismissed in May, though federal challenges continued as of the town hall date.

Panelists urged attendees to check voter registration, learn about ballot items, contact friends and family, and vote. They stated that civic engagement includes attending city council and county commission meetings and holding elected officials accountable.

Dr. Sekou Franklin, executive director of the John Lewis Center for Social Justice at Fisk University, addressed the gathering. "Everyone has a role to play in this democratic experiment," Franklin said. "It’s just that we have to be creative enough to create those roles that people play."

Venita Doggett, executive director of the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH), spoke on organizing tactics. MICAH members knocked on doors, organized voter hubs in congregations, and sent 12,000 handwritten postcards to voters. She offered "ride together" as a prescription for intergenerational organizing.

Doggett reminded people that they have power beyond the ballot and said that if what she gets in return does not match what power looks like, then she taps out.

Dominik Whitehead, NAACP chief of field, membership growth and unit sustainability, noted the role of youth activists. Young NAACP leaders held a Youth/College Community Town Hall on Friday evening. "There is no way possible we’re going to win this fight without young people," Whitehead said.

He recalled young people telling organizers that they are not fighting for democracy, but for their rights.

The NAACP announced in July that it plans to spend $20 million on its 2026 get-out-the-vote campaign. The campaign aims to mobilize 6.5 million Black voters across 14 states and 33 congressional districts. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Louisiana v. Callais in April that struck down Louisiana’s second majority-Black congressional district.

Why It Matters

The elimination of Tennessee's only majority-Black district occurred after the state legislature passed a map that split Memphis and Shelby County. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which struck down Louisiana’s second majority-Black district, several Southern states saw increased scrutiny of their redistricting maps, including Tennessee, where civil rights groups raised concerns about potential vote dilution. The U.S. Supreme Court's April 2026 decision in Louisiana v. Callais weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by invalidating a majority-Black district, altering legal strategies for challenging redistricting in Tennessee.

Tennessee's 9th congressional district covers most of Memphis and much of Shelby County, is the state's only majority-minority district, and is its lone Democratic seat. The Tennessee State Conference NAACP submitted written testimony during the May 2026 legislative session opposing the redistricting map, citing violations of voting rights and procedural irregularities. Venita Doggett's Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH) organized 12,000 handwritten postcards to voters and employed 'ballot and brunch' events to boost engagement in Shelby County.

Timeline

On April 29, 2026, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Louisiana v. Callais that Louisiana's current redistricting map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the Fifteenth Amendment. The Tennessee State Conference NAACP held a Voter’s Rights Town Hall Meeting on Monday, May 4, 2026, at 6 p.m. at First Baptist Church Broad, 2835 Broad Street, in Memphis. The NAACP Tennessee State Conference held its 80th Annual State Convention in Memphis on September 24, 2026, featuring a community town hall and civil rights advocacy sessions.

What's New

The Tennessee State Conference NAACP held its first major voter rights town hall in response to the 2026 redistricting map in May 2026, just days after the state legislature passed the map that eliminated the only majority-Black congressional district in the state. The Tennessee State Conference NAACP submitted written testimony during the May 2026 legislative session opposing the redistricting map. Callais weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by invalidating a majority-Black district.

MICAH organized 12,000 handwritten postcards to voters and employed 'ballot and brunch' events to boost engagement in Shelby County. Callais, civil rights groups raised concerns about potential vote dilution.